Drupal basics: Admin toolbar

The Admin Toolbar module is always one of the first modules I install on any Drupal site on which I work.

Introduction

The Admin Toolbar module enhances the default Drupal administration menu by transforming it into a user-friendly drop-down interface, providing quick access to all administrative pages.  Because it extends the core Toolbar module, it's lightweight and retains all existing Toolbar functionalities, such as Shortcuts and responsive design.

The value of this module to a content editor or site administrator should not be underestimated even though it rarely provides value to the end-user of a Drupal site because there is seldom any need for them to access the administration menu. The improvement in the User Experience (UX) for a content editor is huge, especially an infrequent user or one seeking rarely used functionality. Without the Admin Toolbar module such a user would have to wait for a page load with every click of the menu, whether searching for a particular unfamiliar page or a page that is a few levels deep in the menu, this can be frustratingly time-consuming.

Installation

Using Composer is the way of adding a module recommended by Drupal, so run the following from the command line:

composer require drupal/admin_toolbar

Enable the module from the command line with the command:

drush en admin_toolbar

Admin Toolbar Extra Tools

I also highly recommend enabling the sub-module Admin Toolbar Extra Tools:

drush en admin_toolbar_tools

This sub-modules provides a menu entry with links to useful administration tasks, e.g. flush caches, run cron, etc.

Conclusion

The Admin Toolbar module is an indispensible tool that significantly streamlines administrative tasks and improves content editor workflow.