Create and Edit Ribbon Panels (Concept)

AutoCAD

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Customize Ribbon Panels and Tabs

Add or Switch Ribbon Panel Controls

Customize the User Interface > Customize Ribbon Panels and Tabs >

Create and Edit Ribbon Panels

Concept

Procedure

Quick Reference

By customizing ribbon panels, you can organize commands that you use frequently similar to toolbars. With ribbon panels, you can quickly access commands, and reduce the number of user interface elements that are displayed.

Show Me: Create a Ribbon Panel

Click the Play arrow below the following image to start the animation.

The following animation shows how to create a ribbon panel, add a row, and add commands to rows.

Ribbon panels are organized by rows, sub-panels, and panel separators. Rows and sub-panels are used to organize how commands and controls are displayed on the ribbon panel. A panel separator is automatically added to each ribbon panel and controls which rows are shown by default. Rows located below a panel separator are displayed only when a ribbon panel is expanded.

The following table describes the properties of the Draw - 2D ribbon panel as they appear in the Properties pane.

Properties for the 2D Draw Ribbon Panel
Properties Pane Item	Description	Example
Name	Name of the panel; does not appear in the user interface.	2D Draw
Display Text	Title of the panel; displayed when the ribbon is set to display titles or when a panel is floating.	Home
Description	Text used to describe the element; does not appear in the user interface and is optional.
Rows	Number of rows that are on the ribbon panel.	4
Aliases	Specifies the aliases for the panel. Click the […] button to open the Aliases dialog box. Each alias in the CUI file should be unique and is used to reference the panel programmatically.	ID_Draw
Element ID	Tag that uniquely identifies a panel.	UIDU_0003

A row, similar to a toolbar, determines the order and position that commands and controls appear on the ribbon panel. Rows run horizontally on a ribbon panel. If all the commands and controls cannot be displayed on the ribbon panel, a gray down arrow is displayed for expanding the ribbon panel. Rows can be divided using a sub-panel which, holds rows to order and position commands and controls.

The following table describes the properties for Sub-Panel 1of the Draw - 2D Draw ribbon panel as they appear in the Properties pane.

Properties for Sub-Panel 1 of the Draw - 2D Draw Ribbon Panel
Properties Pane Item	Description	Example
Name	Logical name assigned to the sub-panel; does not appear in the user interface and is optional.	Sub-Panel 1
Description	Text used to describe the element; does not appear in the user interface and is optional.
Rows	Number of rows that are on the sub-panel.	2
Collapse Large Images	Controls whether large images are collapsed when a sub-panel is resized. The values are Yes or No.	No
Element ID	Tag that uniquely identifies a panel section.	UIDU_0006

The following table describes the properties for Row 1 of Sub-Panel 1 of the Draw - 2D Draw ribbon panel as they appear in the Properties pane.

Properties for Row 1 of Sub-Panel 1 of the Draw - 2D Draw Ribbon Panel
Properties Pane Item	Description	Example
Name	Logical name assigned to the row; does not appear in the user interface and is optional.
Description	Text used to describe the element; does not appear in the user interface and is optional.
Element ID	Tag that uniquely identifies a panel section.	UIDU_0007

Commands and controls can be added to rows and sub-panels, you can remove the commands and controls that you use infrequently, and rearrange the order of commands and controls. Along with commands and controls, you can also create flyouts that contain multiple commands and only take up the space of a single command. In addition to using rows and sub-panels to organize commands, you can also use menu separators. Menu separators are used to add space or lines between commands and controls. There are three different styles of menu separators: line, space, and invisible.

The following table describes the properties for the Line command of Row 1on the Draw - 2D ribbon panel as they appear in the Properties pane.

Properties for the Line Command on Row 1 of the Draw - 2D Draw Ribbon Panel
Properties Pane Item	Description	Example
Name	Text used as the name and label of the command button; does appear in the user interface.	Line
Orientation	Controls the direction of the icon and label for the button. The values are Horizontal or Vertical.	Vertical
Size	Controls the size of the button. The values are Standard, Medium, or Large.	Large
Show Label	Controls whether a label is displayed for the button. The values are Yes or No.	Yes
Command Name	Text that contains the name of the command as it appears in the Command List pane.	Line
Description	Text used to describe the element; does not appear in the user interface.	Creates straight line segments
Extended Help File	Text that displays the file name and ID for the extended tooltip that is displayed when the cursor hovers over a toolbar or panel button.
Command Display Name	Text that contains the name of the command that is related to the command.	LINE
Macro	The command macro. It follows the standard macro syntax. NoteWhen you change the name of a macro, the name of its corresponding menu item or toolbar button does not change. You must change a menu item or toolbar button name by selecting it in the tree view.	^C^C_line
Tags	Keywords associated to a command. Tags provide an additional field to search when using the Search field in the menu browser.
Element ID	Tag that uniquely identifies a command.	UIDU_0005
Small Image	ID string of the small-image resource (16 × 16 bitmap). The string must include alphanumeric characters with no punctuation other than a hyphen (-) or an underscore (_). It can also be a user-defined bitmap. Click the […] button to open the Select Image File dialog box.	RCDATA_16_LINE
Large Image	ID string of the large-image resource (32 × 32 bitmap). If the specified bitmap is not 32 × 32, the program scales it to that size. The string must include alphanumeric characters with no punctuation other than a hyphen (-) or an underscore (_). It can also be a user-defined bitmap. Click the […] button to open the Select Image File dialog box.	RCDATA_32_LINE

Rows on ribbon panels, like toolbars, can contain flyouts that hold a number of commands and separators to help organize similar tools. A ribbon panel flyout is created in a different way then a flyout on a toolbar. Instead of the flyout referencing a toolbar, it is created like a sub-menu on a menu; it has many of the same properties as a toolbar flyout does.

The following table describes the properties for the Point flyout of Row 2 on the Draw - 2D ribbon panel as they appear in the Properties pane.

Properties for the Point Flyout on Row 2 of the Draw - 2D Draw Ribbon Panel
Properties Pane Item	Description	Example
Name	Logical name for the flyout; does not appear in the user interface.	Point
Description	Text used to describe the element; does not appear in the user interface.
Orientation	Controls the direction of the flyout. The values are Horizontal and Vertical.	Horizontal
Size	Controls the size of the button. The values are Standard, Medium, or Large.	Standard
Show Label	Controls whether a label is displayed for the flyout. The possible values are Yes or No.	No
Button Style	Controls whether the current command button is executed or the flyout is displayed when the button is clicked. The values are Execute or Expand. Execute runs the command associated with the button; Expand displays a popup menu with the commands of flyout.	Execute
Use Recent Command	Controls whether the last used button is set as the current button or not. The values are Yes or No.	Yes
Flyout Style	Controls if the text, icons, or a combination of both are displayed for commands on the flyout.	Icons and Text
Element ID	Tag that uniquely identifies a panel section.	UIDU_0049
Small Image	ID string of the small-image resource (16 × 16 bitmap). The string must include alphanumeric characters with no punctuation other than a hyphen (-) or an underscore (_). It can also be a user-defined bitmap. Click the […] button to open the Select Image File dialog box.	RCDATA_16_POINT
Large Image	ID string of the large-image resource (32 × 32 bitmap). If the specified bitmap is not 32 × 32, the program scales it to that size. The string must include alphanumeric characters with no punctuation other than a hyphen (-) or an underscore (_). It can also be a user-defined bitmap. Click the […] button to open the Select Image File dialog box.	RCDATA_16_POINT

Display Ribbon Panels on the Ribbon

The display of ribbon panels on the ribbon is done through ribbon tabs. Once a ribbon tab is created, a panel can then be added to it. Ribbon tabs are then added to a workspace, which controls which ribbon tabs are displayed on the ribbon. For more information on ribbon tabs, see Create and Edit Ribbon Tabs.

Associating Tool Palette Group with a Ribbon Panel

You can associate a tool palette group with a ribbon panel. Associating a tool palette group to a ribbon panel allows you to quickly access additional tools that are related to a ribbon panel and are defined on a tool palette. The association of a tool palette group to a ribbon panel is done from the ribbon. For more information about tool palettes and tool palette groups, see Customize Tool Palettes and Organize Tool Palettes.