Ch7.2-Controls for Programm 001-193819qk

This is the controll

1. Controls
CHAPTER 8.2

2. What you willlearninthis chapter
Content controls. These controls can contain nested elements, giving them nearly
unlimited display abilities. They include the Label, Button, and ToolTip classes.
Headeredcontent controls. These are content controls that allow you to add a
main section of content and a separate title portion. They are usually intended to
wrap larger blocks of user interface. They include the TabItem, GroupBox, and
Expander classes.
Text controls. This is the small set of controls that allow users to enter input. The text
controls support ordinary text (the TextBox), passwords (the PasswordBox).
List controls. These controls show collections of items in a list. They include the
ListBoxand ComboBoxclasses. Range-based controls. These controls have just one
thing in common: a Value property that can be set to any number in a prescribed
range. Examples include the Slider and ProgressBarclasses.
Date controls. This category includes two controls that allow users to select dates:
the Calendar and DatePicker.

3. What you willlearninthis chapter
ListView. The ListViewderives from the plain-vanilla ListBox. It adds support for
column-based display and the ability to switch quickly between different “views,”
or display modes, without requiring you to rebind the data and rebuild the list.
TreeView. The TreeViewis a hierarchical container, which means you can create a
multilayereddata display. For example, you could create a TreeViewthat shows
category groups in its first level and shows the related products under each
category node.
DataGrid. The DataGridis WPF’s most full-featured data display tool. It divides your
data into a grid of columns and rows, like the ListView, but has additional
formatting features (such as the ability to freeze columns and style individual rows),
and it supports in-place data editing.

4. What you willlearninthis chapter
Menus. They’re one of the oldest user interface controls, and they’ve changed
surprisingly little in the past two decades. WPF includes solid, straightforward
support for main menus and popup context menus.
Toolbars and status bars. They decorate the top and bottom of countless
applications—sometimes when they aren’t even needed. WPF supports both
controls with its customary flexibility, allowing you to insert virtually any control
inside. However, the WPF toolbars and status bars don’t have many frills. They
support overflow menus, but they don’t provide floating and docking capability.
Ribbons. With only a little more effort, you can add an Office-style ribbon to the
top of your application window. It requires a separate (free) download, but you’ll
get some valuable built-in features, such as configurable resizing. You’ll also get an
Office-style menu feature to match.

5. TheListViewisaspecializedlistclassthat’sdesignedfordisplayingdifferentviews
ofthesamedata.TheListViewisparticularlyusefulifyouneedtobuildamulticolumn
viewthatdisplaysseveralpiecesofinformationabouteachdataitem.
TheListViewderivesfromtheListBoxclassandextendsitwithasingledetail:the
Viewproperty.TheViewpropertyisyetanotherextensibilitypointforcreatingrichlist
displays.Ifyoudon’tsettheViewproperty,theListViewbehavesjustlikeitslesser-
poweredancestor,theListBox.
ViewpropertypointstoaninstanceofanyclassthatderivesfromViewBase
(whichisanabstractclass).TheViewBaseclassissurprisinglysimple;infact,it’slittle
morethanapackagethatbindstogethertwostyles.OnestyleappliestotheListView
control(andisreferencedbytheDefaultStyleKeyproperty),andtheotherstyle
appliestotheitemsintheListView(and isreferenced by
theZItemContainerDefaultStyleKey property). The DefaultStyleKey and
ItemContainerDefaultStyleKeypropertiesdon’tactuallyprovidethestyle;instead,
theyreturnaResourceKeyobjectthatpointstoit.
THE LISTVIEW

6. Viewpropertyisausefulabstractionofitsadvantages:
Reusableviews.TheListViewseparatesalltheview-specificdetailsintooneobject.
Thatmakesiteasiertocreateviewsthataredata-independentandcanbeused
onmorethanonelist.
Multipleviews.TheseparationbetweentheListViewcontrolandtheViewobjects
alsomakesiteasiertoswitchbetweenmultipleviewswiththesamelist.(For
example,youusethistechniqueinWindowsExplorertogetadifferentperspective
onyourfilesandfolders.)Youcouldbuildthesamefeaturebydynamically
changingtemplatesandstyles,butit’seasiertohavejustoneobjectthat
encapsulatesalltheviewdetails.
Betterorganization.Theviewobjectwrapstwostyles:onefortherootListView
controlandonethatappliestotheindividualitemsinthelist.Becausethesestyles
arepackagedtogether,it’sclearthatthesetwopiecesarerelatedandmayshare
certaindetailsandinterdependencies.Forexample,thismakesalotofsensefora
column-basedListView,becauseitneedstokeepitscolumnheadersandcolumn
datalinedup.
THE LISTVIEW

7. CreatingColumnswiththeGridView
TheGridViewisaclassthatderivesfromViewBaseand
representsalistviewwithmultiplecolumns.Itdefinethose
columnsbyaddingGridViewColumn objectstothe
GridView.Columnscollection.
Figure22-1showsastraightforwardexamplewiththree
columnsofinformationaboutaproduct.
THE LISTVIEW

8. CreatingColumnswiththeGridView
THE LISTVIEW

9. ResizingColumns
Formoremicromanaged controlover
columnsize,youcansetaspecificwidth
whenyoudeclarethecolumn:
THE LISTVIEW

10. CellTemplates
TheGridViewColumn.DisplayMemberBindingpropertyisn’ttheonlyoption
forshowingdatainacell.YourotherchoiceistheCellTemplateproperty,
whichtakesadatatemplate.Thisisexactlylikethedatatemplatesyou
learned,exceptitappliestojustonecolumn.Ifyou’reambitious,youcangive
eachcolumnitsowndatatemplate.
Celltemplatesareakeypieceofthepuzzlewhencustomizingthe
GridView.Onefeaturethattheyallowistextwrapping.Ordinarily,thetextina
columniswrappedinasingle-lineTextBlock.However,it’seasytochangethis
detailusingadatatemplateofyourowndevising:
THE LISTVIEW

11. CellTemplates
THE LISTVIEW

12. CreatingCustomView
IftheGridViewdoesn’tmeetyourneeds,youcancreateyourownviewtoextend
theListView’scapabilities.Unfortunately,it’sfarfromstraightforward.
Tounderstandtheproblem,youneedtoknowalittlemoreaboutthewayaview
works.Viewsdotheirworkbyoverridingtwoprotectedproperties:DefaultStyleKey
andItemContainerDefaultKeyStyle.Eachpropertyreturnsaspecializedobjectcalled
aResourceKey,whichpointstoastylethatyou’vedefinedinXAML.The
DefaultStyleKeypropertypointstothestylethatshouldbeappliedtoconfigurethe
overallListView.ThetemContainer.DefaultKeyStylepropertypointstothestylethat
shouldbeusedtoconfigureeachListViewItemintheListView.Althoughthesestyles
arefreetotweakanyproperty,theyusuallydotheirworkbyreplacingthe
ControlTemplatethat’susedfortheListViewandtheDataTemplatethat’susedfor
eachListViewItem.
THE LISTVIEW

13. CreatingCustomView
Thefollowingexampleshowsyouhowtocreateagridthatcanbeswitched
seamlesslyfromoneviewtoanother.Thegridbeginsinthefamiliarcolumn-
separatedviewbutalsosupportstwotiledimageviews,asshowninFigure22-3
andFigure22-4.
THE LISTVIEW

14. UsingtheListview
C#Code
XAMLCode
THE LISTVIEW
<ListViewx:Name="lstView" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Height="153" VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="465">
<ListView.View>
<GridView>
<GridView.ColumnHeaderContextMenu >
<ContextMenu/>
</GridView.ColumnHeaderContextMenu >
<GridViewColumnHeader="Firstname" Width="150" DisplayMemberBinding="{Binding Path=fName}"/>
<GridViewColumnHeader="Middlename" Width="150" DisplayMemberBinding="{Binding Path=mName}"/>
<GridViewColumnHeader="Lastname" Width="150" DisplayMemberBinding="{Binding Path=lName}"/>
<GridViewColumnHeader="Extension" Width="50" DisplayMemberBinding="{Binding Path=eName}"/>
</GridView>
</ListView.View>
</ListView>
private void button_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgse) {
List<Person> items = new List<Person>();
items.Add(new Person() { fName= firstnameTextBox.Text ,
mName= middlenameTextBox.Text ,
lName= lastnameTextBox.Text ,
eName= extensionnameTextBox.Text});
lstView.Items.Add(items); }
public class Person {
public string fName{ get; set; }
public string mName{ get; set; }
public string lName{ get; set; }
public string eName{ get; set; } }

15. UsingtheListview
THE LISTVIEW

16. TheTreeViewisaWindowsstaple,andit’sacommoningredient
ineverythingfromtheWindowsExplorerfilebrowsertothe.NET
helplibrary.WPF’simplementationoftheTreeViewisimpressive,
becauseithasfullsupportfordatabinding.
TheTreeViewis,atitsheart,aspecializedItemsControlthathosts
TreeViewItemobjects.ButunliketheListViewItem,theTreeViewItem
isnotacontentcontrol.Instead,eachTreeViewItemisaseparate
ItemsControl,withtheabilitytoholdmoreTreeViewItemobjects.
Thisflexibilityallowsyoutocreateadeeplylayereddatadisplay.
THE TREEVIEW

17. Here’stheskeletonofaverybasicTreeView,whichisdeclared
entirelyinXAMLmarkup:
THE TREEVIEW

18. Here’stheskeletonofaverybasicTreeView,whichisdeclared
entirelyinproperties:
THE TREEVIEW

19. BindingaDataSettoaTreeView
YoucanalsouseaTreeViewtoshowamultilayeredDataSet—onethathas
relationshipslinkingoneDataTabletoanother.
Forexample,here’sacoderoutinethatcreatesaDataSet,fillsitwitha
tableofproductsandaseparatetableofcategories,andlinksthetwotables
togetherwithaDataRelationobject:
THE TREEVIEW

20. DataGridisadata-displaycontrolthattakestheinformationfroma
collectionofobjectsandrendersitinagridofrowsandcells.Eachrow
correspondstoaseparateobject,andeachcolumncorrespondstoa
propertyinthatobject.
TheDataGridaddsmuch-neededversatilityfordealingwithdatainWPF.Its
column-basedmodelgivesitremarkableformattingflexibility.Itsselection
modelallowsyoutochoosewhetheruserscanselectarow,multiplerows,or
somecombinationofcells.Itseditingsupportispowerfulenoughthatyoucan
usetheDataGridasanall-in-onedataeditorforsimpleandcomplexdata.
THE DATAGRID

21. Tocreateaquick-and-dirtyDataGrid,youcanuseautomaticcolumn
generation.Todoso,youneedtosettheAutoGenerateColumns propertyto
true(whichisthedefaultvalue):
THE DATAGRID
<DataGridx:Name="gridPerson" AutoGenerateColumns="True">
</DataGrid>

22. Tocreateaquick-and-dirtyDataGrid,youcanuseautomaticcolumn
generation.Todoso,youneedtosettheAutoGenerateColumns propertyto
true(whichisthedefaultvalue):
XAMLCode
C#Code
THE DATAGRID
private void Window Loaded(object sender, RoutedEventArgse)
{
PersonalInformationDataSetTableAdapters.Person_tabTableAdapter pA;
pA= new PersonalInformationDataSetTableAdapters.Person_tabTableAdapter ();
PersonalInformationDataSet.Person_tabDataTablepT;
pT= new PersonalInformationDataSet.Person_tabDataTable();
pA.Fill(pT);
dtgPersonInfo.DataContext= pT;
}
DataGridName=“dtgPersonInfo" AutoGenerateColumns="True"
ItemsSource="{Binding}" Grid.ColumnSpan="4" Margin="0,45,0,-205" Grid.Row="2"/>

23. WPFprovidestwomenucontrols:Menu(formainmenus)and
ContextMenu(forpopupmenusthatareattachedtoother
elements).LikealltheWPFclasses,WPFperformstherenderingfor
theMenuandContextMenucontrols.Thatmeansthesecontrols
aren’tsimpleWin32wrappers,andtheyhavetheflexibilitytobe
usedinsomeunusualways.
MENUS

24. TheMenuClass
WPFdoesn’tmakeanyassumption
aboutwhereastand-alonemenushould
beplaced.Ordinarily,you’lldockitat
thetopofyourwindowusinga
DockPanelorthetoprowofaGrid,and
you’llstretchitacrosstheentirewidthof
yourwindow.However,youcanplacea
menuanywhere,evenalongsideother
controls(asshowninFigure25-1).
Furthermore,youcanaddasmany
menusinawindowasyouwant.
Althoughitmightnotmakemuchsense,
youhavetheabilitytostackmenubars
orscatterthemthroughoutyouruser
interface.
MENUS

25. MenuItems
MenusarecomposedofMenuItem
objectsandSeparatorobjects.The
MenuItem classderivesfrom
HeaderedItemsControl, because
eachmenuitemhasaheader(which
containsthetextforthatitem)and
canholdacollectionofMenuItem
objects(whichrepresentsasubmenu).
TheSeparatorsimplydisplaysa
horizontallineseparatingmenuitems.
Here’s a straightforward
combinationofMenuItemobjectsthat
createstherudimentarymenu
structureshowninFigure25-3:
MENUS
Setting menu item in
XAML

26. MenuItems
MENUS
Setting menu item in
Properties

27. Toolbarsandstatusbarsaretwowell-wornstaplesofthe
Windowsworld.Botharespecializedcontainersthatholda
collectionofitems.Traditionally,atoolbarholdsbuttons,anda
statusbarconsistsprimarilyoftextandothernoninteractive
indicators(likeaprogressbar).However,bothtoolbarsandstatus
barsareusedwithavarietyofdifferentcontrols.
InWindowsForms,toolbarsandstatusbarshavetheirown
contentmodel.Althoughit’sstillpossibletoplacearbitrarycontrols
insideatoolbarandstatusbarusingawrapper,theprocessisn’t
seamless.TheWPFtoolbarandstatusbardon’thavethislimitation.
TheysupporttheWPFcontentmodel,allowingyoutoaddany
elementtoatoolbarorstatusbarandgivingyouunparalleled
flexibility.
TOOLBARS AND STATUS BARS

28. TheToolbar
AtypicalWPFToolBarisfilledwithButton,ComboBox,CheckBox,RadioButton,and
Separatorobjects.Becausetheseelementsareallcontentcontrols(exceptforthe
Separator),youcanplacetextandimagecontentinside.Althoughyoucanuse
otherelements,suchasLabelandImagetoputnoninteractiveelementsintothe
ToolBar,theeffectisoftenconfusing.
Todemonstratewhatthislookslike,considerthesimplemarkupshownhere:
TOOLBARS AND STATUS BARS
Figure 25-5 shows this toolbar in action, with two CheckBox
controls in the checked state and the drop-down list on
display.

29. TheToolbar
TodemonstrateinDesignershownhere:
TOOLBARS AND STATUS BARS

30. TheToolbarTray
TheToolBarTraymakesiteasierfortoolbarstosharethesame
row,orband.YoucanconfiguretheToolBarTraysothattoolbars
shareaband,whileothersareplacedonotherbands.The
ToolBarTrayprovidestheshadedbackgroundbehindtheentire
ToolBararea.Butmostimportant,theToolBarTrayaddssupportfor
toolbardrag-and-dropfunctionality.Unlessyousetthe
ToolBarTray.IsLockedpropertytotrue,theusercanrearrangeyour
toolbarsinaToolBartraybyclickingthegripattheleftside.
Toolbarscanberepositionedinthesamebandormovedtoa
differentband.
TOOLBARS AND STATUS BARS

31. TheToolbarTray
Here’ssomesamplemarkupthatcreatesseveraltoolbarsinaToolBarTray.
Figure25-7showstheresult
TOOLBARS AND STATUS BARS

32. TheToolbarTray
Here’ssomesampledesignerthatcreatesseveraltoolbarsinaToolBarTray.Figure25-7
showstheresult
TOOLBARS AND STATUS BARS

33. TheStatusbar
TheStatusBardoesn’tworkverywellifyouwanttouseoneof
theButtonBase-derivedelementsortheComboBox.Itdoesn’t
overridethestylesofanyofthesecontrols,sotheylookoutof
placeinthestatusbar.Ifyouneedtocreateastatusbarthat
includesthesecontrols,youmightconsiderdockinganordinary
ToolBarcontroltothebottomofyourwindow.It’sprobablyasa
resultofthisgenerallackoffeaturesthattheStatusBarisfoundin
theSystem.Windows.Controls.Primitivesnamespaceratherthanin
themoremainstreamSystem.Windows.Controlsnamespacewhere
theToolBarcontrolexists.
TOOLBARS AND STATUS BARS

34. TheStatusbar
Onewaytogetproportionallyorright-aligneditemsistouseaGridforyourlayout
container.TheonlytrickisthatyoumustwrapthechildelementinaStatusBarItem
objectinordertosettheGrid.Columnpropertyappropriately.Here’sanexamplethat
usesaGridtoplaceoneTextBlockontheleftsideofaStatusBarandanotheronthe
rightside:
TOOLBARS AND STATUS BARS

35. TheStatusbar
Settingindesigner.
TOOLBARS AND STATUS BARS

36. Withtheribbon,Microsoftfounditselffacedwithafamiliardilemma.To
improvetheproductivityandconsistencyofallWindowsapplications,
Microsoftwantedtoencourageeveryapplicationtoadopttheribbon.But
becauseMicrosoftalsowantedtokeepitscompetitiveedge,itwasn’tina
rushtoreleasetheAPIsthatwouldmakethatpossible.Afterall,Microsoftspent
thousandsofhoursofresearchanddevelopmentinperfectingitsversionof
theribbon,soit’snosurprisethatthecompanytookafewyearstoenjoythe
result.
Fortunately,thewaithasended,andMicrosofthasnowmadeaversionof
theribbonavailabletoWPFdevelopers.Thegoodnewsisthatit’scompletely
freeandrespectablyfull-featured,includingrichtooltips,drop-downbuttons,
dialoglaunchers,aquickaccesstoolbar,andconfigurableresizing.
RIBBONS

37. Theribboncontrolisn’tincludedwiththe.NETFramework.Instead,it’s
availableasaseparatedownload,whichisconsideredtobea“preview”
versionatthetimeofthiswriting.YoucandownloaditfromtheOfficeUI
Licensingwebsiteathttp://msdn.microsoft.com/officeui(lookfora“License
theOfficeUI”link).Don’tbeintimidatedabouttheterminology—licensing
simplymeansprovidingyourcontactinformationandacceptingaone-page
agreementthatstatesthatyouwillfollowtheOfficeUIdesignguidelines.(In
otherwords,Microsoftdoesn’twantyouusingtheribboncontrolifyouaren’t
usingitright.)Youcanfindribbonguidelinesandbestpracticesat
http://tinyurl.com/4dsbef.
Onceyou’vedownloadedtheribbon,you’llgetasinglecompiledclass
libraryassembly,namedRibbonControlsLibrary.dll.Tostartusingtheribbon,
addareferencetothislibraryinanyWPFapplication,andkeepreading.
RIBBONS

38. AddingtheRibbon
Aswithanycontrolthat’snotapartofthecoreWPFlibraries,youneedto
mapthecontrolassemblytoanXMLprefixbeforeyoucanuseit:
<Windowx:Class="RibbonTest.MainWindow"...xmlns:r=
"clr-namespace:Microsoft.Windows.Controls.Ribbon;assembly=RibbonControlsLibrary">
YoucanthenaddaninstanceoftheRibboncontrolanywhereinyour
window:
<r:Ribbon>
</r:Ribbon>
RIBBONS

39. AddingtheRibbon
TheRibbonControlsLibrary.dllassemblyaddressesthisissuebyincludingthe
RibbonWindow—aclassthatderivesfromWindowandintegratesmore
seamlesslywiththeribbon.Figure25-8comparesthedifference.
RIBBONS

40. AddingtheRibbon
Here’sabasicskeletonforacustomwindowthatderivesfrom
RibbonWindowandplacestheribbonatthetop,whilereservingthesecond
rowofaGridfortheactualwindowcontent.
RIBBONS

41. SylingtheRibbon
There’sonemoredetailtoconsiderbefore
youstartfillingtheribbonwithbuttons.
Ordinarily,theribbonisstyledtolooklikethe
ribboninWindows7applications(likePaint).
Thatmeanstheapplicationmenubuttonisa
squarethatsitsjustunderthewindowborder
andquickaccesstoolbar,andthebackground
oftheribbonblendsintothebackgroundofthe
windowframe.YourotherchoiceistouseOffice
2007styling,whichappliesamoredramatic
backgroundcolor,turnstheapplicationmenu
buttonintoalargecircle,andmovesituptothe
top-leftcornerofthewindow.Figure25-9shows
thedifference.
RIBBONS

42. Commands
Theribbonisbuiltaroundtheconceptofcommands.Thesecommands
powerallpartsoftheribbon,includingitsbuttons,theapplicationmenu,and
thequickaccesstoolbar.
UnlikeWPF’sstandardmenuandtoolbars,theribbondoesn’tallowyouto
interceptClickeventsfromitsconstituentcontrols.Instead,itforcesyoutouse
ahigher-leveldesignandtowiretheribboncontrolstocustomcommand
objects.
Tosupportthissystem,theribbonincludesanewclassthatderivesfrom
RoutedCommand ,calledRibbonCommand .Theadvantageofthisdesignis
thatitallowstheribbontosupplyrichercommand functionality.(Asyou
learnedinChapter9,WPF’sbasiccommand modelisprettymodest.)The
disadvantageofthisdesignisthatitmeansyoucan’tuseanycustomclasses
youmayhavealreadyderivedfromRoutedCommand withtheribbon.
RIBBONS

43. Commands
Table25-1liststhe
properties that the
RibbonCommand addsto
thebaseRoutedCommand .
RIBBONS

44. TheApplpicationMenu
Theeasiestwaytogetstartedwiththeribbonistofilltheapplicationmenu.
Theapplicationmenuisbasedontwostraightforwardclasses:
RibbonApplicationMenu(whichderivesfromMenuBase)andRibbonMenuItem
(whichderivesfromMenuItem).Thisestablishesapatternyou’llseethroughout
thissection—theribbontakesthebaseWPFcontrolclassandderivesmore
specializedversions.Fromapuristpointofview,thisisn’tideal.TheToolBarand
StatusBarhaveafarcleanermodel,becausethey’reabletoworkwith
standardWPFcontrols,whichtheysimplyrestyle.
RIBBONS

45. TheApplpicationMenu
Tocreateamenu,youcreateanewRibbonApplicationMenuobjectand
usethattosettheRibbon.ApplicationMenuproperty.Asyouprobablyalready
expect,theRibbonApplicationMenu includesacollectionof
RibbonApplicationMenuItem objects,eachofwhichrepresentsaseparate
clickablemenuitem.
Here’sabasicexampleoutlinethatcreatesanapplicationmenuwiththree
menuitems:
RIBBONS

46. TheApplpicationMenu
Toconfigureeachcommand, you
simply need to supply a
RibbonCommand object.Thisobject
specifiesthemenutext(throughthe
LabelTitleproperty),anoptionaltooltip
(using the ToolTipTitle,
ToolTipDescription,andsoon),an
optionalimage(LargeImageSource),
andtheeventhandlerthatshouldbe
triggeredwhenthemenuitemisclicked
(Executed).AsyoulearnedinChapter
9,youcanalsohandletheCanExecute
eventtoconfigurewhether a
command shouldbeenabledor
disabled.
Here’sanexamplethatfillsinthe
threecommands (butleavesoutthe
optionaltooltipproperties):
RIBBONS

47. TheApplpicationMenu
The top-levelRibbonApplicationMenu
objectalsoneedsaRibbonCommand object,
eventhoughitisn’tusedtotriggeracommand!
That’sbecauseafewoftheotherproperties,
suchasthetooltippropertiesandtheimage
properties(whichsettheimagethatappearsin
theapplicationmenubutton).Ifyou’reusing
thedefaultWindows7style,youneedtosetthe
SmallImageproperty,whiletheOffice2007
styleshavealargeapplicationbuttonand
needtohavetheLargeImageSourceproperty.
It’salsoworthnotingthatany
RibbonApplicationMenuItem canholdmore
RibbonApplicationMenuItemobjectstocreate
asubmenu.Thesubmenuisdisplayedinthe
secondcolumnofthemenu,asshowninFigure
25-10.
RIBBONS

48. TheApplpicationMenu
Whencreatingasubmenu,youcansettheRibbonCommand .LabelTitleproperty
ofthecontainingRibbonApplicationMenuItemobjecttoaddatitlethatwillbeshown
overthesubmenu,asinFigure25-10.Here’sthemarkupyouneed:
RIBBONS

49. Tabs,GroupsandButtons
Theribbonusesthesamemodeltofillits
toolbartabsasitdoestofillitsapplication
menu,justwithafewextralayers.
First,theribbonholdsacollectionoftabs.
Inturn,eachtabholdsoneormoregroups,
whichisanoutlined,titled,boxlikesectionof
theribbon.Lastly,eachgroupholdsoneor
moreribboncontrols.Figure25-11showsthis
arrangement.
RIBBONS

50. RibbonSizing
Oneoftheribbon’smostremarkable
featuresisitsabilitytoresizeitselftofitthe
widthofthewindowbyreducingand
rearrangingthebuttonsineachgroups.
Figure25-12illustratesthisprocesswitha
ribbonthathasthreecopiesoftheFilegroup.
Thefirstisfullyexpanded,thesecondis
partiallycollapsed,andthesecondis
completelycollapsed.(It’sworthnotingthatin
ordertocreatethisexample,theribbonmust
beexplicitlyconfiguredtonotcollapsethe
firstgroup.Otherwise,itwillalwaystryto
partiallycollapseeverygroupbeforeitfully
collapsesanygroup.)
RIBBONS

51. RibbonSizing
Totakecontrolofgroupresizing,you
need to define multiple
RibbonGroupSizeDefinitionobjectsand
orderthemfromlargesttosmallestina
RibbonGroupSizeDefinitionCollection.Asthe
groupiscollapsed,theribboncanthen
switchfromonelayouttothenexttoreclaim
morespace,whilekeepingthelayoutyou
want(andensuringthatthecontrolsyou
thinkaremostimportantremainvisible).
Usually, you’ll place the
RibbonGroupSizeDefinitionCollectioninthe
Ribbon.Resourcessection,soyoucanreuse
thesamesequencesoftemplatesformore
thanonefour-buttongroup
RIBBONS

52. TheQuickAccessToolbar
Thefinalingredientthatyou’llconsiderintheribbonisthequick
accesstoolbar(orQAT).It’sanarrowstripofcommonlyused
buttonsthatsitseitherjustaboveorjustbelowtherestofthe
ribbon,dependingonuserselection.
TheQATisrepresentedbytheQuickAccessToolBarobject,which
holdsaseriesofRibbonButtonobjects.Whendefiningthe
RibbonCommand fortheseobjects,youneedonlysupplythe
tooltiptextandsmallimage,becausetextlabelsandlargeimages
arenevershown.
RIBBONS

53. TheQuickAccessToolbar
TheonlynewdetailintheQATisthecustomizemenuthatappears
whenyouclickthedrop-downarrowoffthefarrightofit(Figure25-13).You
canusethismenutoletuserscustomizethecommandsthatappearinthe
QAT.Or,youcandisablethecustomizemenu bysetting
QuickAccessToolBar.CanUserCustomizetofalse.
RIBBONS