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You can add custom menu entries to the MainWP Dashboard navigation sidebar using PHP filters. This lets you create shortcuts to frequently used pages or integrate external tools.

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What You’ll Learn

  • How to add custom menu items to the navigation
  • How to control menu position
  • How to customize menu icons

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Prerequisites

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Add a Custom Menu Entry

1

Open Custom Dashboard

Navigate to the Custom Dashboard extension settings.
2

Add the PHP code

Go to the PHP tab and add the following code:
add_filter( 'mainwp_main_menu', 'mycustom_mainwp_main_menu', 10, 1 );
function mycustom_mainwp_main_menu( $left_menu ) {
    // Position of the menu item (0 = first, 1 = second, etc.)
    $index = 2;
    $sub_menu_after = array_splice( $left_menu['leftbar'], $index );

    $addition_item = array();

    $addition_item[] = 'Updates';                    // Menu item title
    $addition_item[] = 'mainwp_tab';                 // Parent key
    $addition_item[] = 'admin.php?page=UpdatesManage'; // URL or page slug
    $addition_item[] = 'updates_custom_id';          // HTML ID attribute
    $addition_item[] = '';                           // Icon class (optional)

    // Add the item to the leftbar array
    $left_menu['leftbar'][] = $addition_item;

    // Merge arrays to maintain menu order
    $left_menu['leftbar'] = array_merge( $left_menu['leftbar'], $sub_menu_after );

    return $left_menu;
}
Custom Dashboard extension PHP tab for adding menu code
3

Customize the values

Modify the $addition_item[] values for your needs:
ValueDescriptionExample
TitleText displayed in menu'My Custom Page'
Parent keyKeep as 'mainwp_tab''mainwp_tab'
URLPage URL or admin slug'admin.php?page=MyPage'
IDHTML element ID'my_custom_id'
IconFomantic UI icon class'chart bar'
4

Change position (optional)

Modify the $index value to control where the menu item appears:
  • 0 = First position
  • 1 = Second position
  • 2 = Third position
5

Save changes

Click Save Changes. The new menu entry appears immediately.MainWP navigation sidebar showing the new Updates menu entry

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Add an Icon

To add an icon, use a class from the Fomantic UI icon library: 
$addition_item[] = 'chart bar';  // Adds a bar chart icon
Common icon examples:
  • 'home' - Home icon
  • 'cog' - Settings gear
  • 'chart bar' - Bar chart
  • 'user' - User icon
  • 'envelope' - Email icon

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Self-Check Checklist

  • Custom Dashboard extension installed
  • PHP code added to PHP tab
  • Menu title and URL customized
  • Position index set correctly
  • Changes saved
  • New menu entry visible in navigation