Instructional Support

Creating, editing, and activating your navigation bar

Customizing Navigation Bars

Notice: When creating custom navigation bars, you take responsibility for maintaining and updating system and tool links typically managed by Online Learning. This includes essential resources like tutoring links, help options, and tools such as Zoom. Please review the Quarterly Updates to see if any system links have been changed.

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 web sites or to tools that are not part of the default navigation bar. You cannot add all the tools on the navigation bar. Some tools are only available in widgets and on the minibar.

Before making changes to your navigation, please know that our students strongly prefer consistent navigation and layout in their courses.

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 course work.

  • Who is this for: Online Instructors
  • 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 the 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 mouse 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. 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 mouse 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.