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Is there a Ribbon UI Control available in VS 2008? Will it be available if i have office 2007 installed on the development and deployment machines?


EDIT: I would imagine that Microsoft would include the Ribbon UI control in VS 2008 as this is the way the UI of office is going to be moving forward also for the sake of consistency in Windows applications

Matt Hamilton
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Developer
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9 Answers9

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Yes - it was included as part of the Visual Studio 2008 Service Pack 1 - at least for C++/MFC support anyhow.

See this similar question for more info.

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Stephen Doyle
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If you use Windows 7 / Vista, Microsoft provides Windows Ribbon Framework - a free ribbon control that comes with the operating system (In vista, check the platform update).

The main reason why to use the Windows Ribbon Framework: It's developed by Microsoft.

This means:

  • Since it’s the original one, it contains ALL the features, as opposed to other free/commercial ribbon controls which always have those "not implemented" sections.

  • It has COMPLETE support and integration with windows 7 UI & accessibility features. Just think about touch screen support or high DPI screens compatibility.

Also, there is a managed wrapper library named Windows Ribbon for WinForms which allows you to use the ribbon in .NET WinForms applications.

arik
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  • This is the best solution for .NET Forms applications. Even the official MFC & WPF ribbons controls from Microsoft are poor imitations of the Office ribbon that look and feel unnatural. For .NET Forms, the managed wrapper over the native Windows Ribbon is the best. For WPF, the Fluent Ribbon library is the best since it looks just like Office 2010/2013 and has a fully functioning backstage area etc. – Monstieur Apr 26 '13 at 04:25
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With regards to licencing, you'll want to check out the Microsoft Office UI licencing information, and acquire a royalty-free licence. There are specific stipulations you must adhere to, as well as recommended/best practices portions of the licence.

Jensen Harris notes that if you are writing an application which directly competes with a Microsoft productivity application that uses the ribbon (e.g. Word, PowerPoint, etc.), you will not be able to obtain a royalty-free licence.

Rob
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Beware, if you want to use ribbon controls, you need to get special permission by microsoft to do so. Most of the times it will be a formality unless your name is open office.

The information is presented at: http://msdn.microsoft.com/nl-nl/office/aa973809(en-us).aspx.

Toon Krijthe
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  • Does Microsoft hold some sort of patent on the ribbon UI? If not, what really stops you from writing your own ribbon control. – Kibbee Jan 05 '09 at 19:06
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    That is only of you are using *Microsofts* ribbon control from their *Office UI Framework*. There are many vendors who you can happily buy and use ribbon controls from, and you can most certainly write your own. Alot of ribbons do however use the Windows 7 Ribbon API or elements from it, or elements from the Office UI Framework, and *those* ribbons will require licensing because by using a single element, you must be licensed. If you write your own from scratch these rules don't apply. – David Anderson Feb 03 '12 at 20:50
  • The purpose of licensing the ability to create your own ribbon control is that you don't screw it up. They ask that if you create your own Ribbon that you follow certain usability guidelines; rather than making an ungodly mess that *happens* to look like a ribbon. The license document goes into excruciating detail about how the ribbon should behave when the window is resized, sizing, spacing, features, look, feel. They want people to agree that they will do a good job. The Windows Ribbon Framework takes care of all that, forcing you to have a good ribbon. – Ian Boyd Feb 19 '12 at 14:14
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There's a Ribbon control on Codeplex that you could try.

PhilPursglove
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Another possibility no-one has mentioned: You could use a WPF Ribbon control and host it in a Winforms WPF-container.

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BlueRaja - Danny Pflughoeft
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I'd say that DevComponent's DotNetBar is the best Office 2007/2010 ribbon around. The only problem is you have to buy it ($264 for single license, $299 for single license plus source code, and $2995 for single site license). Try the demo, it gives you a 28 day test drive (everything from the purchased software will for for only 28 days). Their current version is 8.8.

Reference

Bhavik Ambani
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Jsvnascar
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I find that the Telerik RadRibbon control is quite good, although a bit inflexible. It also is (and this is the main reason I am suggesting it) a VS2008 Express registration benefit (see MS Connect), but otherwise the Telerik website.

Lucas Jones
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There is this project. Unlike every other answer so far, it is very easy to use, is native Winforms, and supports Windows XP. Unfortunately, it is pretty buggy, and appears to be abandoned.

It was picked up by another developer here (who, for some inane reason, refuses to upload it to an online repository). It's a bit buggy in the designer, but appears to work well at runtime. I think this is your best option if you have to support XP, and don't want to use WPF.

BlueRaja - Danny Pflughoeft
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