About menus navigation and getting around
Every time you log in at EMDESK via https://app.emdesk.com/ you are forwarded to the Dashboard of your last active workspace.
The application interface consists of five main areas:
- Header bar — Tabs, version selector, reporting mode, notifications, and user menu
- Left sidebar menu — Workspace selection and main navigation
- Pinned tabs — Save and switch between views with filters
- Main workspace — Content area with data tables, charts, and tools
- Sidebar — Detail panel for creating and editing items
Header bar
The header bar runs along the top of the screen. It contains several controls, arranged from left to right:
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| Pinned tabs | Your saved view tabs appear on the left side of the header. See Pinned tabs below. |
| Version selector | Shows the currently selected plan version (e.g., "V3 — Actual"). Click to switch between plan versions or navigate to the Version Manager. Versions marked "Draft" are newer than the active version; versions marked "Idle" are older. |
| Reporting mode toggle | A switch to enable or disable reporting (implementation) mode for the project. When reporting mode is active, partners can submit expenses and status updates. Only project managers and admins can toggle this. Hover over it to see who last changed the setting and when. |
| Activity Stream | Click the stream icon to open the full Activity Stream view, which shows all recent changes across the project. |
| Help | Opens the HelpScout support beacon with context-relevant help articles for the page you are currently viewing. |
| Notifications | The bell icon shows a count of new notifications. Click to open a dropdown with the 5 most recent notifications. Each notification shows what changed, when, and links to the relevant item. Use "Mark all as seen" to clear, or "Show All" to go to the full Notifications page. |
| User avatar | Click your avatar to open the user menu. |
User menu
Click your avatar in the top-right corner to open the user menu. It shows your name, position, company, and email at the top, followed by these options:
| Menu item | Description |
|---|---|
| Profile | Manage your account settings — name, email, password, avatar, and preferences |
| Subscription and Billing | View and manage your subscription plan, billing details, and invoices |
| Help | Opens the EMDESK Help Center in a new tab |
| Provide Feedback | Share your thoughts and suggestions to help improve EMDESK |
| New Project | Launch the project setup wizard to create a new workspace |
| Logout | End your session and return to the login page |
Left sidebar menu
The left sidebar is your main navigation. It consists of three parts: the workspace selector at the top, the navigation menu in the middle, and the EMDESK logo and collapse button at the right.
Workspace selector
At the top of the sidebar, the workspace selector shows the short name of your current workspace. Click it to switch to a different workspace. All workspaces you are a member of are listed.
Navigation menu
The main menu lists all available sections of your project. The items shown depend on your access rights — you only see sections you have permission to access. Typical menu sections include:
| Section | Description |
|---|---|
| Dashboard | Projects overview with charts, starred items, and activity feed |
| Workplan | Projects, Activities like work packages and milestones, and deliverables (sub-menu with Table, Kanban and Gantt chart) |
| Participants | Sub-menu with Participants, Contacts, and Groups |
| Budget | Planned budget by project, activity, partner, and cost category |
| Expenses | Expenses and reported spending by project, activity, partner, and cost category |
| Analytics | Cross-tabulation tables for budget and effort analysis |
| Documents | File management with sub-menu: All, Attached, Recent, Public Links, Favorites, Trash |
| Tasks | Task management with All, Completed, and Trash views |
| Users | Access permissions for users, groups and guests |
| Settings > Versions | Manage plan versions and switch between them |
| Settings > Customization | Project-level configuration and customization |
Some menu items lead to sub-menus with further options. When inside a sub-menu, click the back arrow at the top to return to the main menu.
The currently active section is highlighted in the menu. When you navigate to a page, the menu automatically opens to the correct level.
Compact mode
Click the collapse button at the right of the menu to switch to compact mode, which shows only icons without labels. This gives you more space for the main workspace. The sidebar also collapses automatically when the browser window is narrower than 1200 pixels. Click the collapse button again to expand the menu back to full width. In compact mode, hover over an icon to see its label as a tooltip.
EMDESK logo
The EMDESK logo at the bottom of the sidebar always takes you back to the Dashboard when clicked.
Pinned tabs
The tab bar appears at the top of the screen (in the header area) and lets you save different views of your workspace for quick access. Tabs remember the page you were on, any filters you had applied, and your table settings.
How tabs work
- By default, you have one unpinned "home" tab that follows you as you navigate.
- Click the pin icon on a tab to pin it. Pinned tabs stay in the tab bar and preserve their state (page, filters, grid settings) when you switch away.
- Click a pinned tab to return to that exact view.
- Double-click a pinned tab to rename it with a custom label.
- You can have up to 8 pinned tabs. On the Free plan, the number of tabs is limited.
- Click the × button on a tab to close it. Closing a pinned tab will ask for confirmation since its saved state will be lost.
Pinned tabs are saved to your account and persist across sessions and devices.
Main workspace
The main workspace is the large area to the right of the sidebar menu. It displays the content of whichever section you have navigated to — data tables, charts, forms, settings pages, or document views.
Many sections display project data in different formats:
- Data tables — Sortable, filterable grids (e.g., Workplan table, Budget, Expenses, Participants). You can customise which columns are visible, reorder them, and adjust column widths.
- Gantt chart — Visual timeline of activities with dependency arrows and milestone markers
- Kanban board — Activities organised by status columns
- Charts and dashboards — Budget/expense comparisons, personnel expenditure graphs, analytics cross-tables
At the top of most pages, you will find a page header with the section title and action buttons (e.g., filters, view options, export). At the bottom or top right of list views, you typically find an "Add" and "Import" button to create new entries.
Sidebar
The Sidebar appears on the right side of the screen when you click on any element such as a project, activity, participant, budget, expense, or document. It is the primary place where you create, view, and edit items.
The Sidebar typically contains multiple tabs depending on the type of item:
- Edit — View and modify the item's properties and details
- Discussion — Comments and conversations about this item
- Documents — Files attached to this item
- Activity Stream — Change log for this specific item
- Access — Permission settings for this item
Click X in the sidebar or press Escape to close it. You can also click a different item to switch the sidebar to that item's details.