Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Creating, editing, and activating your navigation bar

You can add links to D2L Brightspace tools that you use in your class, such as Content, Quizzes, Assignments, Discussions, and Grades, to a navigation bar. You can also add links to content on other websites or to tools that are not part of the default navigation bar. You cannot add all the tools to the navigation bar. Some tools are only available in widgets and on the minibar.

Since the minibar contains links to My Home, courses, and user settings, the links on your navigation bar should primarily be tools that your students need to complete your coursework.

• What is required: A D2L Brightspace course and links to tools or resources not currently in the navbar

Create a custom navbar

1. Click Course Admin in your navbar.
2. Select Navigation and Themes.
3. Click the action menu next to one of the PCC navbar you want to copy, e.g., PCC Default Navbar.
4. Select Copy from your options. This will make a copy of that navbar for you to edit and customize.
5. Click the title of your custom navbar.
6. Adjust the name to something appropriate. e.g., Jim’s BA101 Navbar.
   • To add links to your navbar, click Add Links. Use the search box to find the link you want to add (e.g., Online Rooms), check the box next to it, and click the Add button.
   • To rearrange the order of your new navbar, hover over the button you want to move, left-click it, then drag and drop it into its new location.
   • To delete unwanted items from the navbar, hover over the button and click the X.
7. Click the Save and Close button.

Edit a custom navbar

1. Click Course Admin in your navbar.
2. Select Navigation and Themes.
3. Click the title of your custom navbar.
   • To add links to your navbar, click Add Links. Use the search box to find the link you want to add (e.g., Zoom), check the box next to it, and click the Add button.
   • To rearrange the order of your new navbar, hover over the button you want to move, left-click it, then drag and drop it into its new location.
   • To delete unwanted items from the navbar, hover over the button and click the X.
4. Click the Save and Close button.

Activate your custom navbar

1. Click Course Admin in your navbar.
2. Select Navigation and Themes.
3. Under the Create Navbar button at the top of the page, you will see a heading for Active Navbar.
4. Click the action menu by the title of the current navbar.
5. Select your custom navbar.
6. Click the Apply button.

Creating A Custom Link Group in the Navbar

Note: Current navbar link groups cannot be edited. We do not recommend doing this. The link group will only exist in your class, and you will need to update it if anything changes. If you wish to add or remove items in an existing link group, you can work with a copy of an existing link group or create a new one.

Edit an Existing Link Group

1. Go to Course Admin
2. Select Navigation and Themes
3. Select the Custom Links Tab.
4. In the Filter by area, click on the Groups tab
5. Locate the link group you want to edit, click on the drop-down next to it, and select Copy. 
6. A new custom link group will be created with the label [Custom Group] – Copy
7. Click on the copy of the Link Group to open the preferences.
8. Remove – Copy from the custom link group name and add a description that includes your name and course.
9. Remove existing links from the group by clicking on the X next to the activity link.
10. Add links by clicking the Add Existing Link or Create Link options.
11. Click Save.

Create a New Link Group

1. Go to Course Admin
2. Select Navigation and Themes.
3. Select the Custom Links tab
4. Select Create Link Group.
5. Type the name of the link group you want to customize (e.g., Coursework or Course Info). This is the name that will be displayed in the navbar.
6. Add a description that includes your name and course.
7. Add the link(s) that will appear in the link group drop-down menu:
   • Select Add Existing Link to select an area or tool in the course.
   • Select Create Link to create a custom link to an item in the course or an external page.
8. Repeat step 7 until all links have been added to the group.
9. Select Save.

Add the Custom Link Group to the Navbar

To add the group to the navbar, you will need to create a copy of the PCC Default Navbar and add the group to that copy:

1. Click Course Admin.
2. Select Navigation and Themes.
3. Click the drop-down arrow next to the PCC Default Navbar and select Copy.
4. Click on the copy of the navbar (labeled PCC Default Navbar – Copy)
5. Click Add Links
6. Click on the Custom Groups Tab
7. Locate your Custom Group, select the box next to the group, then click Add. The new group will be added to the navbar copy.
8. To rearrange the order of your new navbar, hover over the button you want to move, left-click with your mouse, and then drag and drop it into its new location.
9. Click the Save and Close button.

Add Panorama to a Custom Navbar

There are two methods for adding a link to the Panorama Accessibility Dashboard to your Navbar. You can add a link to Panorama or a Help dropdown that includes a Panorama link and is part of the new Default Navbar. The Help dropdown includes many helpful links for students and is the recommended option. The first steps are the same for both options:

First steps for both options:

1. Go to the course you want to change the Navbar in
2. Hover the mouse over the Navbar (notice the gray “more” button with three dots that appears when your mouse is over the Navbar)
3. Click the button with three dots on the right side of the navbar and select Customize This Navbar or Edit This Navbar (only one or the other should appear)
4. If you clicked Customize This Navbar, click the blue button that says “Yes! I’ll work with a copy of the navbar” to create a copy of the navbar. After clicking the button, close the notification that says the navbar has been copied and set as active.
   • Note: If you are using a custom navbar, you will see “Edit This Navbar” and will not see the pop-ups in Step 4.
5. Locate and click the gray Add Links button at the bottom of the Links section to open the Add Links pop-up and continue with one of the options below

Option 1: Adding the Help dropdown link

1. Use the Search bar in the Add Links pop-up window to search for “Help”
2. Optionally, use the Filter By: Custom Groups button under the search bar to narrow the results
3. Locate the option with the title “Help” and the description that says “Custom Help menu + Panorama”
4. Select the checkbox next to the Help link that matches the description above
5. Click the blue Add button at the bottom of the pop-up
6. Click the blue Save and Close button

Option 2: Adding the Panorama link

1. Use the Search bar in the Add Links pop-up window to search for “Panorama.”
2. Locate and select the checkbox next to the Panorama link
3. Click the blue Add button at the bottom of the pop-up.
4. Click the blue Save and Close button