Ribbon Customization

§   Create a ribbon command

§   Define properties of the ribbon command

§   Create a drop-down menu for the command

§   Define properties of the command’s drop-down menu

Create a ribbon command

To add a <Ribbon> element:

§   Set the <Ribbon> element’s Show attribute to 1.

<Tool caption="Data Analysis" id="ACO009" Path="MyToolFolder\MyTool.html">

 

  <RibbonShow="1" Toggle="0"/>     

 

</Tool>

Define properties of the ribbon command

To determine basic properties of the ribbon command:

§   Set the following values:

·          Tool Name – To set the name of the tool as it should be displayed on the ribbon command and on the tool window, set the <Tool> element’s caption attribute.

·          Ribbon Tab – To set the ribbon tab in which the new ribbon command should be placed, set the <Category> child element under the <Ribbon> element.

·          Ribbon Group – To set the ribbon group in which the new ribbon command should be placed, set the <Panel> child element under the <Ribbon> element.

·          Command Tooltip – To set the tooltip that is displayed when placing the mouse cursor over the ribbon command, set the <ToolTip> child element under the <Ribbon> element.

·          Command Icon – To set an icon for the new ribbon command, set the <Icon> child element under the <Tool> element.

 

<Tool caption="Data Analysis" id="ACO009" Path="MyToolFolder\MyTool.html" NeedProject="0" >

  <Iconpath="MyAddon.ico"/>

 

  <RibbonShow="1" Toggle="0">

 

    <Category id="MyTabId" caption="My Tab"/>

    <Panel id="MyGroupId" caption="My Group" />

    <ToolTip title="My Tooltip" description="Tool for demonstrating add-on use"/>

 

  </Ribbon>

 

</Tool>

 

Create a drop-down menu for the command

Custom ribbon buttons can be created with drop-down menus that enable you to group several tools under one button, allowing better organization of customized tools and minimizing ribbon clutter.

To create a drop-down menu:

1.       Set the <Submenu> child element under the <Ribbon> element.

2.       For each of the drop-down menu options, create an <Item> child element under the <Submenu> element:

a.       Uniquely identify the command that is being added to the drop-down menu by setting the <Item> element’s id attribute.

b.       Define the path to the HTML page opened by the option by setting the <Item> element’s Path attribute.

c.       Set the name of the option as it should be displayed in the drop-down menu by setting the <Item> element’s Caption attribute. 

3.       If you want to create a sub-command icon and tooltip, set the <Tooltip> and <Icon> child elements under the <Item> element. 

 

<Tool caption="Data Analysis" id="ACO009" Path="MyToolFolder\MyTool.html" >

  <Iconpath="MyAddon.ico"/>

  <RibbonShow="1" Toggle="0">

 

    <Category id="MyTabId" caption="My Tab"/>

    <Panel id="MyGroupId" caption="My Group" />

    <ToolTip title="My Tooltip" description="Tool for demonstrating add-on use"/>

 

    <Submenu>

     

      <Item caption="My SubmenuOption" id="MySubId" Path="MySubmenuToolFolder\MySubmenuTool.html">

        <ToolTip title="My Tooltip" description="Tool for demonstrating submenu use"/>

        <Icon path="MySubmenuOption.ico"/>

      </Item>

 

    </Submenu>

 

  </Ribbon>

</Tool>

 

Define additional properties of the command’s drop-down menu

The tool’s ribbon command can be set to only open a drop-down menu, or alternatively, set with dual functionality, where clicking the bottom half of the button opens a drop-down menu with sub-options, while clicking the upper half activates the “main” tool option, which will also be listed first in the drop-down menu.

To determine button functionality:

§   Set the value of the <Ribbon>’s splitButton attribute:

·          splitButton = “0” - Button only opens a drop-down menu.

·          splitButton = “1” (Default) Button is split into two halves with the functionality described above.

To format the drop-down menu:

§   Use the <Submenu> child elements:

·          <Separator> - Creates horizontal divider lines in the drop-down menu.

·          <GroupTitle> - Creates headings in the drop-down menu.

 

<Tool caption="Data Analysis" id="ACO009" Path="MyToolFolder\MyTool.html">

 

  <Iconpath="MyAddon.ico"/>

  <RibbonShow="1" Toggle="0" splitButton="1">

 

    <Category id="AnalysisTools" caption="Graphs"/>

    <Panel id="MyGroupID" caption="Analysis" />

    <ToolTip title=“My Tooltip” description="Tool for demonstrating add-on use"/>

 

    <Submenu>

 

      <GroupTitle>MyGroup1</GroupTitle>

 

      <Item caption="My SubmenuOption1" id="MySubId1" Path="MySubmenuToolFolder\MySubmenuTool1.html">

        <ToolTip title="My Tooltip1" description="Tool for demonstrating submenu use"/>

        <Icon path="MySubmenuOption1.ico"/>

      </Item>

 

      <Separator></Separator>

 

      <Item caption="My SubmenuOption2" id="MySubId2" Path="MySubmenuToolFolder\MySubmenuTool2.html">

        <ToolTip title="My Tooltip2" description="Tool for demonstrating submenu use"/>

        <Icon path="MySubmenuOption2.ico"/>

      </Item>

 

      <GroupTitle>MyGroup2</GroupTitle>

 

      <Item caption="My SubmenuOption3" id="MySubId3" Path="MySubmenuToolFolder\MySubmenuTool3.html">

        <ToolTip title="My Tooltip3" description="Tool for demonstrating submenu use"/>

        <Icon path="MySubmenuOption3.ico"/>

      </Item>

 

    </Submenu>

 

  </Ribbon>

</Tool>