A littlte bit background...
A Ribbon is a command bar that organizes a program's features into a series of tabs at the top of a window. Using a Ribbon increases discoverability of features and functions, enables quicker learning of the program as a whole, and makes users feel more in control of their experience with the program. A Ribbon can replace both the traditional menu bar and toolbars.
Ribbon tabs are composed of groups, which are a labeled set of closely related commands. In addition to tabs and groups, Ribbons consist of:
* An Application button, which presents a menu of commands that involve doing something to or with a document or workspace, such as file-related commands.
* A Quick Access Toolbar, which is a small, customizable toolbar that displays frequently used commands.
* Core tabs are the tabs that are always displayed.
* Contextual tabs, which are displayed only when a particular object type is selected. Tabs that are always displayed are called core tabs.
* A tab set is a collection of contextual tabs for a single object type. Because objects can have multiple types (for example, a header in a table that has a picture is three types), there can be multiple contextual tab sets displayed at a time.
* Modal tabs, which are core tabs displayed with a particular temporary mode, such as print preview.
* Galleries, which are lists of commands or options presented graphically. A results-based gallery illustrates the effect of the commands or options instead of the commands themselves. An in-Ribbon gallery is displayed within a Ribbon, as opposed to a pop-up window.
* Enhanced tooltips, which concisely explain their associated commands and give the shortcut keys. They may also include graphics and references to Help. Enhanced tooltips reduce the need for command-related Help.
* Dialog box launchers, which are buttons at the bottom of some groups that open dialog boxes containing features related to the group.
Ribbons were originally introduced with Microsoft Office 2007(Ribbons). For more information about how to apply a Ribbon to a program that currently uses traditional menus and toolbars, please contact us.
Before Convertion...
This is a classic Windows MFC application sample:
After Convertion...
It will look like this:
We will continue posting more details on this topic.