Sidebar
The sidebar is where you switch Spaces, move between pages, open projects, and reach your profile. The main surface you return to all day long.
The sidebar is PrimeTask's primary navigation. From one place you move between pages, switch the Space you're working in, open a project, check notifications, and reach Settings. Whatever you do in PrimeTask, you probably start here.
For the top bar with search, active timer, quick notes, and the app menu, see App Header.
What you can do
Switch between Spaces
work, personal, clients, whatever you've set up.
Move between main pages
Dashboard, Tasks, Calendar, CRM, PrimeFlow, Reports, Settings.
Open any project
from a single list, with its current progress in view.
Create a new Space or project
in one click.
Right-click a Space or a project
to open its settings without leaving the sidebar.
See your notifications
without opening another page.
Open your profile and sign out
from the footer.
Fold the sidebar to a rail, or hide it completely
when you want more room for work.
Choose what the sidebar button does
so one click gets you where you actually want to be.
See what's new
in the latest PrimeTask release.
What's in the sidebar
The sidebar is laid out top to bottom in three zones:
- Main pages - the pages most people visit every day.
- Your Spaces and projects - your lists of Spaces and your active projects.
- Profile and footer - avatar, notifications, sign out, app version.
The main pages
The sidebar gives you one-click access to these pages:
- Dashboard - your home page. See Dashboard Overview.
- Tasks - every task in the Space. See Tasks Overview.
- Calendar - your tasks and events by date. See Calendar Overview.
- PrimeCRM (Pro, when enabled) - contacts, companies, deals, and activities. See PrimeCRM Overview.
- PrimeFlow - visual canvases for mind maps, project maps, and reference hubs. See PrimeFlow Overview.
- Reports - workspace-wide analytics. See Reports Overview.
- Settings - everything that configures PrimeTask. See Settings Overview.
The page you're currently viewing is highlighted so you always know where you are.
Some pages appear only when enabled
PrimeCRM shows in the sidebar when CRM is enabled for the Space. PrimeFlow shows on the desktop app. Everything else is always available.
Spaces in the sidebar
Below the main pages, your Spaces are listed. The sidebar is the fastest place to switch between them.
Switch Spaces
Click any Space to switch to it. The rest of PrimeTask updates to that Space - your tasks, projects, CRM, canvases, Dashboard, Reports - so you always know which Space you're working in.
Create a new Space
Use the add action next to the Spaces heading to create a new Space. Give it a name, pick a sync mode, and you're in.
Reorder Spaces
Drag a Space to move it in the list. Your own order is remembered.
See all Spaces
Click the Spaces heading to open the full Spaces page, where you can rename, configure sync, manage members, and archive Spaces.
Right-click a Space for quick actions
Right-click any Space in the sidebar and you can:
- Edit Space - opens the same Space settings you get from the Spaces page, where you rename it, change its description and colour, and set sync options.
- New Project here - creates a project in that Space. If it isn't the Space you're currently in, PrimeTask switches you to it first.
- Switch to this Space - offered when you're right-clicking a Space you aren't already in.
Everything on this menu is also reachable the way it always was, so nothing has moved. See Spaces Overview.
Shared or synced Spaces show an indicator
A small marker on a Space tells you when it's shared or synced across devices. Manage sync modes from the Space itself. See Spaces Overview.
Organise Spaces like browser profiles
One Space for work, one for personal, one per client. PrimeTask keeps their tasks, projects, and CRM completely separate - the sidebar keeps them a single click apart.
Projects in the sidebar
Below Spaces, the Projects section lists every active project in the current Space. Each one shows its name and its current progress.
Open a project
Click a project to open it. The project's details page opens with all its tabs and actions.
See progress at a glance
Projects with progress above zero show a progress indicator so you can read health across the list without opening anything. Archived projects don't appear here - they're hidden to keep the list focused on what's live.
Reorder projects
Drag a project to put it where it belongs. Your order is saved per Space.
Create a new project
Use the add action next to the Projects heading to create a new project in the current Space.
Right-click a project to edit it
Right-click any project in the sidebar and choose Edit Project to open its settings, where you change its name, description, colour, dates and everything else you set when you created it. It's the same window you get from the project itself, so nothing you're used to has changed.
See all projects
Click the Projects heading to open the Projects List Page with filters, search, grid and list views, and full project management.
Your profile and notifications
At the bottom of the sidebar:
- Your avatar - click to open Profile Settings and the wider Settings page.
- Notifications - open your notifications list. The bell shows an unread count when something needs attention.
- Sign out - end the session on this device.
Show, fold or hide the sidebar
The sidebar has three states:
- Full - everything named and visible.
- Folded - a thin rail. Every main action is still one click away and everything has a tooltip, so you keep your bearings while your canvas, editor or table gets the width back.
- Hidden - away completely, so your work has the whole window.
Choose what the sidebar button does
The sidebar button flips between two of those three states, and you choose which two. Open the app menu in the App Header, hover Sidebar, and pick:
- Full and folded - how PrimeTask has always worked, and still what you get until you change it.
- Full and hidden
- Folded and hidden
The button then moves between those two, so it is always one click each way. Picking a pair also puts the sidebar straight into it, so you are never left somewhere the button cannot reach.
You can fold and unfold from the sidebar itself as well, using the logo at the top.
Pick the pair that matches how you work
Folding and hiding happen at completely different rates. If you fold constantly and flip back to check something, keep Full and folded. If you want the window to yourself and only need the sidebar to navigate now and then, Full and hidden or Folded and hidden will suit you better, because one click gets you all the way there.
Getting the sidebar back when it is hidden
Rest your cursor against the left edge of the window. The sidebar comes out at full size, over your work, so nothing on the page moves to make room for it.
It stays while you are using it, including while a menu inside it is open. It goes again when you move away, click anywhere else, or press Escape. There is a small button on the sidebar to keep it out for good, which puts you back to a full sidebar.
It only appears when you mean it. Crossing the edge on your way to something else leaves it alone, and it stays away while you are working in another window, which matters if you keep PrimeTask on one screen and something else on another.
Your choice is remembered
PrimeTask reopens with the sidebar the way you left it, including which of the three states it was in, so you do not have to set it again each time you start work.
What's New and version
The bottom of the sidebar shows PrimeTask's current version and a link to What's New so you can catch up on the latest release. See What's New.
Things worth knowing
Archived projects are hidden from the sidebar list
The sidebar shows active projects only. Browse archived projects from the Projects List Page with the archive filter on.
The sidebar is per Space, not global
Switching Spaces swaps the Space's own project list and Space-specific items into view. Main pages and Profile stay where they are.
Reorders don't affect anyone else
Your Space order and project order in the sidebar are yours. Reordering doesn't change the order for anyone else you collaborate with.
Settings opens from the profile avatar or the sidebar
Click your avatar to open Settings, or use the Settings link in the main pages list. Either gets you there.
Common questions
"How do I add a new Space?"
Use the add action next to the Spaces heading in the sidebar. You can also create Spaces from the full Spaces Overview page.
"Where did PrimeCRM go?"
PrimeCRM shows in the sidebar when CRM is enabled for the active Space. Enable it in CRM Settings. CRM requires Pro - see License Settings.
"Can I pin or favourite a project?"
Drag your favourite projects to the top of the Projects list in the sidebar. Your order is saved per Space.
"Why can't I see archived projects in the sidebar?"
The sidebar hides archived projects to keep the list focused on what's active. Open the Projects List Page and switch the archive filter to see them.
"Can I fold or hide the sidebar with a keyboard shortcut?"
Yes. Press ⌘+⌥+L (Ctrl+Alt+L on Windows). It does what the sidebar button in the App Header does, moving the sidebar between the two states you chose. Escape also works on a sidebar you have brought back from hidden, and sends it away again. You can change the shortcut in Settings → Automations → Shortcuts. See Keyboard Shortcuts.
"I hid the sidebar and now I can't get it back."
Rest your cursor against the left edge of the window and it will come out. If you would rather not rely on that, open the app menu in the App Header, hover Sidebar, and pick Full and folded, which puts the sidebar back for good.
Where to go next
| If you want to… | Read this |
|---|---|
| Work in the top bar | App Header |
| Understand Spaces as a concept | Spaces Overview |
| Browse and manage every project | Projects List Page |
| Get to your profile | Profile Settings |
| See what's new in PrimeTask | What's New |
| Change PrimeTask's look | Appearance Settings |