Lightning Platform App Menu
The Lightning Platform App Menu is the set of app permissions that decides which Salesforce apps a user can select and switch between in Lightning Experience.
Definition
The Lightning Platform App Menu is the set of app permissions that decides which Salesforce apps a user can select and switch between in Lightning Experience. Salesforce builds the App Menu from "assigned app" settings on profiles and permission sets. Those settings specify the apps that users can select in the Lightning Platform app menu, so the menu is really a permission layer, not just a piece of header chrome.
Users see the result of the App Menu in two places. The app name dropdown near the navigation bar lets them switch the current app. The App Launcher (the grid icon on the left of the navigation bar) opens a fuller view of every app and item they can reach. Admins shape both surfaces from Setup under App Menu, where they set each app's visibility and drag rows to change the order. The same assigned-app rules feed the App Launcher, so getting App Menu permissions right is what controls a user's whole app-level navigation.
How the App Menu, the navigation bar dropdown, and the App Launcher fit together
App Menu permissions versus the surfaces users actually see
It helps to separate the permission layer from the UI that exposes it. The App Menu itself is configuration. Salesforce describes assigned app settings as the apps that users can select in the Lightning Platform app menu, and those settings live on profiles and permission sets. The two visible surfaces are the app name dropdown near the navigation bar and the App Launcher grid. Both read from the same assigned-app permissions, so a user never sees an app they lack access to in either spot. The app name dropdown is the fast switch for someone already inside an app. It swaps the current app, its tabs, and its branding without a full page reload. The App Launcher is the discovery surface. It shows All Apps (standard, custom, and connected apps an admin installed) plus All Items (home, objects, custom tab types, and more). When an admin says "fix the App Menu," the work usually means adjusting which apps are visible and in what order, then confirming the change shows up in both the dropdown and the App Launcher for the affected profiles.
Where you manage it in Setup
The central management page is Setup, App Menu, reachable by typing App Menu in the Quick Find box. The page lists every app in the org as a row. Each row has a visibility toggle, shown as Visible in App Launcher or Hidden in App Launcher, plus a handle for ordering. Admins drag rows up or down to set the order, and the change takes effect right away. The Customize Application permission is required to edit this page. There is a related path in modern orgs: App Manager (part of Setup) is where you create and edit the apps themselves, including Lightning apps and Classic apps. App Manager defines what an app contains, while the App Menu page controls which of those apps appear and in what sequence. Visibility per user is still governed by the assigned-app settings on that user's profile and any permission sets. So three Setup areas work together: App Manager builds the app, the App Menu page orders and shows it, and profiles or permission sets grant the access that puts it on a given user's menu.
Lightning apps and Classic apps in the same list
The App Menu can list two kinds of apps. A Lightning app is the modern unit. It bundles a navigation bar of items, branding such as a logo and color, an optional utility bar, and the Lightning pages that render inside it. You build and customize Lightning apps with the Lightning App Builder and App Manager. Classic apps are the older model from Salesforce Classic, with a simpler tab set and no Lightning utility bar. Most orgs created in recent years run on Lightning apps only, and Salesforce documents an upgrade path from Classic apps to Lightning apps. Both types can appear in the App Menu, but the experience differs. A Lightning app opens with its full Lightning Experience layout, while a Classic app reflects its older configuration. When you audit an org's App Menu, it is worth noting which rows are Classic holdovers. Retiring or upgrading them reduces clutter and keeps users from landing in an inconsistent interface. The App Menu does not change an app's type; it only decides whether that app is visible and where it sits in the order.
Profiles, permission sets, and the visible-only difference
Access to apps comes from two places, and they are not interchangeable. On a profile, you can both mark apps as visible and pick one Default app. On a permission set, you can only mark apps as visible. Salesforce is explicit that unlike profiles, you cannot assign a default app in permission sets; you can only specify whether apps are visible. This matters for org design. If you grant a specialized app (say a field service app) through a permission set, the app shows up on the user's menu, but the user's landing app still comes from their profile. The practical pattern is to keep broad, role-based app visibility on the profile and layer narrow, additive app access through permission sets. That way a single profile can serve many users, and exceptions ride on permission sets without cloning profiles. Assigned app settings apply in both Salesforce Classic and Lightning Experience and across editions from the lower tiers up through Unlimited, so the same permission model carries over if an org still has Classic users.
The Default app and what users land on
A Default app is the app a user opens the very first time they log in. You set it per profile under Custom App Settings (standard profile UI) or on the Assigned Apps page in the enhanced profile UI by choosing Default next to a Lightning app. The choice only governs that first login. After a user switches apps during a session and logs out, the next login returns them to the last app they used, not the profile default. That detail surprises admins who expect the default to pin every session. Picking sensible defaults is still one of the cheapest user-experience wins available. Sales reps should default into a Sales app, service agents into a Service app, and so on, so that day one starts in the right place. Because the default lives on the profile, new hires inherit it automatically without per-user setup. If you need a different starting app for a subset of users, that subset usually needs its own profile, since permission sets cannot carry a default.
Personalization, pinning, and connected apps
The App Menu sets the org-level baseline, and users can personalize on top of it. In the App Launcher, a user can drag app tiles to reorder them and sort the layout around the apps they use most. That personal order persists for that user and overrides the admin default sort for them, without changing what anyone else sees. The App Launcher opens in a quick view first, showing a search bar and the first apps in the list, with a View All option that expands to the complete grid. Search returns matching apps and items by name. Connected apps add a third category to the picture. These are third-party apps such as Gmail, Google Drive, and Microsoft 365 that an admin installs and that typically open in a new browser tab. A connected app appears in the App Launcher only when it is authorized for the user, has a start URL on its Manage Connected App page, and is marked visible in the App Menu. Treat the App Menu order as a guide rail: a thoughtful default helps new users, and personalization lets power users tune the rest.
Configure the App Menu and app order in Setup
Use the App Menu page to control which apps appear for users and the order they show in, then confirm visibility flows from the right profiles and permission sets.
- Open the App Menu page
From Setup, type App Menu in the Quick Find box and select App Menu. You need the Customize Application permission. The page lists every Lightning app and Classic app in the org as a row.
- Set each app's visibility
On each row, use the toggle to set Visible in App Launcher or Hidden in App Launcher. Hide apps that no one should discover, such as internal or retired apps, so the App Launcher stays focused.
- Reorder the apps
Drag rows up or down to set the default sequence. The change takes effect immediately and becomes the starting order users see in the App Launcher before any personal sorting.
- Grant access on profiles and permission sets
Make apps visible on the relevant profiles, and use permission sets for narrow, additive access. Remember a default app can be set only on a profile, never on a permission set.
- Verify as a user
Log in as an affected user (or use a sandbox test account) and check both the app name dropdown and the App Launcher. Confirm the right apps appear, in the right order, and that the default app loads on first login.
Per-row toggle on the App Menu page that shows or hides an app in the App Launcher grid.
The drag-to-reorder sequence that sets the default order of apps before users personalize their own.
Profile setting that marks apps as visible and lets you choose one Default app for first login.
Permission set setting that makes apps visible only; it cannot assign a default app.
- The default app only applies on a user's first login. After that, login returns them to the last app they used, not the profile default.
- Permission sets can make an app visible but cannot set it as the default; that subset of users needs its own profile if they require a different landing app.
- A connected app shows in the App Launcher only when it is authorized for the user, has a start URL, and is marked visible in the App Menu.
- User personalization in the App Launcher overrides your default sort order for that user, so test as a fresh user to see the true default sequence.
Prefer this walkthrough as its own page? How to Lightning Platform App Menu in Salesforce, step by step
Trust & references
Cross-checked against the following references.
Straight from the source - Salesforce's reference material on Lightning Platform App Menu.
- App Switching in Lightning ExperienceSalesforce
- Lightning Apps OverviewSalesforce
Hands-on resources to go deeper on Lightning Platform App Menu.
About the Author
Dipojjal Chakrabarti is a B2C Solution Architect with 29 Salesforce certifications and over 13 years in the Salesforce ecosystem. He runs salesforcedictionary.com to help admins, developers, architects, and cert/interview candidates sharpen their fundamentals. More about Dipojjal.
Test your knowledge
Q1. What does the Lightning Platform App Menu let users do in Lightning Experience?
Q2. Why does App Menu and App Launcher configuration matter for the user experience?
Q3. How is app visibility managed so different user populations see different apps in the launcher?
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