Is it possible to keep folders in the sidebar collapsed?

Question

Is it possible to keep folders in the sidebar collapsed, even when opening a project in that folder? We have over 80 projects at any given time and we have one folder for all active projects, as well as other folders for organizing projects based on their category. However, clicking on a project in any folder expands the folder and jumps you down to that project in the alphabetical list, and it's much harder to navigate to back to the main folders when I get dropped further down the sidebar and have to scroll back up to access the folder, pins, etc. Below is a screenshot of one of our folders expanded with all of our projects — blurred for privacy reasons!

Randi Fields · Answer

Thanks for the response, @Alexandra Torres!

To give a little more context on how we’re currently structured:

We came from Trello, where we primarily managed work in a Kanban-style view. Because Wrike doesn’t allow us to view projects in a Kanban board the same way, we decided to make each incoming request a project-level item rather than a task-level item. Which also means that we do not utilize the space overview as it does not populate project level items.

As a result, our “Active Projects” folder contains all active work and is where we manage projects day-to-day. At any given time, that folder may contain 80+ active projects. We use the different tabs/views within that folder as our primary working area, and use the statuses similar to how we previously used Trello boards.

Outside of that main Active Projects folder, we’ve created additional folders to group those same projects in other ways:

* Project Types* Campaigns
* Partner Projects
* Events
* Customer Stories

* Deliverables* Projects grouped by deliverable type needed

* Internal Projects* Non-creative or internal operational work

* Archived Projects* Completed work

So yes, the 80+ active projects span multiple request types, but those natural groupings already exist elsewhere in the folder structure. The “Active Projects” folder is primarily for visibility and day-to-day management, while the other folders provide alternate ways to organize and filter the same work.

The challenge is that whenever we click into a project from Active Projects or one of those grouping folders, the sidebar expands and jumps us down into the alphabetical list of projects. Since we move between these higher-level folders frequently, having to continually scroll back up to find Active Projects, Project Types, pinned folders, etc. becomes pretty disruptive.

Ideally, we’d love a way to either:

* Keep folders collapsed after opening a project
* Or have an option to open a project without automatically expanding its parent folder in the sidebar

Thank you!

Alexandra Torres · Answer

This is a really common pain point once the number of active projects grows and you’re not alone here.

Today, there isn’t a way to keep folders permanently collapsed in the sidebar. When you open a folder or project, Wrike will expand it, which can get disorienting fast when it contains a large volume of active work.

Before jumping to a specific workaround, I’m curious about how your work is structured today, since sidebar behavior tends to surface organizational scaling issues more than UI ones.

A few questions that might help narrow the best path forward:

* Do those ~80 active projects span multiple clients, teams, or request types?
* Is the “All Active Projects” folder meant mainly for visibility, or is it where work is actively managed day‑to‑day?
* Are there natural groupings (by client, program, request type, seasonality, etc.) that already exist outside the folder structure?

Once I understand that a bit better, it’ll be easier to recommend an approach that reduces navigation fatigue without adding overhead.