Sometimes, site admins need to make sure that all users see the same set of categories in their sidebar. Here’s how to do that:
Remove all the categories from default navigation menu categories and save. Make sure to apply the change historically when prompted.
Wait a few minutes.
Add all the categories you want to display to all users in default navigation menu categories. Again, make sure to apply the change historically when prompted.
Applying historically means applying this change to existing users as well as setting the default for those who will join in the future. You’ll need to click Yes when you see the following modal:
What’s the difference between removing the previous default and adding it in one step, or doing it in two steps with a pause in between?
I briefly thought this process would reset all personal customization. But based on my tests, that’s not the case. If a category wasn’t previously in the sidebar default setting and a user added it themselves, it won’t be removed just because the setting is cleared. Only what was previously configured in the setting is removed.
So, to make the sidebar the same for everyone, you would need to:
add all categories to the setting (and preferably not override this for everyone)
then remove all categories from the setting and override this for everyone
(wait a few minutes?)
add new categories and override this for everyone
Steps 2 and 4 need to be separated here because step one wasn’t applied for everyone. We could apply step one to everyone, so everyone has all categories in their sidebar, and after a few minutes, we remove all categories we don’t want in their sidebar, but that could result in a worse experience for a few minutes.
Are my tests, which show that the setting to clear manually added categories is not removed, incorrect? Is there another reason for the separation of the steps? I’d like to know so I can decide what information I might want to add to Configuring the default sidebar for your users.
