Sidebar

Filevine Sidebar allows users to have quick conversations in a window that can be opened anywhere in Filevine. Save time by discussing your work all within Filevine.

Sidebar also includes SidebarAI, where you can ask questions about Filevine and receive project-specific information summaries and more. Learn more about SidebarAI.

• Sidebar Window
• Start a Sidebar
• Resolve
• Notifications

Sidebar Window

The Sidebar window appears in your header, next to your profile picture. Click the icon to open the Sidebar window. Click and drag to slide the window from side to side. Click the icon again to close the window.

Main Page

At the top of the main page, you have the option to create a new SidebarAI or Sidebar thread. Learn more about SidebarAI.

The main page of the Sidebar window also includes SidebarAI and the Sidebar list, where all Sidebars are listed in order of most recent activity. By default, active threads are listed. To include or filter for resolved (or closed) threads, click the Active filter. 

Click on a Sidebar in the Sidebar list to open it and view messages. Click the back arrow to return to the list. Resolved Sidebars are marked with the “Resolved” tag, which appears at the right of their listings on the main page, and at the top of the opened sidebar.

Sidebar notifications are customizable. New messages can be indicated by a badge, the Sidebar header color, an alert sound, and more. Read the subsequent section to learn about notification options.

Start a Sidebar

A new Sidebar typically starts with an artifact in Filevine. Sidebars can also be started from the Sidebar window, and artifacts can be added to already-existing sidebars.

What is an Artifact?

Artifacts are pieces of Filevine that can be connected with a Sidebar. Members of the Sidebar can then link to the artifact from the Sidebar for a quick reference. Multiple artifacts can be added to a single Sidebar.

The name of the project appears above the artifact in the Sidebar. Multiple artifacts are grouped by project.

Items in the user Feed, the Tasks list, and a project’s Activity feed can be added to a Sidebar as artifacts. Projects in their entirety can also be added as artifacts upon the creation of a new Sidebar. Artifacts can be added to an existing Sidebar, or used to create a new Sidebar.

Add an Artifact to a Sidebar

Navigate to the desired artifact in Filevine, in your Feed, your Task page, or the Activity feed of a project. Open the desired item and click Add to Sidebar to add the artifact. 

If you have an existing Sidebar open in the Sidebar window, the artifact will be added to that Sidebar. If you are on the main page of the Sidebar window, a new Sidebar will be created. 

You can also use tasks in the activity feed to quickly create a sidebar with you and the tasked user automatically added. When creating a task, select the Notify via new Sidebar option. `

Entire projects can be added as artifacts to a new Sidebar. Create a new Sidebar, add people, and then click the Add Project button at the bottom of the Sidebar. 

Set Up a Sidebar

If you are creating a new Sidebar, enter a topic or name for the Sidebar. The Sidebar topic can be edited at any point by clicking on it. Next, select users to add to the Sidebar. The list shows all users who share an Org with you. Begin typing to filter the list and choose one or more team members. 

Note: Users must have logged in since Sidebar was added to appear in this list. If you do not see a user’s name, they may not have logged in yet.

Once you’ve selected all users, click Add to Sidebar. Additional users can be added to the Sidebar later, and can see all messages in the Sidebar. Users cannot be removed once they’ve been added to a Sidebar.

Once you’ve added team members to the Sidebar, enter your message in the Write a message… box and click Save to begin the Sidebar.  

Artifacts appear at the top of the Sidebar, under the topic name. Click the artifact to be taken to it. If there are multiple artifacts in the Sidebar, hover over the “+#” to view additional artifacts.

Start a Sidebar From the Window

Sidebars can also be created from the Sidebar window. Open the Sidebar window and click New Sidebar at the top right to begin a new Sidebar. (You can also begin a SidebarAI thread here—learn more about SidebarAI.)

You can then enter a topic and select the users for the new Sidebar as usual. 

Add to a Sidebar

Once a Sidebar has been created, you can add people to it, add or remove artifacts, and create a note from the Sidebar.

Add People

If you’d like to add other users to this Sidebar, click the Sidebar and then click the ellipsis menu at the top. Select Add Person from the dropdown. 

Search for and select users from the list, and then click Add to Sidebar to add.

Add and Remove Artifacts

Multiple artifacts can be added to a Sidebar. To add an artifact to an existing Sidebar, open that Sidebar in the Sidebar window. Navigate to and open the desired artifact. Click the item to open it, and select Add to Sidebar. 

To remove an artifact, click the “x” beside it. All members of the Sidebar can add or remove artifacts. 

Create a Note or Task

Create a note or task from a Sidebar to record or mention information in a specific project. 

To create a note or task from a Sidebar, open the relevant Sidebar. Click on either the note icon or the checkmark icon in the bottom left corner. Select a project from the dropdown. 

For notes, add an additional message if desired. You can also use task shortcuts to create the item as a task, but prompts and formatting for usernames or dates will not appear.

For tasks, you can add an additional message and select the user the task should be assigned to. If desired, you can also select a due date for the task.

Click Post. A note or task will be created in the selected project’s Activity feed, noting that you created a Sidebar. 

Resolve

Once the topic of a Sidebar has been addressed, the Sidebar can be resolved or closed. Resolved Sidebars appear beneath open ones in the Sidebar list, and can not be reopened. Resolved sidebars appear in the Resolved section in the window’s main page. Resolved Sidebars are also marked with the “Resolved” tag, which appears at the right of their listings in the main page, and at the top of the opened sidebar.

Users can view all messages in a resolved Sidebar, but can no longer add new messages.

Notifications

Notifications can be turned off by clicking on the bell icon. When you click on the bell, the icon will turn orange with a strikethrough. When you close the Sidebar window, you will see a strikethrough bell instead of the usual Sidebar icon. Click on the bell again to turn notifications back on. 

If you click on the bell, notifications will remain off for the rest of the day. They will be turned back on the following day. 

Notification Preferences

Notifications for new messages can be customized. Click the setting cog icon in the Sidebar window header to open the notification options. 

You have the following options:

• unread count: when this option is selected, you will see the number of your unread Sidebars over the Sidebar icon
  

• pop-up: when this option is selected, you see the new message pop up briefly below the sidebar icon
  
  

• browser tab: when this option is selected, the browser tab text of any Filevine window will blink between the default tab text and the new message indication
• browser notifications: when this option is selected, and your browser notifications are turned on, you will receive browser notifications for Sidebar message
  
  • Your browser notifications must be turned on for this option. When you select this option, you will be asked to allow notifications.
    
• sound preferences: click and select from the dropdown to choose a notification sound
  

By default, all notification settings are turned on, except for the badge notification. Select or deselect the notification options and click Save except for the badge notification to update your notification settings.