What you see before vs. after sign-in

Actualog has two UI modes:

  • Public UI (not signed in) You can browse public pages (for example, the landing page), change the interface language, and open Register / Login. There is no sidebar in this mode.

  • Workspace UI (signed in) After you sign in, Actualog becomes a full application workspace:

    • The Sidebar appears on the left and becomes the main way to reach pages.
    • The Navbar shows your user tools (notifications, settings, profile, etc.).
    • Some navigation items depend on your permissions (for example, Admin tools).

The navbar is always the “global control panel” of the app. It typically includes:

Use the search box to find entities and pages quickly. Search is designed to work across major object types (for example: categories, attributes, products, companies) and can be scoped using the dropdown next to the search field. This is a standard navigation pattern: a dedicated navigation surface for moving across an app’s major sections.

2) Language selector

The language dropdown changes the UI language (menus, labels, system texts). This does not automatically translate your data; it only changes the interface language.

3) Notifications (bell icon)

Shows important system events (invites, warnings, updates). If you see a badge number, you have unread notifications.

4) Messages / emails (envelope icon)

Shortcuts to message/email-related items (exact availability depends on your role and enabled features).

5) Settings / preferences (gear icon)

Opens quick access to personal preferences. Depending on your configuration, this may include:

  • Appearance (Dark / Light theme)
  • Language & localization
  • Other user-level preferences

6) Help (question mark icon, if enabled)

Opens Actualog help and UI reference topics.

7) User menu (avatar)

Your profile menu. Usually includes links like My Profile, My Languages, Notifications, Emails, Social links, Companies, and Change password.

Note: Navbar items can differ between public UI and signed-in UI, and also by role (Admin vs regular user).

The sidebar is the application’s main navigation tree. In Actualog it is organized into sections that match how people work:

  • Dashboard (your starting point)
  • Company Workspace (everything related to your current company)
  • Explore Communities (public/community navigation)
  • Settings (personal account settings)
  • Admin (only for admins)
  • Resources (pricing, blog, help, policies)

This is consistent with modern “left nav” application design: keep the major app areas always reachable from a single navigation surface.

Expand / collapse behavior

  • You can collapse groups (for example, Products, Catalogs, Categories) to keep the sidebar clean.
  • You can expand groups to reveal specific pages.
  • On smaller screens (or compact layouts), the sidebar can be collapsed and expanded using the menu button (“hamburger”). This follows standard responsive navbar/sidebar behavior. ([learn.microsoft.com][2])

“Company Workspace” vs “Explore Communities”

  • Company Workspace is your “private operational area” (your company data, imports, catalogs, users, billing, etc.).
  • Explore Communities is your “ecosystem / discovery area” (communities, community lists, summaries, shared structures).

A quick mental model for navigation

  • Use the Sidebar when you know where you want to go (structured navigation).

  • Use Search when you know what you want to find (entity-first navigation).

  • If something is missing, check:

    1. Are you signed in? (no sidebar in public mode)
    2. Are you in the correct company workspace?
    3. Do you have the required permissions?

If you want, I can also draft a matching UI Reference index structure (topics tree) that adds a “UI Fundamentals” group (Navbar, Sidebar, Search, Auto-translate, Layout & permissions) alongside the page-by-page topics—so the help library reads like a real product manual, not just a page list.