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Allow us to show/hide sidebar items on the website

Allow us to show/hide sidebar items on the website

Mawthra
Helpful | Level 6

I love new features, don't get me wrong, but not at the cost of them cluttering up the UI with features I rarely (or never) use. The sidebar on the web keeps growing with no way to tame it. How about implementing a Gmail-style menu system where you can bury menu items you don't want to see, but can still access if need-be... this way the UI can be more tuned to how an individual uses it?

Latest Update
Megan
Dropbox Staff
This idea has been passed along to the team for review.
Thanks for your suggestion and to everyone who has supported this idea so far!
Status changed to: Investigating
62 Comments
mleenheer
Explorer | Level 4

This is feedback on the web interface; I find the sidebars include a lot of blank space, which is not great when working in a window.  I would like the option to resize, minimize or even hide them.

If the window is maximized to full screen it's better, and I do see the responsive design if I really shrink the window, but the left side has so much empty and the right side is normally not used when I'm in a plain 'folder' (not a 'space').  The option to tuck it away would be great.

My 2¢ 🙂

wlpendley
Explorer | Level 4

As of February 2020, there is way too little screen space available for the user to view their actual files. 

Over 20% of the screen is eaten up by the Left Sidebar (Files, My File, Photos, Shared, File Requests, Deleted Files). Over 30% is wasted on the Right Sidebar (Upload files, Upload folder, New folder, New shared folder, Request files, Show deleted files, Rewind, ...)

There is currently no way to re-size or collapse or show/hide either of the offending Sidebars. This leaves us with less than 50% for the center pane where our actual files are displayed. The center pane is all we users care about 80% of the time.

This misguided design is especially punishing when we are working in "List" view. We can't tell one file from another because the filenames are truncated to a ridiculously few characters just so they can be squeezed into that tiny center pane! We use "List" view to quickly scan the files and know what filenames we are looking at. We do *not* want to hover over every truncated filename to see the full name, and then *try* to remember which file was which after the hover window closes.

The current three-pane view looks much like an Adobe Acrobat view, but at least Adobe allows us to hide the side panes, opening up the center screen for actual work.

Come on, Dropbox. I've been with you since 2006, but this flaw is painful enough to send me to one of your competitors if not fixed. 

File display is too small !File display is too small !

Daphne
Dropbox Staff
This idea is open. 
 
If you like this idea, please share how this would help you, and vote to show your support. 
 
Our top-voted ideas are shared with our product teams to investigate in our regular reviews.
Status changed to: Gathering Support
NE_Jessica
New member | Level 2

I find the lack of control over the large sidebars extreemly frustrating. File names are continually truncated as a result of the sidebar's inability to be hidden.

 

This issue has been requested for FIVE years!

Please, please make an update to include hiding/showing the right sidebar.

Thank you.

wlpendley
Explorer | Level 4

This problem has a relationship to the font scaling on the user's device.  Any users who need larger fonts scale up their default font size, and that makes the sidebar intrusion dramatically worse.  Young users with 20/20 vision can use factory default font scaling, and see enough of the center pane to live with the annoying sidebars,  But older users and anyone who needs to set the default fonts larger will hit the problem I illustrated above in February 2020.

My laptop has default font size set to 114% of normal. And you see the useless center pane that results from that. 

Paul S.18
Explorer | Level 4

Please either remove or allow the user to remove that right side bar panel. Takes up WAY too much space and I never use it! Please don't  make changes just for the sake of change. 

Thank you. 

vas
Explorer | Level 3

Ability to resize the sidebars is a much needed facility for me. This is simply not a cloud stroage facility for me. I need to read documents with ease.  To say the least, this is very frustrating. I know and it is widely held that Dropbox is painfully slow. After putting up with that, do we have to put up with a compromise on the reading/navigating ability? Is there a timeline to address this? You need at least to let the users know what your timeframe is so we can exercise our options. Thanks

Erica G
Explorer | Level 3

Currently, when you open a file via Dropbox web, the righthand sidebar showing the ability to comment and download the file automatically opens. This sidebar is huge, about 25% of the screen, and autmatically minimizes the item you're trying to view. My business does not use the comment feature, we have no need for it, so every time we open a file we have to hide that sidebar to see the file at full width. When minimized, the sidebar has easy to access to the exact same features with the benefit of taking up drastically less space. I would love to have the option to auto-hide the sidebar in my system preferences unless I choose to expand it, rather than the other way around.

 

I have to imagine there are other users in my posiiton that value the full width view of the file over the detailed (and space-hogging) view of the sidebar. 

 

Auto-expanded sidebar

Hidden sidebar (preferred) 

Sytze W.
Helpful | Level 5

In addition to minimize the left and right column (the right column could also be in top menu - maybe with just icons); 

I just filed with support the request to expand the view of the file name itself. It is the heart of why I have Dropbox: for files.
Presently my wide 13" MacBookPro has a screen width of almost Landscape A4 (29cm). And for the filename there's no more space than let's say 5-6 cm.
As a consequence the file name gets partially displayed and I need to hover over them in order to see what file it actually is. 
So my request is to have the full file name displayed.

WNW Distributors
Explorer | Level 3

The sidebar on the right is not only completely useless but it requires you to constantly hit minimize in order to view the pages.

What a nightmare. You have got to get rid of that thing! Whoever thought it was ok to take up 1/3 of the page?

This is ridiculous.

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132 votes received