Using the Sidebar

The Sidebar is a fundamental component of the user experience and serves as the place where all details for a specific project, object (Task, Shot, Sequence, Version, etc...), User, or List can be viewed in one place, enabling you to quickly find the information you need.

See the Sidebar in action.

The Sidebar interface

Clicking any object name link within the ftrack Studio interface will open the Sidebar, presenting you with all details related to that object - this could be a task, version, shot, episode, folder, project, user, etc.

For example, from the Tasks spreadsheet, clicking a task name link in the Tasks column, will open the Sidebar.

The Sidebar’s top section

1. In the center of the display, you’ll find essential object information such as thumbnail, name, type, status, due date, etc.

• To change the thumbnail, drag and drop a new image from your computer to the thumbnail space of the sidebar.

• The colored labels/chips under the thumbnail and object name highlight key information.

2. In the lower-right corner, you’ll find clickable tabs to help you quickly navigate to further details related to or linked to that object.

In order from left-to-right, these tabs display the following information:

• Notes: Displays all notes attached directly to the object being viewed, and will also "roll-up" any notes from child objects (for example: notes linked to a Task will display in the Notes tab for the Shot or Asset Build it is associated with).
• Tasks: Displays additional tasks related to the object being viewed.  For example: if viewing a Task, this tab will display the other Tasks that are linked to the same parent-object for reference.
• Versions: Displays all versions uploaded or published to the object being viewed.  Clicking on a version in this tab will open a Sidebar tab for that selected version.
• Links: Displays any objects that have been connected via Incoming or Outgoing Links to the object being viewed. Clicking on an object in this tab will open a Sidebar tab for that selected object.
• Activities: Displays selected activity that has occurred on the object being viewed, such as status changes, assignments, and notes written or completed.
• Information: Displays all available attributes, including custom attributes, for the object being viewed.  This information can be updated from this tab as well.

3. In the lower-left corner, there are buttons to play the latest version of that object, launch available Actions or Publish files using Connect.

4. In the upper-right corner, you can access a More dropdown menu by clicking the 3-dot icon.

5. You can hide or close the sidebar by clicking the 'x' button in the upper-left corner or pressing the Esc key.

Sidebar’s navigation

To simplify navigation, the sidebar includes:

• Collapsible top section - While scrolling down on the sidebar, the top section collapses, leaving more space for the information you are specifically looking for.
• Pop-up modal - Clicking on something in the sidebar opens a new pop-up modal window without closing the previous view. If you close it, you will still have the previous sidebar where you left it.

• A Docked mode allows the sidebar to appear alongside the currently viewed screen instead of overlaying it.

Configuring Attributes in the Tasks or Versions Tab

If you are using the List view option for the Tasks and/or Versions tabs within the Sidebar, clicking the gear menu will allow you to access additional Attributes or Custom attributes that can be added or removed from the view.

Once you have selected which attributes you would like to display, you can scroll horizontally to view them all, as well as re-size each column, and drag & drop to re-order them, similar to how attributes can be arranged on both the Tasks Spreadsheet and Versions page.