Organize an app with submenus

A submenu gives an app one extra level of navigation. A top-level module can hold its own forms or case list and also open related child modules. App home stays short, while the child workflows remain separate and easy to name.

Nova supports one submenu level. A child cannot contain another child, and a top-level module that already has children cannot move under another module. This is the same menu shape CommCare HQ can author and maintain.

Add or move a submenu

Use the app tree to add a submenu under an eligible top-level module. To move an existing module, open its actions or Menu placement in module settings, then choose a top-level destination. Make top-level returns a child to app home.

Moving a module keeps the module, its forms, and its links intact. Its address does not change, so an open form or settings screen stays selected while the breadcrumb updates to show the new path.

Every module still needs its own working content. A parent needs at least one form or a valid case list, and a child follows the same rule. Child menus do not turn an otherwise empty parent into a complete workflow.

A parent with only a case list can group child modules that use the same case type. To group a child with a different case type, make the parent form-bearing and give it a form so CommCare can keep both case selections distinct.

Nova will not remove a parent while it still has children. Move or remove those children first, then remove the parent.

What people see in Preview

App home shows top-level modules only. Opening a parent shows its own forms or a Cases entry alongside its child menus. Opening a child keeps the complete menu path in the breadcrumb.

If the parent starts by choosing cases, Preview returns to the parent menu after that choice so its child menus remain available. A child with the same case type can keep the selection when both modules choose one case, or both choose several cases and the child's maximum fits the complete set. A child with a different case type uses every selected parent to find the combined set of related children, then asks for its own selection.

Menu parents and case parents are different

A menu parent controls where a module appears. A case parent describes how two case types are related and which case someone selects first. Changing one does not change the other.

Selecting a parent first narrows existing child cases for followup and close forms. A basic registration form creates its primary case without storing that selected parent as a case relationship.

For example, Households > Visits can be a menu path even if both modules work with household cases. Or Clients > Referrals can be a menu path while the referral case type is a child of the client case type. Nova keeps the navigation path and the case relationship separate, then carries the right selected cases when the workflow opens.

Conditions and repeated views

A child is available only when its parent and the child itself are available. Give each module the condition that belongs to it. Nova combines the path while someone navigates, without copying the parent's condition into the child.

A form belongs to one module. Nova does not place one form under several menus. When several modules should show the same case data in different ways, use case-list filters and focused module design. When two workflows truly differ, give each one its own form so its purpose stays clear.

After-submit links can still open another module or form. Those links choose where to go after a form closes; they do not change the app's menu structure. See After submit for that workflow.