.. _Verawood New Studio Sidebar:

New Sidebar in Studio
#####################

Verawood introduces a new sidebar experience across Studio, bringing key
information, actions, and tools into a single panel that stays with you as you
work — on both the Course Outline and Unit pages.

The sidebar opens automatically and updates dynamically as you select items in
your course. Click a section, subsection, unit, or individual component, and
the sidebar instantly reflects the details of whatever you've selected.

.. figure:: /_images/release_notes/verawood/StudioSidebar_SectionInfo.png
   :align: center

   The Studio sidebar shows contextual details for the selected course item.

The sidebar is resizable — drag the left edge to give it more or less space,
and the main content area adjusts accordingly. Collapse it entirely when you
want more room, and expand it again in one click.

The sidebar has multiple distinct views you can switch between:

.. figure:: /_images/release_notes/verawood/StudioSidebar_Modes.png
   :align: center

   The sidebar can be switched between several modes.

- **Info** — an at-a-glance dashboard for the selected item. See content
  summaries (number of sections, subsections, units, or components), publish
  status, taxonomy alignment tags, release dates, grading type, visibility
  settings, and quick links to course settings — all without leaving the
  outline or unit page. On the unit page, a **Preview** tab also lets you see
  a rendered preview of any unit directly in the sidebar.

- **Add** — add new content or pull in existing library components without
  disrupting your flow. Choose from component types like Text, Video, Problem,
  and more, or switch to the **Add Existing** tab to search and browse library
  content, preview components before adding them, and drop them straight into
  your course.

- **Align** — apply and manage taxonomy tags and learning outcome alignments to
  any level of your course structure, from sections all the way down to
  individual components.

- **Help** — access the helpful information previously displayed beside the
  Course Outline page without leaving the sidebar.

- **Analytics** — if Aspects is enabled for your instance, access analytics
  about how learners are engaging with course material directly from the
  sidebar.

Items sourced from a library are clearly labelled as Library References in the
**Info** view, and the **Add** sidebar intelligently hides add controls when
you're viewing a library-referenced unit where direct edits aren't permitted.

.. figure:: /_images/release_notes/verawood/StudioSidebar_LibraryReference.png
   :align: center

   Library-sourced content is clearly identified in the sidebar.

A kebab menu on each selected item gives you access to contextual actions —
duplicate, delete, move, view in library, or unlink from library — right from
the sidebar.


.. seealso::

   :ref:`Verawood Product Notes` (reference)

   :ref:`Verawood Dev Notes` (reference)


**Maintenance chart**

+--------------+-------------------------------+----------------+--------------------------------+
| Review Date  | Working Group Reviewer        |   Release      |Test situation                  |
+--------------+-------------------------------+----------------+--------------------------------+
| 2026-07-30   | Product WG                    | Verawood       |   Pass                         |
+--------------+-------------------------------+----------------+--------------------------------+