The Application Navigation Bar is a persistent navigation panel on the left side of every Risk Cloud screen that gives you one-click access to your applications. It replaces the application dropdown in the top navigation.
No configuration required. The sidebar is enabled automatically for all customers. Builders can optionally configure the App Shortcode field to control how app names appear — see Configuring App Names below.
What the Navigation Side Panel Does
The Navigation Bar displays your applications as icon tiles down the left edge of every screen. A blue indicator bar shows which app you're currently working in, and hovering over any tile shows the full app name.
What you'll see in the sidebar:
- Application tiles for up to 10 live applications, sorted alphabetically
- A blue indicator bar on the currently selected app
- Tooltips on hover showing the full application name
- An "Apps" button at the bottom that opens the full application directory
How the Navigation Bar Behaves
Your current app updates automatically. The sidebar updates your "current app" context whenever you click an app tile, open a Canvas, or navigate into a Step Builder. The Home button at the top of the screen takes you to the homepage of whichever app is currently active.
The "Apps" button will display a menu on hover with two options:
Customize Navigation Bar --> Displays a modal allowing users to edit which shortcuts exist on their App Navigation bar
View My Applications --> Displays a new streamlined application directory showing only the applications that user has permission to access:
Configuring App Names
Using the App Shortcode Field
App Shortcode is a new configurable field (up to 10 characters) in your application settings. It controls exactly how the application's name is abbreviated in the sidebar. When a shortcode is set, it replaces the auto-generated abbreviation.
To set an App Shortcode:
- Navigate to Application Canvas, then Application Settings
- Find the App Shortcode field in the application settings
- Enter a label up to 10 characters (e.g., "Controls" instead of the auto-generated "CC" for a Controls Content app)
- Save your changes
The App Shortcode is especially useful when the auto-generated abbreviation isn't intuitive for your team.
How Auto-Generated Abbreviations Work
If you don't set an App Shortcode, the sidebar generates an abbreviation from the application name using these rules:
- 10 characters or less → the full name displays as-is
- Single word, 11+ characters → the first 10 characters followed by an ellipsis
- Multi-word, 11+ characters → the first letter of each word, displayed in all caps (e.g., "Third Party Risk Management" becomes "TPRM")
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Bracketed sections (e.g.,
[Internal]) are ignored when generating abbreviations - Non-letter characters are ignored when building multi-word acronyms
Tooltips always show the full application name on hover, regardless of the abbreviation.
How Apps Appear in the Sidebar
Default State
When a user enters Risk Cloud, the first 10 Applications that they have access to will appear by default in alphabetical order based on the application's full name. Special characters and numbering prefixes (e.g., "1. Risk Management" or "[Internal] Compliance") are factored into the sort order.
To rearrange the order of the applications, user can navigate to Apps > Customize Navigation Bar. This will display a modal where users can add/remove/reorder applications from their side bar
Frequently Asked Questions
Where did the application dropdown go?
The application dropdown in the top navigation has been replaced by the App Sidebar on the left side of every screen. Your applications are now always visible as icon tiles — no need to open a dropdown to find them.
What if I have access to more than 10 live applications?
The sidebar displays your top 10 live applications, sorted alphabetically. If you have access to more than 10, click the Apps button at the bottom of the sidebar to open the full directory, which includes all live applications you can access.
I'm working in an app but it's not highlighted in the sidebar. Why?
If the app you're working in falls outside your top 10 live apps, or if it's still in draft, it won't appear in the sidebar and no tile will be highlighted. Everything else works normally — you can navigate to any app using the Apps button at the bottom.
Will draft apps appear in the sidebar?
Currently, no — only live applications appear in the sidebar. However, in a July 2026 release, users will be able to add draft apps to the side panel via the Customize Navigation Bar modal.
In the meantime, if you need to access a draft app, use the Apps button at the bottom and click All Apps. This button will take Builders to the existing Build Applications page, while end users will see a new application directory showing all apps (live and draft) that they have permission to access.
Can I reorder the applications in the sidebar?
Yes! To rearrange the order of the applications, user can navigate to Apps > Customize Navigation Bar. This will display a modal where users can add/remove/reorder applications from their side bar. To reorder, you can drag/drop the app icons, or use the arrows
Will my existing bookmarks and URLs still work?
Yes. Your existing bookmarks and saved URLs continue to work as expected. The App Sidebar changes how you navigate between apps, but has no impact on individual record, report, or page URLs.
Is the Application Navigation Bar available on mobile?
Not today. The sidebar is currently available in the desktop experience only. We're evaluating mobile navigation improvements for future releases.
Looking Ahead
We're planning several enhancements to the App Sidebar in future releases, including:
- The ability to pin draft apps to your Application Navigation Bar
- Increasing the cap from 10 apps to 20 apps
- Navigate to workflows, reports, jobs, within the context of the side panel
And so much more! We'll update this article as each capability ships.
If you want to share feedback on the App Sidebar, reach out to your Customer Success Manager or contact us at support@logicgate.com.