How to Configure Menu Layouts and Quick Access in CrmLeaf
All editions. Core feature — no add-on required. Menu layouts are configured for your account by CrmLeaf at the platform level; Quick Access pinning is available to every user.
Availability: All editions. Core feature — no add-on required. Menu layouts are configured for your account by CrmLeaf at the platform level; Quick Access pinning is available to every user.
Overview
CrmLeaf's sidebar is not fixed. What exists is declared in a registry, and where it appears is decided by a menu layout that can be different for each product edition. On top of that, every user can personalise which sections and items show up in their own sidebar. This is why the manual never promises an exact three-level menu path.
The most important rule is this: a layout controls placement, never access.
What's New NEW
R26.08 · Aug 2026A getting-started guide entry now appears in the navigation shell for new accounts. It is believed to sit alongside the existing menu styles rather than replace any of them, but its exact placement, how it is dismissed, and whether it can be re-opened later are not yet confirmed — treat this as a heads-up rather than a full description until it is verified.
R26.09 · Sep 2026Each user can now set their own start page — the screen they land on immediately after signing in — from the Start Page tab in their own Profile Settings. This is independent of the item/section personalisation described below: it controls where you arrive, not what your sidebar shows once you get there. See How to Set Your Start Page After Login for the full walkthrough.
How It Works
The navigation is defined in two places. A registry declares what exists and who may see it. A layout decides where it goes. Individual users then personalise their own shortcuts.
Registry declares feature → Gates checked → Layout places it → Menu style applied → User personalises their own menu
- The registry declares what exists and who may see it — the route, the icon and the gates. The gates are whether the module is enabled, which product edition applies, and which permission is required.
- A layout can place, reorder, rename, group or hide a feature, but it can never grant access. The gates stay in the registry, so a mis-set layout cannot expose a feature the account has not purchased.
- Layouts are per product edition, and can optionally be tied to a package. A layout with no edition set applies to all of them. Layouts can be cloned between editions, which is the fastest way to start a new one.
- Three menu styles exist side by side. Legacy is the original per-app sidebar. Feature is the newer flat, feature-grouped accordion menu with no app switching — this is what "the newer style" meant before this option existed, and it is still what most accounts on the newer menu see. Two-layer is a third style added more recently: a single navigation rail plus one "More" fly-out. Resolution order for a given account: a global force-legacy flag overrides everything; then the product edition's own use new menu switch (off means legacy); then, only if that switch is on, the edition's chosen style — Feature or Two-layer. Both switches default to the older behaviour, so a product edition only moves when CrmLeaf explicitly changes it for that edition — it never moves on its own with a platform update.
- The Payroll & HR edition never reaches any of this. It renders its own, separately built sidebar regardless of these settings.
- Users personalise their own navigation in two independent ways: item by item, and section by section. Every row in the sidebar's expanded groups and in the "More" fly-out carries its own control to add or remove that single item from your main sidebar. Every group heading (for example "Sales & CRM") carries a separate control to add or remove that whole section from your main sidebar. Both choices are saved per user and per Company, so each account you belong to keeps its own arrangement.
- The per-item control reads "Add to menu" when the item is not individually added, and "Remove from menu" once it is. Selecting it shows a confirmation ("Added to your menu." / "Unpinned." — the product's own wording is not fully consistent between the two, but the action is the same either way). There is no separate "Pinned" block anywhere in the interface. An item you add this way keeps its normal place inside its group; the only time it also shows up as its own standalone link in the main sidebar is once that item's whole section has been removed from the sidebar (see the next bullet) — until then, adding it item-by-item has no visible effect on the main sidebar beyond what "More" already showed.
- The per-section control on a group heading reads "Remove this section from menu" when the section is showing, and the equivalent "Add this section to menu" when it is hidden. Removing a section only hides its heading from your main sidebar — everything in that section, and everything in every other section, stays fully reachable through the "More" fly-out, which always lists the complete set of sections and items you are entitled to see regardless of any personalisation. If you had already added one or more individual items from a section before removing that section, those items do not disappear: they resurface as plain, ungrouped standalone links in your main sidebar (positioned below your remaining visible sections). Adding the section back removes those standalone duplicates, since the items are reachable inside the restored group again.
- What a user can add or remove depends on their own permission level, not on the layout. Both
controls only ever appear on a row or section the registry has already decided to show that particular user — an
item hidden by a disabled module or a permission scope of
nonenever reaches the "More" fly-out or the main sidebar, so there is nothing there to add. Two users on the identical layout and edition can still see a different set of addable items and sections if their permission levels differ; personalising only rearranges something a user can already reach, it never extends what they can reach. - Each user can also set their own start page — the screen they land on immediately after signing in — from the Start Page tab in Profile Settings. This is a separate setting from the item/section personalisation above: it picks one destination for login, while the item and section controls shape the sidebar you see once you arrive. Like the rest of this personalisation, it is saved per user and does not need an Administrator — see How to Set Your Start Page After Login for the full walkthrough.
- Modules register their own menu entries by shipping a menu file, so a newly enabled module contributes its entries automatically.
Who Can Use This Feature?
Administrator
- Plan the grouping, order and labels that suit each edition's workflow.
- Request layout changes from CrmLeaf, including cloning a layout between editions.
- Explain to users that hiding an item is not a security control.
- Add or remove their own items and sections for their own personal navigation — see "User" below. A company Administrator is also a user of the product and personalises their own sidebar the same way anyone else does.
Platform Level (Not a Company Administrator)
- Open the Menu Layouts editor and apply the requested groups, order, labels and visibility to a product edition's layout.
- Choose which menu style (Legacy, Feature or Two-layer) a product edition renders.
- Clone a layout from one product edition to another.
User
- Add individual screens to their own main sidebar, or remove them again.
- Remove a whole section from their own main sidebar, or add it back — everything stays reachable through "More" either way.
- Set their own start page from the Start Page tab, so login lands them on the screen they use most — see How to Set Your Start Page After Login.
- Use Search when a screen is not where a document says it is.
Access depends on the modules and role assigned by your Administrator. Requesting a layout change is a planning step handled by contacting whoever operates your CrmLeaf instance directly (see Prerequisites) — the layout is actually applied at the platform level, not by a company Administrator. Personalising your own navigation (adding or removing items and sections) is different: it is genuinely self-service, and it works exactly the same way whether the person doing it is a company Administrator or a regular User — see "For Every User" below.
Prerequisites
- The modules whose features you want to place are enabled for the account.
- Permissions are already set, because the layout cannot change them.
- For layout changes, a request to CrmLeaf, since this is not self-service for a company Administrator.
What a Layout Can and Cannot Do
| Action | Possible in a layout? |
|---|---|
| Place a feature in a group | Yes |
| Reorder features and groups | Yes |
| Rename a feature's menu label | Yes |
| Hide a feature from the menu | Yes |
| Apply a different arrangement per product edition | Yes |
| Clone an arrangement to another edition | Yes |
| Grant a user access to a feature | No — access comes only from the module being enabled and the user's permission |
| Expose a module the account has not purchased | No — the module gate is in the registry |
For Every User, Including Administrators: Personalising Your Own Navigation
This part is genuinely self-service, for anyone signed in — a company Administrator personalises their own sidebar exactly the same way a regular User does. Nothing here needs a request to CrmLeaf; each change takes effect the moment you select the control, with a brief on-screen confirmation.
Step 1: Add the screens you use every day directly to your sidebar
What to do: Open the "More" fly-out (or the group in the Feature style's own item list) and find the row for the screen you want quicker access to. Select its control — it reads "Add to menu" when the item is not yet individually added. Repeat for as many items as you like. These choices are saved per user and per Company, so each account you belong to keeps its own set.
What to verify: As long as the item's own section is still showing in your main sidebar, adding it individually will not change what your main sidebar looks like — the item was already reachable there inside its group, and "More" still lists it too. Its addition becomes visible the moment you also remove that section from your sidebar (Step 2): the item then appears on its own, as a standalone link, instead of disappearing with the rest of the section. To undo an addition, open the same row and select "Remove from menu."
Step 2: Hide a whole section you rarely use, or bring one back
What to do: Select the control on a group heading you rarely use (for example "Sales & CRM") — it reads "Remove this section from menu" when the section is showing. To bring a hidden section back, find it in "More" and select the equivalent "Add this section to menu" control on its heading.
What to verify: The section's heading disappears from your main sidebar, but everything in it is still fully reachable through "More" — hiding a section never removes access, it only tidies your own view. If you had individually added any items from that section in Step 1, check that they now appear as standalone links in your main sidebar rather than having vanished along with the section.
Step 3: Set the page you land on after signing in
What to do: Choose your start page — the screen CrmLeaf opens to as soon as you sign in — from the Start Page tab in your own Profile Settings. This is independent of Steps 1–2: it only affects where login lands you, not what your sidebar shows afterwards. See How to Set Your Start Page After Login for the full step-by-step.
What to verify: Sign out and back in, and confirm you land on the page you chose.
Step 4: Use Search when a path does not match
What to do: If a help article names a screen you cannot find, use Search. The arrangement of your sidebar depends on your edition and your account's layout.
What to verify: You reach the screen and can add it to your own menu so you do not have to search again.
Expected Result
Each product edition has a menu arrangement that fits its workflow, features that are not relevant are hidden without changing anyone's access, and individual users have their own sidebar arrangement of added items and hidden or shown sections.
Important Notes
- Menu names and their position can differ between product editions and can be customised for your account, so your sidebar may not match these paths exactly. Use Search or your Quick Access items if you cannot find a screen.
- Hiding a feature is not a security measure. Access is controlled only by whether the module is enabled and what the user's permission scope allows.
- Renaming a menu label does not rename the feature elsewhere in CrmLeaf. Reports, notifications and help articles continue to use the product name.
- Per-edition layouts are the live behaviour. Layouts can also be tied to a package, but that capability is not in general use.
- Newly enabled modules contribute their own menu entries automatically, so check the layout after enabling a module.
- Whether there is a limit on how many items or sections a single user can individually add has not been confirmed; treat any specific number with caution until CrmLeaf confirms it.
- Menu layout editing, including the choice between the Feature and Two-layer menu styles, is handled by CrmLeaf at the platform level only. A company Administrator cannot open or change this editor for their own account.
- The Two-layer style (a navigation rail plus one "More" fly-out) is newer than the Feature style. Both switches that control it default to the older behaviour, so an edition only renders it after CrmLeaf explicitly turns it on for that edition — it does not appear automatically after a platform update. If your navigation looks different from what an article in this manual describes, check with your provider whether your edition has been moved to it.
- There is no separate "Pinned" or "Quick Access" area in the interface. Adding an individual item and hiding or showing a whole section are two independent controls with their own labels ("Add to menu"/"Remove from menu" for an item; "Remove this section from menu"/"Add this section to menu" for a section) — check whether a control sits on an item row or on a group heading before selecting it, since they do different things.
Common Scenarios
Example: a payroll-led account. CrmLeaf clones the PSA layout to the Payroll & HR edition, promotes the HR, attendance, leave and payroll groups to the top, and hides the procurement features that this edition does not use. Access is unchanged; only the arrangement is.
Example: a field technician. A technician uses only three screens spread across two sections they otherwise rarely open. They individually add those three items, then remove both whole sections from their sidebar. The three items they added surface as standalone links in place of the sections, so their sidebar shows only what they need — while both sections remain fully reachable through "More" if they ever need something else from them.
Example: industry wording. A construction account renames a menu label to the wording its site engineers use, so the sidebar matches the language on site.
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Possible Cause | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| A feature was placed in the layout but a user still cannot see it | The user's permission for that feature is none, or the module is not enabled | Set the permission scope and enable the module. Layouts cannot grant access. |
| The sidebar looks different from a colleague's | Different edition, different layout, or different individually added items and section visibility | Compare the edition and each user's own added items and hidden or shown sections. Use Search to find a screen. |
| A layout change had no effect | The layout is attached to a different product edition, or the edition resolves to the legacy style | Check the edition on the layout and the menu style resolution order. |
| A newly enabled module is not in the menu | Its entries have not been placed in the layout, or the user lacks permission | Review the layout after enabling a module, then check permissions. |
| An item I added individually is not showing anywhere new in my sidebar | Its section is still showing — an individually added item only surfaces as a standalone link once its whole section has been removed from the sidebar; until then it is simply reachable in its normal place and in "More" | Expected behaviour. Remove that item's section from your sidebar if you want the item to appear as its own standalone link. |
| Selecting the control on a group heading did not add an item to my sidebar | That control removes or restores the whole section — a different control from the per-item "Add to menu"/"Remove from menu" control, even though both sit near the same row | Expected behaviour. Use the individual item's own row to add just that item. |
| A feature a colleague can add to their sidebar does not appear anywhere for me | Your permission scope on that feature is none, or the module it belongs to is not enabled for you | Compare your permission level and enabled modules with your colleague's. Personalising only surfaces items you can already reach — it is not itself a way to gain access. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use a menu layout to restrict what a user can open?
No. A layout can hide an item from the menu, but it never grants or removes access. Use permissions.
How many items or sections can I individually add to my sidebar?
There is no confirmed limit as of this writing. Your choices are saved per user and per Company, so each account you belong to keeps its own set.
Why do two accounts I belong to look different?
Layouts are configured per product edition, and the two accounts may be on different editions with different layouts, different enabled modules, and your own separate set of added items and hidden or shown sections in each.
Can I rename a feature for my industry?
A layout can rename the menu label. The product name is still used elsewhere in CrmLeaf.
Which menu style will my users see?
The one resolved for their product edition: the global force-legacy flag first, then whether the edition uses a registry-driven menu at all, then — only if it does — the Feature or Two-layer style chosen for that edition.
Can I switch my own account to the Two-layer menu?
No. The menu style is set per product edition by CrmLeaf, not per Company. If you would like your account moved to it, ask the provider of your CrmLeaf instance.
What does the control on a group heading do, if it is separate from the per-item control?
It removes that whole section from your main sidebar, or adds it back — it reads "Remove this section from menu" or "Add this section to menu" depending on the section's current state. Removing a section never removes access: everything in it stays fully reachable through the "More" fly-out, which always lists everything you are entitled to see. It is a separate control from the per-item "Add to menu"/"Remove from menu" control, even though both sit close together on the same heading row.
If I hide a whole section, do I lose the items I had already added from it individually?
No. An item you added individually before hiding its section does not disappear — it resurfaces as a standalone link in your main sidebar, separate from any group heading, positioned below your remaining visible sections. You only lose the item's normal place inside the (now hidden) group; the item itself stays exactly as reachable as it was. Adding the section back removes the standalone duplicate, since the item is reachable inside the restored group again.
Can I add a feature I do not have permission to use?
No. Both controls only ever appear on a row or section the registry has already decided to show you, based on your enabled modules and permission scope. If a feature is hidden from you, it never reaches the "More" fly-out or your main sidebar in the first place, so there is nothing there to add. Personalising creates a shortcut to something you can already reach — it never grants new access, and two users on the same account can have a different set of items and sections available to them if their permission levels differ.
Can every user configure their own menu this way?
Yes. Adding or removing items and sections is per user, not per Company-wide layout — each person decides which of their own visible items and sections to show in their main sidebar, independently of what any other user on the same account has chosen. What differs between users is not the mechanism but the starting set of items and sections each one can see, which depends on their own permission level.
What is a start page, and how is it different from personalising my sidebar?
Your start page is the single screen CrmLeaf opens to right after you sign in, set from the Start Page tab in Profile Settings. It is unrelated to the item and section controls described above, which shape what your sidebar shows once you are in — you can set a start page without touching your sidebar at all, or the other way round. See How to Set Your Start Page After Login for the full walkthrough, including how to save more than one candidate page and what happens if you lose access to your chosen one.
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