Is your gmail sidebar menu crashed and you need to show it?You’re not alone.
change is hard. but google seems to disagree…
I love that google is always working on new features and functionality for gmail, but every now and then a new feature or design comes along that makes me scratch my head.
the latest gmail update includes:
- helpful reminders (eg “received 3 days ago. reply?”)
- a sleek new design
- a snooze feature (you can choose a future date for the mail to reappear in your inbox)
- a collapsible sidebar
I have to say, as a professional who works from home and uses his personal email for business, I love the repeat feature.
but… a collapsed menu? why?
good. I guess I understand why.
people want to maximize their screen real estate.
nothing could go wrong with that. that is unless users are unclear on how to hide and show the sidebar.
That wouldn’t be fun at all. hmm.
so your gmail sidebar menu has crashed and you don’t know how to prevent the sidebar from crashing? If your left navigation pane is collapsed and only appears if you hover over it, I have the solution.
Here’s how to reveal your main menu for good:
- go to your gmail.
- click the main menu button.
is in the upper-left corner of the screen, above the compose button. these three horizontal lines are commonly known as a “burger” menu.
when you scroll, it says “main menu”. see the photo below.
This three line button will hide or show the main menu.
Hello, my friend.
when you hide the menu, gmail will always collapse the main menu by default and only show icons. you can hover over the smaller icons to display the full menu with text temporarily.
when you show the menu, it will always show the sidebar by default. this is my preferred configuration.
I prefer to have my menu without collapsing.
As much as I understand the desire to maximize screen space, my brain really can’t calculate those icons. there are too many menu items (Inbox, Featured, Postponed, Important, Sent, Drafts, Spam, Trash) for icons to be feasible for me.
Also, I actively use my folders/labels, so I like to see the navigation in all its glory.
it’s so simple to show/hide the menu, but it stumped me! the menu button is hidden from the naked eye.
Why didn’t I think of that?
If you are a user of the gmail app, you may be more familiar with the hamburger menu. in the app, you don’t see the menu at all unless you tap the menu icon on the left side of the search bar.
I think most of us are used to seeing hamburger menus on mobile devices, so maybe it’s the desktop context that throws us off. (You see, I’m assuming you’re here because you are/were just as stumped as I am.)
And when I looked up an answer, it seemed like I was in good company, so don’t give up. it’s so easy to accidentally click the button, perhaps targeting the frequently used compose button.
ux changes are probably the things that keep google developers up at night.
will people know how to collapse the menu?
Will people know how to display the menu?
the answer is maybe… but if not, there will be a tutorial for that.
but hey, there is good news.
If you don’t like the gmail sidebar, you can hide it… as you may have discovered if you found yourself here reading this article.
Sorry, my glass half full kicked in.
Next, check out my tips for organizing your gmail inbox. I’ve used gmail since it was in its testing phase (I think it was around 2004), so I know a thing or two about the platform.
I share my tips for using labels, automating your inbox with filters, changing the default classification of your incoming email, archiving emails, and using my favorite plugin.
what is my favorite plugin, you ask?
well, you’ll just have to read my tips and see for yourself. but I’ll tell you: bundle all your subscription emails into one easy-to-read daily digest.
what are you waiting for?