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This restriction protects the UI layout and guards add-ins against conflicts with each other and future versions of Office. One thing they cannot do is alter the contents of built-in groups. RibbonX add-ins can alter the visibility of built-in groups and create their own custom groups. Groups Tabs contain sets of groups, which in turn contain individual UI controls. Tabsets contain contextual tabs, which otherwise behave the same way as regular tabs.Ħ. One feature not supported in the 2007 Office release is the creation of custom contextual tabsets. RibbonX add-ins can alter the visibility of built-in tabsets and add custom tabs to them. Contextual Tabsets When objects such as pictures or tables are selected inside the document, contextual tabsets appear and contain all the UI elements for dealing with those objects. RibbonX add-ins can create their own custom tabs and alter the visibility and labels of the built-in tabs.ĥ. Tabs The tabs make up the main content of the ribbon and contain UI controls that deal with the contents of the document at hand. Because it's meant to be the space that "belongs" to the end user, RibbonX add-ins are not usually allowed to alter the Quick Access Toolbar unless they have enabled StartFromScratch mode.Ĥ.
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Users can right-click on any ribbon control and add it to the Quick Access Toolbar (including custom RibbonX controls). Quick Access Toolbar This toolbar contains commonly used commands and is the main location for end-user customizations. RibbonX add-ins can freely alter the contents of the Office Menu (though they cannot customize the Office Button itself).ģ.
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The Office Menu contains commands that act on documents rather than on the contents of documents. Office Button This button drops the Office Menu, which is the rough equivalent of the File menu in previous releases of Office. RibbonX applies mainly to the ribbon and everything inside of it.Ģ. It contains the title bar, the Office Button, the Quick Access Toolbar, and the Tabs. Ribbon The large rectangular region above the document is known as the ribbon. Figure 1 shows Microsoft Office Word 2007 with each of the major UI components labeled.įigure 1** Elements of the New Word 2007 Interface **(Click the image for a larger view)ġ. Let's start by going over the basics of the new UI to ensure we're all on the same page. In moving away from the old UI, Microsoft is also leaving behind a lot of familiar terminology and replacing it with new and unfamiliar concepts. I'll go into all the details later in this article, but first there are a few things that seasoned Office developers may want to know about the new UI.
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RibbonX disentangles the design of the UI from the code behind it by using XML to specify its contents and structure, with a dynamic callback mechanism behind it. The new model is known as RibbonX and claims many of the same attributes of the new UI itself: ease of use, consistency, modernity, and predictability for end users. Much like the old toolbars and menus it extended, the CommandBars object model (available since Office 97) was difficult to use effectively. So you probably won't be surprised to hear that the extensibility model behind the UI is also completely new. If you've seen the 2007 Microsoft Office system, you will have noticed that the new Microsoft® Office user interface is radically different from that of previous Office releases.
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This article uses the following technologies:Ĭode download available at: RibbonX 2007_02.exe(201 KB) Extend The 2007 Office System With Your Own Ribbon Tabs And Controls
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