MTS Sidebar Nav — User Guide

Give your SuiteCRM a personalized look. With this add-on you can:

• Turn the top menu into a tidy left sidebar (or keep the normal top bar).
• Pick your own colors for the menu, buttons, panels, lists, and more.
• Show different themes for different teams — e.g. Sales in blue, Support in green.
• Set one default theme for everyone (and for the login screen).
• Switch on a dark mode button.

No coding needed — everything is done from the admin screens.

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Getting started in 3 steps

1. Install the add-on (Admin → Module Loader).
2. Activate your license (enter your key).
3. Create a theme and (optionally) assign it to a team.

That’s it. The rest of this guide explains each step and the extra options.

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1. Install the add-on

1. Sign in as an Administrator.
2. Open Admin → Module Loader.
3. Click Choose File, select the add-on package (MTS_Theme_with_Sidebar_Menu_….zip), and click Upload.
4. In the list, find MTS Theme with Sidebar Menu and click Install.
5. Wait for it to finish.

When it’s done, you’ll see a new section in the Admin page: MTS Sidebar Navigation.

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2. Activate your license

You need to enter your license key once before themes will show.

1. Go to Admin → MTS Sidebar Navigation → Sidebar Nav License.
2. Paste your license key (from your purchase) into the field.
3. Click Validate.
4. When it says success, click Continue — you’ll land on the Sidebar Nav Themes page.

Until the license is activated, your CRM simply shows its normal default look. Nothing breaks — you just won’t see custom themes yet.

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3. Create your first theme

1. Go to Admin → MTS Sidebar Navigation → Sidebar Nav Themes.
2. Click Create.
3. Give it a Name (e.g. “Company Blue”) and leave Status as Active.
4. In the Theme Configuration area, change the colors you want. The sections are grouped (Sidebar & Navbar, Buttons, Panels, List View, Tabs, Inputs, Layout, Dark Mode).
   • Click a color box or type a hex code (like #1a73e8).
   • The Live Preview at the top updates as you go, so you can see the result instantly.
5. Click Save.

To see it on your CRM, refresh the page (F5).

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4. Make a theme the default (Global)

The Global theme is what everyone sees when they don’t have a team theme — and it’s also the theme used on the login screen.

1. Open a theme.
2. Tick Global.
3. Save.

Only one theme can be Global. If another theme was Global before, it’s automatically turned off (set to Inactive) — you’ll get a quick confirmation prompt when you tick the box.

Want everyone on the same look? Just create one theme, tick Global, and don’t assign it to any team.

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5. Give a team its own theme

You can assign a theme to one or more Security Groups (teams).

1. Open the theme.
2. In the Security Groups panel at the bottom, click Select and choose the team(s).
3. Make sure Status is Active.

Now members of that team see this theme; everyone else sees the Global (default) theme.

How it’s decided for each person: - If their team has a theme → they get the team theme. - Otherwise → they get the Global theme. - If there’s no Global theme either → they get the normal SuiteCRM look.

A person in two teams gets the theme of their primary team.

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6. Sidebar or top menu? (per theme)

In Theme Configuration → Layout there’s an Enable Sidebar menu switch:

• On → the menu becomes a left sidebar.
• Off → keeps SuiteCRM’s normal top menu, but still applies your chosen colors.

So you can mix and match — some teams on the sidebar, others on the classic top bar.

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7. Duplicate a theme (Clone)

Want a new theme similar to an existing one? Don’t edit the original — clone it:

1. Open a theme and click Clone.
2. A copy named “… (Copy)” opens, ready to edit.
3. Change what you like and save.

This is the safe way to make variations — the original (and your Global theme) stay untouched.

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8. Dark mode

In Theme Configuration → Dark Mode:

• Enable dark mode toggle — adds a sun/moon button to the top bar so users can switch.
• Default to dark mode — new users start in dark mode.

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9. Good to know

• Changes show after a page refresh. After you save a theme (or after logging in), press F5 to see it. Just clicking around inside the app may not update the look until you refresh.
• Logging out and back in as another user automatically switches to that user’s theme.
• The login screen remembers the last theme used on that computer; on a brand-new browser it shows the Global theme.
• Your themes are safe. They’re stored in your CRM database — clearing caches or repairs never deletes them, and you never have to re-enter colors.
• If a theme can’t load for any reason, the CRM safely falls back to the default look instead of breaking.

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10. Troubleshooting

What you see	What to check
No custom theme at all	Is the license activated? Is there an Active Global theme, or a theme on your team? Did you refresh (F5)?
Wrong theme for someone	Check their primary team and that an Active theme is assigned to it.
Login screen looks plain	Create an Active Global theme — the login screen uses the Global theme.
Colors changed but layout didn’t	The theme’s Enable Sidebar menu switch is Off (top menu kept on purpose).
My change isn’t showing	Refresh the page (F5).

If something still looks wrong after a refresh, contact your administrator.

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11. Example — a company with several branches

Acme Group shares one CRM across Head Office and three branches. Each branch wants its own brand color; Head Office and the login screen use the corporate look.

Team	Color	Menu
Head Office (default)	Navy	Sidebar
Hanoi Branch	Red	Sidebar
Da Nang Branch	Green	Sidebar
Saigon Branch	Orange	Top menu

How to set it up 1. Create the teams (Security Groups): Hanoi, Da Nang, Saigon. Add each branch’s users to their team. 2. Create a theme Acme Corporate (Navy), tick Global, save. → default + login screen. 3. Clone it → Acme Hanoi (Red) → assign team Hanoi. 4. Clone again → Acme Da Nang (Green) → assign Da Nang. 5. Clone again → Acme Saigon (Orange), turn Sidebar menu Off → assign Saigon.

Result (after each person refreshes): - Hanoi staff → Red sidebar · Da Nang → Green sidebar · Saigon → Orange top menu. - Head Office (no team theme) → Navy (Global). - Login screen → Navy (Global).

Everyday tips - Rebrand one branch → just edit that branch’s theme; others are unaffected. - Put a branch back on the corporate look → set its theme to Inactive (or remove the team from it). - Change the look for Head Office + login → edit the Acme Corporate (Global) theme.

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Quick reference

• Themes live in: Admin → MTS Sidebar Navigation → Sidebar Nav Themes
• License: Admin → MTS Sidebar Navigation → Sidebar Nav License
• Active = a theme can be used · Global = the default for everyone + login screen
• Refresh (F5) to see changes.

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For MTS SuiteCRM 8 Theme Editor

Configuration

Once the add-on is installed successfully go to Admin > Find to MTS SuiteCRM 8 Theme Editor License Configuration

Configure license

Click on MTS SuiteCRM 8 Theme Editor License Configuration to enter your license > Hit 'Save'

Create your theme

Go to Admin > MTS SuiteCRM 8 Theme Editor Settings

On Sidebar > Click on "Create MTS SuiteCRM 8 Theme Editor"

Change the color as your expected

Hit 'Save'

Deploy your theme

On theme detail view > Click on 'Actions' > Click 'Deploy/Re-deploy Theme' and waiting for the system process

Revert back to SuiteCRM 8 theme

As above screen > Click on 'Actions' > Click 'Revert back to SuiteCRM 8 Theme'

Go to User Guide to start config and use your theme