Customizing the ribbon

The ribbon is composed of a series of tabs, which in turn are composed of panels. Ribbon panels are composed of rows with tools, controls and sub-panels.

Ribbon tabs control which ribbon panels are displayed on the ribbon.

To display a ribbon tab on the ribbon, you must add the tab to a workspace.

Creating a ribbon tab

  1. In the Customize dialog box, click the Ribbon tab.
  2. Do one of the following:
    • Expand a menu group, then right-click Ribbon tabs and choose Append ribbon tab in the context menu.

      The new ribbon tab will be added below the last existing ribbon tab.

    • Select an existing ribbon tab in a menu group, then right-click and choose Insert ribbon tab in the context menu.

      The new ribbon tab will be added above the selected ribbon tab.

    The Add ribbon tab dialog box appears.

  3. Define the ribbon tab:
    • Label: Name of the tab as displayed in the ribbon.
    • Title: Long name of the tab.
    • ID: Unique tag to identify the tab in the menu group. The ID is used to reference the ribbon tab programmatically.
  4. Click the OK button to create the ribbon tab.

Creating a ribbon panel

  1. In the Customize dialog box, click the Ribbon tab.
  2. Do one of the following:
    • Expand a menu group, then right-click Ribbon panels and choose Append ribbon panel in the context menu.

      The new ribbon panel will be added below the last existing ribbon panel.

    • Select an existing ribbon panel in a menu group, then right-click and choose Insert ribbon panel in the context menu.

      The new ribbon panel will be added above the selected ribbon panel.

    The Add ribbon panel dialog box appears.

  3. Define the ribbon panel:
    • Label: Name of the panel as displayed in the ribbon.
    • Title: Long name of the panel.
    • ID: Unique tag to identify the panel in the menu group. The ID is used to reference the ribbon panel programmatically.
  4. Click the OK button to create the ribbon panel.

Adding a ribbon panel to a tab

  1. In the Customize dialog box, click the Ribbon tab.
  2. Expand Ribbon tabs in a menu group.
  3. Do one of the following:
    • Right-click a ribbon tab and choose Append panel in the context menu.

      The ribbon panel will be added below the last existing ribbon panel.

    • Expand a ribbon tab, then right-click and choose Insert panel in the context menu.

      The ribbon panel will be added above the selected ribbon panel.

    The Select ribbon panel dialog box appears.

    All existing ribbon panels in the menu group are listed.

  4. Select a panel in the list, then double-click or click the OK button.

    The panel is added to the tab.

Adding a row to a panel

  1. In the Customize dialog box, click the Ribbon tab.
  2. Expand Ribbon panels in a menu group.
  3. Select a panel, then do one of the following:
    • Right-click and choose Append row in the context menu.

      The row will be added below the last existing row in the selected panel.

    • Select an existing row then right-click and choose Insert ribbon row in the context menu.

      The row will be added above the selected row.

Adding items to a row

When you right-click a row, the following options are available in a context menu:

  • Add row panel: Adds a subpanel containing three subpanel rows by default. You can then add one or more items to these rows and add/remove rows.
  • Add command button: See Adding tools to user interface controls.
  • Add split button: Adds a button to which you can add multiple items. Only the first item or the most recently used item is displayed.
  • Add toggle button: Adds a button to toggle a setting or an option. E.g. entity snaps or selection priorities. A toggle button indicates the state of the setting or option.
  • Add Separator: Adds a space between rows.

Defining the properties of an item

Select the item, then define the properties in the property grid in the bottom section of the Customize dialog box.

Repositioning items

To reposition any item in a panel or a row: select the item, then press and hold the left mouse button and move the item to the desired position. Release the mouse button to place the item.

Deleting items

Select the item, then right-click and choose Delete in the context menu.