Ribbon and UI
The user interface around a TextControl is built from ready-made Windows Forms controls: a ribbon or a button bar for commands, mini toolbars and context menus at the mouse position, rulers, a status bar, sidebars with panels such as styles and comments, and dialog boxes for everything from fonts to tables. Once the first tutorials are done, the pages below go further: how each control is configured and customized, how you add commands of your own, and how the interface is themed, translated and mirrored for right-to-left languages.
How the Parts Fit Together
Every control works with one TextControl, and the connection is a property. The ruler bars, the status bar and the button bar are connected through properties of the TextControl, the ribbon through TextControl.Ribbon, and a sidebar through its own TextControl property. In the designer, Arrange Controls Automatically in the smart tag of the TextControl sets these connections for the controls on the form.
| Control | Namespace | What users do with it |
|---|---|---|
Ribbon with the predefined tabs, RibbonForm | TXTextControl.Windows.Forms.Ribbon | All commands of the editor, grouped in tabs, with an application menu and a Quick Access Toolbar |
ButtonBar | TXTextControl | Font and paragraph formatting in a single tool bar |
TextMiniToolbar, ObjectMiniToolbar | TXTextControl | Quick formatting next to the selection |
RulerBar, StatusBar | TXTextControl | Margins, indents and tabs; page, line and zoom information |
Sidebar | TXTextControl.Windows.Forms | Panels for find and replace, styles, comments, tracked changes, fields and document settings |
The ribbon and the button bar are alternatives: an application usually has one of them. The ribbon is part of the Enterprise and Professional editions, the button bar of all editions; see Editions and Feature Availability. Ribbon, Toolbars, Rulers, and Status Bar introduces each control.
Find the Right Page
| If you want to | Read |
|---|---|
| Know which ribbon tab contains which commands, and change or remove them | Built-in Ribbon Tabs |
| Add tabs, groups and buttons of your own, fill the application menu | Custom Tabs and Commands |
| Use a button bar instead of the ribbon, or show mini toolbars | Toolbars and Mini Toolbars |
| Set the scale unit of the rulers or the areas of the status bar | Rulers and Status Bar |
| Open panels such as find, styles or comments beside the document | Sidebar and Panels |
| Change the menu that opens with the right mouse button | Context Menus |
| Open the dialog boxes for fonts, paragraphs, tables and more | Built-in Dialog Boxes |
| Match the colors of the controls to your application | Themes, Colors, and Icons |
| Show the interface in another language | Localization and Resource Kit |
| Build an interface for Arabic or Hebrew | Right-to-Left UI |
Where to Start
- Build a first editor with Create a Ribbon Application with Sidebar Support or, without a ribbon, Add Rulers, Toolbars, and a Status Bar.
- Read Built-in Ribbon Tabs to decide which tabs your users need.
- Add your own commands with Custom Tabs and Commands.
- Look at the TX Words Sample Application, which combines all controls in one application.
Pages in This Section
- Built-in Ribbon Tabs: the thirteen predefined tabs, their item identifiers, and changing or removing items, groups and tabs.
- Custom Tabs and Commands: tabs, groups and buttons of your own, the application menu and the Quick Access Toolbar.
- Toolbars and Mini Toolbars: the button bar and the contextual mini toolbars.
- Rulers and Status Bar: scale units, page margins, cell references and the areas of the status bar.
- Sidebar and Panels: docking, ribbon connections, dialog mode and the elements of the panels.
- Context Menus: the menus that open with the right mouse button.
- Built-in Dialog Boxes: the dialogs of the
TextControland how to open them. - Themes, Colors, and Icons: display colors and icons of the controls.
- Localization and Resource Kit: texts of the interface in other languages.
- Right-to-Left UI: the controls in right-to-left applications.