# Ribbon and UI > Choose and customize the Windows Forms UI around TextControl: Ribbon tabs, ButtonBar, mini toolbars, RulerBar, StatusBar, Sidebar, dialogs and localization. - **Product:** TX Text Control .NET for Windows Forms - **Section:** Documentation - **Kind:** Topic - **Path:** TX Text Control .NET for Windows Forms > Document Editor > Ribbon and UI - **1357 words** - **Web URL:** https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/ribbon-ui/ - **LLMs URL:** https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/ribbon-ui/llms.txt - **LLMs-Full URL:** https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/ribbon-ui/llms-full.txt --- 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. ![The TX Words sample with a ribbon, the contextual Frame Tools tab for a selected image, a horizontal and a vertical ruler and a status bar.](https://docs.textcontrol.com/assets/img/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/header-footer-tab.a3713148.webp) ### 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](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/overview/editions/llms-full.txt). [Ribbon, Toolbars, Rulers, and Status Bar](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/overview/components/ribbon-toolbars/llms-full.txt) 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](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/ribbon-ui/ribbon/llms-full.txt) | | Add tabs, groups and buttons of your own, fill the application menu | [Custom Tabs and Commands](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/ribbon-ui/custom-tabs/llms-full.txt) | | Use a button bar instead of the ribbon, or show mini toolbars | [Toolbars and Mini Toolbars](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/ribbon-ui/toolbars/llms-full.txt) | | Set the scale unit of the rulers or the areas of the status bar | [Rulers and Status Bar](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/ribbon-ui/rulers-status-bar/llms-full.txt) | | Open panels such as find, styles or comments beside the document | [Sidebar and Panels](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/ribbon-ui/sidebar/llms-full.txt) | | Change the menu that opens with the right mouse button | [Context Menus](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/ribbon-ui/context-menus/llms-full.txt) | | Open the dialog boxes for fonts, paragraphs, tables and more | [Built-in Dialog Boxes](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/ribbon-ui/dialog-boxes/llms-full.txt) | | Match the colors of the controls to your application | [Themes, Colors, and Icons](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/ribbon-ui/themes/llms-full.txt) | | Show the interface in another language | [Localization and Resource Kit](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/ribbon-ui/localization/llms-full.txt) | | Build an interface for Arabic or Hebrew | [Right-to-Left UI](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/ribbon-ui/right-to-left/llms-full.txt) | ### Where to Start 1. Build a first editor with [Create a Ribbon Application with Sidebar Support](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/getting-started/document-editor/ribbon-sidebar/llms-full.txt) or, without a ribbon, [Add Rulers, Toolbars, and a Status Bar](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/getting-started/document-editor/rulers-toolbars/llms-full.txt). 2. Read [Built-in Ribbon Tabs](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/ribbon-ui/ribbon/llms-full.txt) to decide which tabs your users need. 3. Add your own commands with [Custom Tabs and Commands](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/ribbon-ui/custom-tabs/llms-full.txt). 4. Look at the [TX Words Sample Application](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/examples/tx-words/llms-full.txt), which combines all controls in one application. ### Pages in This Section - [Built-in Ribbon Tabs](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/ribbon-ui/ribbon/llms-full.txt): the thirteen predefined tabs, their item identifiers, and changing or removing items, groups and tabs. - [Custom Tabs and Commands](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/ribbon-ui/custom-tabs/llms-full.txt): tabs, groups and buttons of your own, the application menu and the Quick Access Toolbar. - [Toolbars and Mini Toolbars](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/ribbon-ui/toolbars/llms-full.txt): the button bar and the contextual mini toolbars. - [Rulers and Status Bar](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/ribbon-ui/rulers-status-bar/llms-full.txt): scale units, page margins, cell references and the areas of the status bar. - [Sidebar and Panels](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/ribbon-ui/sidebar/llms-full.txt): docking, ribbon connections, dialog mode and the elements of the panels. - [Context Menus](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/ribbon-ui/context-menus/llms-full.txt): the menus that open with the right mouse button. - [Built-in Dialog Boxes](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/ribbon-ui/dialog-boxes/llms-full.txt): the dialogs of the `TextControl` and how to open them. - [Themes, Colors, and Icons](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/ribbon-ui/themes/llms-full.txt): display colors and icons of the controls. - [Localization and Resource Kit](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/ribbon-ui/localization/llms-full.txt): texts of the interface in other languages. - [Right-to-Left UI](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/ribbon-ui/right-to-left/llms-full.txt): the controls in right-to-left applications. --- ## In This Section - [Context Menus](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/ribbon-ui/context-menus/llms-full.txt): Extend, replace or suppress the built-in context menus of the Windows Forms TextControl with TextContextMenuOpening, ContextMenuLocation and ContextMenuStrip. - [Custom Tabs and Commands](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/ribbon-ui/custom-tabs/llms-full.txt): Add RibbonTab, RibbonGroup and RibbonButton controls in Windows Forms, use ResourceProvider icons, fill the application menu and the Quick Access Toolbar. - [Built-In Dialog Boxes](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/ribbon-ui/dialog-boxes/llms-full.txt): Open the font, paragraph, tabs, page setup and table dialog boxes of the Windows Forms TextControl on a chosen tab, check DialogResult and adapt BookmarkDialog. - [Localization and Resource Kit](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/ribbon-ui/localization/llms-full.txt): Show TX Text Control dialogs in German or other languages in Windows Forms: de satellite assemblies, Resource Kit builds and ResourceProvider texts per culture. - [Built-In Ribbon Tabs](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/ribbon-ui/ribbon/llms-full.txt): The 13 predefined Windows Forms ribbon tabs like RibbonFormattingTab: groups, RibbonItem IDs, FindItem, removing items, groups and tabs, contextual tab groups. - [Right-to-Left UI](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/ribbon-ui/right-to-left/llms-full.txt): Write Arabic and Hebrew paragraphs with Direction and ChangeDirection, and mirror a Windows Forms app with RightToLeft, RightToLeftLayout and the ribbon. - [Rulers and Status Bar](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/ribbon-ui/rulers-status-bar/llms-full.txt): Set up RulerBar and StatusBar in Windows Forms: scale units, page margins, formula cell references, status areas and labels, and showing or hiding the bars. - [Sidebar and Panels](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/ribbon-ui/sidebar/llms-full.txt): Dock Windows Forms sidebars, connect them to ribbon buttons, show them as dialogs, hide panel elements with FindItem and show your own control as Content. - [Themes, Colors, and Icons](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/ribbon-ui/themes/llms-full.txt): Color the Windows Forms TextControl and ribbon with DisplayColors and BackgroundStyle, and tint ribbon icons for your own buttons with ResourceProvider. - [Toolbars and Mini Toolbars](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/ribbon-ui/toolbars/llms-full.txt): Configure the Windows Forms ButtonBar and enable TextMiniToolbar and ObjectMiniToolbar with ShowMiniToolbar, then add ribbon groups or hide them on opening. --- ## Nearby - **Previous:** [Printing and Print Preview](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/printing/llms-full.txt) - **Next:** [Built-In Ribbon Tabs](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/document-editor/ribbon-ui/ribbon/llms-full.txt)