Customizing a Ribbon Through Size Definitions and Scaling Policies

Controls hosted in the ribbon Command bar are subject to layout rules that are enforced by the Windows Ribbon framework and based on a combination of default behaviors and layout templates (both framework-defined and custom) as declared in the Ribbon markup. These rules define the adaptive layout behaviors of the Ribbon framework that influence how controls in the Command bar adapt to various ribbon sizes at run time.

• Introduction
  • Ribbon SizeDefinition Templates
  • Custom Templates
• Related topics

Introduction

Adaptive layout, as defined by the Ribbon framework, is the ability of all controls within the ribbon UI to dynamically adjust their organization, size, format, and relative scale based on changes to the size of the ribbon at run time.

The framework exposes adaptive layout functionality through a set of markup elements that are dedicated to specifying and customizing various layout behaviors. A collection of templates, called SizeDefinitions, is defined by the framework, each of which support various control and layout scenarios. However, the framework also supports custom templates should the predefined templates not provide the UI experience or layouts required by an application.

To display controls in a preferred layout at a particular ribbon size, both predefined templates and custom templates work in conjunction with the ScalingPolicy element. This element contains a manifest of size preferences that the framework uses as a guide when rendering the ribbon.

Ribbon SizeDefinition Templates

The Ribbon framework provides a comprehensive set of SizeDefinition templates that specify size and layout behavior for a Group of Ribbon controls. These templates cover most common scenarios for organizing controls in a Ribbon application.

To enforce a consistent user experience across Ribbon applications, each SizeDefinition template imposes restrictions on the controls or the family of controls it supports.

For example, the button family of controls includes:

• Button
• Toggle Button
• Drop-Down Button
• Split Button
• Drop-Down Gallery
• Split Button Gallery
• Drop-Down Color Picker

While the input family of controls includes:

• Combo Box
• Spinner

Check Box and In-Ribbon Gallery do not belong to either the button family or the input family. These two controls can be used only where explicitly indicated in a SizeDefinition template.

The following is a list of the SizeDefinition templates with a description of the layout and controls allowed by each template.

OneButton

One button-family control.
Only Large group size is supported.

TwoButtons

Two button-family controls.
Only Large and Medium group sizes are supported.

ThreeButtons

Three button-family controls.
Only Large and Medium group sizes are supported.

ThreeButtons-OneBigAndTwoSmall

Three button-family controls.
The first button is presented prominently in all three sizes.

ThreeButtonsAndOneCheckBox

Three button-family controls accompanied by a single CheckBox control.
Only Large and Medium group sizes are supported.

FourButtons

Four button-family controls.

FiveButtons

Five button-family controls.

FiveOrSixButtons

Five button-family controls and an optional sixth button.

SixButtons

Six button-family controls.

SixButtons-TwoColumns

Six button-family controls (alternate presentation).

SevenButtons

Seven button-family controls.

EightButtons

Eight button-family controls.

EightButtons-LastThreeSmall

Eight button-family controls (alternate presentation).

The following example demonstrates the markup required for this template.

<Group CommandName="cmdSizeDefinitionsGroup" 
       SizeDefinition="EightButtons-LastThreeSmall">
  <ControlGroup>
    <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton1" />
    <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton2" />
    <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton3" />
    <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton4" />
    <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton5" />
  </ControlGroup>
  <ControlGroup>
    <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton6" />
    <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton7" />
    <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton8" />
  </ControlGroup>
</Group>

NineButtons

Nine button-family controls.

TenButtons

Ten button-family controls.

ElevenButtons

Eleven button-family controls.

OneFontControl

One FontControl.

Only Large and Medium group sizes are supported.

OneInRibbonGallery

One InRibbonGallery control.

Only Large and Small group sizes are supported.

InRibbonGalleryAndBigButton

One InRibbonGallery control and a button-family control.

Only Large and Small group sizes are supported.

InRibbonGalleryAndButtons-GalleryScalesFirst

One In-Ribbon Gallery control and two or three button-family controls.

The gallery collapses to Popup representation in Medium and Small group sizes.

ButtonGroups

A complex arrangement of 32 button-family controls (most of which are optional).

The following example demonstrates the markup required to display all 32 control elements (required and optional) with this template.

<Group CommandName="cmdSizeDefinitionsGroup"
       SizeDefinition="ButtonGroups">
  <!-- Row 1 -->
  <ControlGroup>
    <ControlGroup>
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton1" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton2" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton3" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton4" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton5" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton6" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton7" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton8" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton9" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton10" />
    </ControlGroup>
    <ControlGroup>
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton11" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton12" />
    </ControlGroup>
    <ControlGroup>
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton13" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton14" />
    </ControlGroup>
    <ControlGroup>
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton15" />
    </ControlGroup>
    <ControlGroup>
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton16" />
    </ControlGroup>
    <ControlGroup>
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton17" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton18" />
    </ControlGroup>
  </ControlGroup>
  <!-- Row 2 -->
  <ControlGroup>
    <ControlGroup>
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton19" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton20" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton21" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton22" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton23" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton24" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton25" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton26" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton27" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton28" />
    </ControlGroup>
    <ControlGroup>
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton29" />
    </ControlGroup>
    <ControlGroup>
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton30" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton31" />
    </ControlGroup>
  </ControlGroup>
  <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton32" />            
</Group>

ButtonGroupsAndInputs

Two input-family controls (the second is optional) followed by a complex arrangement of 29 button-family controls (most of which are optional).

Only Large and Medium group sizes are supported.

The following example demonstrates the markup required to display all control elements (required and optional) with this template.

<Group CommandName="cmdSizeDefinitionsGroup" 
       SizeDefinition="ButtonGroupsAndInputs">
  <!-- Row 1 -->
  <ControlGroup>
    <ControlGroup>
      <ComboBox CommandName="cmdSDComboBox" />
      <Spinner CommandName="cmdSDSpinner" />
    </ControlGroup>
    <ControlGroup>
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton1" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton2" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton3" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton4" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton5" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton6" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton7" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton8" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton9" />
    </ControlGroup>
    <ControlGroup>
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton10" />
    </ControlGroup>
    <ControlGroup>
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton11" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton12" />
    </ControlGroup>
    <ControlGroup>
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton13" />
    </ControlGroup>
    <ControlGroup>
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton14" />
    </ControlGroup>
  </ControlGroup>
  <!-- Row 2 -->  
  <ControlGroup>
    <ControlGroup>
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton15" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton16" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton17" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton18" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton19" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton20" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton21" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton22" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton23" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton24" />
    </ControlGroup>
    <ControlGroup>
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton25" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton26" />
    </ControlGroup>
    <ControlGroup>
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton27" />
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton28" />
    </ControlGroup>
    <ControlGroup>
      <Button CommandName="cmdSDButton29" />
    </ControlGroup>
  </ControlGroup>
</Group>

BigButtonsAndSmallButtonsOrInputs

Two button-family controls (both optional) followed by two or three button or input-family controls.

Only Large and Medium group sizes are supported.

Basic SizeDefinition Example

The following code example provides a basic demonstration of how to declare a SizeDefinition template in Ribbon markup.

The OneInRibbonGallery SizeDefinition is used for this particular example, but all framework templates are specified in a similar fashion.

<!-- InRibbonGallery -->
<Group CommandName="cmdInRibbonGalleryGroup" SizeDefinition="OneInRibbonGallery">
  <InRibbonGallery CommandName="cmdInRibbonGallery"
                   MaxColumns="10"
                   MaxColumnsMedium="5"
                   MinColumnsLarge="5"
                   MinColumnsMedium="3"
                   Type="Items">
    <InRibbonGallery.MenuLayout>
      <VerticalMenuLayout Rows="2"
                          Gripper="Vertical"/>
    </InRibbonGallery.MenuLayout>
    <InRibbonGallery.MenuGroups>
      <MenuGroup>
        <Button CommandName="cmdButton1"></Button>
        <Button CommandName="cmdButton2"></Button>
      </MenuGroup>
      <MenuGroup>
        <Button CommandName="cmdButton3"></Button>
      </MenuGroup>
    </InRibbonGallery.MenuGroups>            
  </InRibbonGallery>
</Group>

Complex SizeDefinition Example with Scaling Policies

The collapsing behavior of SizeDefinition templates can be controlled through the use of scaling policies in the Ribbon markup.

The ScalingPolicy element contains a manifest of ScalingPolicy.IdealSizes and Scale declarations that specify adaptive layout preferences for one or more Group elements when the Ribbon is resized.

The following code example demonstrates a ScalingPolicy manifest that specifies a ScalingPolicy.IdealSizes SizeDefinition preference for each of four groups of controls on a Home tab. In addition, Scale elements are specified to influence the collapsing behavior, in descending size order, of each group.

<Tab CommandName="Home">
  <Tab.ScalingPolicy>
    <ScalingPolicy>
      <ScalingPolicy.IdealSizes>
        <Scale Group="GroupClipboard" Size="Medium"/>
        <Scale Group="GroupView" Size="Large"/>
        <Scale Group="GroupFont" Size="Large"/>
        <Scale Group="GroupParagraph" Size="Large"/>
      </ScalingPolicy.IdealSizes>
      <Scale Group="GroupClipboard" Size="Small"/>
      <Scale Group="GroupClipboard" Size="Popup"/>
      <Scale Group="GroupFont" Size="Medium"/>
      <Scale Group="GroupFont" Size="Popup"/>
      <Scale Group="GroupParagraph" Size="Medium"/>
      <Scale Group="GroupParagraph" Size="Popup"/>
      <!-- 
        GroupView group is associated with the OneButton SizeDefinition.
        Since this template is constrained to one size (Large) there
        is no need to declare further scaling preferences.
      -->
    </ScalingPolicy>
  </Tab.ScalingPolicy>

  <Group CommandName="GroupClipboard" SizeDefinition="FourButtons">
    <Button CommandName="Paste"/>
    <Button CommandName="Cut"/>
    <Button CommandName="Copy"/>
    <Button CommandName="SelectAll"/>
  </Group>

  <Group CommandName="GroupFont"  ApplicationModes="1">
    <FontControl CommandName="Font" FontType="FontWithColor" />
  </Group>

  <Group CommandName="GroupParagraph"  ApplicationModes="1" SizeDefinition="ButtonGroups">
    <ControlGroup>
      <ControlGroup>
        <ToggleButton CommandName="Numbered" />
        <ToggleButton CommandName="Bulleted" />
      </ControlGroup>
    </ControlGroup>
    <ControlGroup>
      <ControlGroup>
        <ToggleButton CommandName="LeftJustify" />
        <ToggleButton CommandName="CenterJustify" />
        <ToggleButton CommandName="RightJustify" />
      </ControlGroup>
      <ControlGroup/>
      <ControlGroup>
        <Button CommandName="Outdent" />
        <Button CommandName="Indent" />
      </ControlGroup>
    </ControlGroup>
  </Group>

  <Group CommandName="GroupView" SizeDefinition="OneButton" >
    <ToggleButton CommandName="ViewSource"/>
  </Group>

</Tab>

Custom Templates

If the default layout behaviors and the predefined SizeDefinition templates do not offer the flexibility or support for a particular layout scenario, custom templates are supported by the Ribbon framework through the Ribbon.SizeDefinitions element.

Custom templates can be declared in two ways: a standalone method using the Ribbon.SizeDefinitions element for declaring reusable, named templates or an inline method that is Group-specific.

Standalone Template

The following code example illustrates a basic, reusable custom template.

<Ribbon.SizeDefinitions>
  <SizeDefinition Name="CustomTemplate">
    <GroupSizeDefinition Size="Large">
      <ControlSizeDefinition ImageSize="Large" IsLabelVisible="true" />
    </GroupSizeDefinition>
    <GroupSizeDefinition Size="Medium">
      <ControlSizeDefinition ImageSize="Small" IsLabelVisible="false" />
    </GroupSizeDefinition>
    <GroupSizeDefinition Size="Small">
      <ControlSizeDefinition ImageSize="Small" IsLabelVisible="false" />
    </GroupSizeDefinition>
  </SizeDefinition>
</Ribbon.SizeDefinitions>

Inline Template

The following code examples illustrate a basic inline custom template for a group of four buttons.

This section of code shows the Command declarations for a group of buttons. Large and small image resources are also specified here.

<!-- Button -->
<Command Name="cmdButtonGroup"
         Symbol="cmdButtonGroup"
         Comment="Button Group"
         LabelTitle="ButtonGroup"/>
<Command Name="cmdButton1"
         Symbol="cmdButton1"
         Comment="Button1"
         LabelTitle="Button1"/>
<Command Name="cmdButton2"
         Symbol="cmdButton2"
         Comment="Button2"
         LabelTitle="Button2"/>
<Command Name="cmdButton3"
         Symbol="cmdButton3"
         Comment="Button3"
         LabelTitle="Button3"/>
<Command Name="cmdButtonGroup2"
         Symbol="cmdButtonGroup2"
         Comment="Button Group2"
         LabelTitle="ButtonGroup2"/>
<Command Name="cmdButtonG21"
         Symbol="cmdButtonG21"
         Comment="ButtonG21"
         LabelTitle="ButtonG21">
  <Command.LargeImages>
    <Image Source="res/large.bmp"/>
  </Command.LargeImages>
  <Command.SmallImages>
    <Image Source="res/small.bmp"/>
  </Command.SmallImages>
</Command>
<Command Name="cmdButtonG22"
         Symbol="cmdButtonG22"
         Comment="ButtonG22"
         LabelTitle="ButtonG22">
  <Command.LargeImages>
    <Image Source="res/large.bmp"/>
  </Command.LargeImages>
  <Command.SmallImages>
    <Image Source="res/small.bmp"/>
  </Command.SmallImages>
</Command>
<Command Name="cmdButtonG23"
         Symbol="cmdButtonG23"
         Comment="ButtonG23"
         LabelTitle="ButtonG23">
  <Command.LargeImages>
    <Image Source="res/large.bmp"/>
  </Command.LargeImages>
  <Command.SmallImages>
    <Image Source="res/small.bmp"/>
  </Command.SmallImages>
</Command>
<Command Name="cmdButtonG24"
         Symbol="cmdButtonG24"
         Comment="ButtonG24"
         LabelTitle="ButtonG24">
  <Command.LargeImages>
    <Image Source="res/large.bmp"/>
  </Command.LargeImages>
  <Command.SmallImages>
    <Image Source="res/small.bmp"/>
  </Command.SmallImages>
</Command>

This section of code demonstrates how to define large, medium, and small GroupSizeDefinition templates to display the four buttons at various sizes and layouts. The ScalingPolicy declaration for the tab defines which template is used for a group of controls based on the ribbon size and space required by the active tab.

        <Tab CommandName="cmdTab6">
          <Tab.ScalingPolicy>
            <ScalingPolicy>
              <ScalingPolicy.IdealSizes>
                <Scale Group="cmdButtonGroup"
                       Size="Large"/>
                <Scale Group="cmdButtonGroup2"
                       Size="Large"/>
                <Scale Group="cmdToggleButtonGroup"
                       Size="Large"/>
              </ScalingPolicy.IdealSizes>
              <Scale Group="cmdButtonGroup"
                     Size="Medium"/>
              <Scale Group="cmdButtonGroup2"
                     Size="Medium"/>
              <Scale Group="cmdButtonGroup2"
                     Size="Small"/>
              <Scale Group="cmdButtonGroup2"
                     Size="Popup"/>
            </ScalingPolicy>
          </Tab.ScalingPolicy>

          <Group CommandName="cmdButtonGroup2">
            <SizeDefinition>
              <ControlNameMap>
                <ControlNameDefinition Name="button1"/>
                <ControlNameDefinition Name="button2"/>
                <ControlNameDefinition Name="button3"/>
                <ControlNameDefinition Name="button4"/>
              </ControlNameMap>
              <GroupSizeDefinition Size="Large">
                <ControlGroup>
                  <ControlSizeDefinition ControlName="button1"
                                         ImageSize="Large"
                                         IsLabelVisible="true" />
                  <ControlSizeDefinition ControlName="button2"
                                         ImageSize="Large"
                                         IsLabelVisible="true" />
                </ControlGroup>
                <ColumnBreak ShowSeparator="true"/>
                <ControlGroup>
                  <ControlSizeDefinition ControlName="button3"
                                         ImageSize="Large"
                                        IsLabelVisible="true" />
                  <ControlSizeDefinition ControlName="button4"
                                        ImageSize="Large"
                                        IsLabelVisible="true" />
                </ControlGroup>
              </GroupSizeDefinition>
              <GroupSizeDefinition Size="Medium">
                <Row>
                  <ControlSizeDefinition ControlName="button1"
                                         ImageSize="Small"
                                         IsLabelVisible="true" />
                  <ControlSizeDefinition ControlName="button3"
                                         ImageSize="Small"
                                         IsLabelVisible="true" />
                </Row>
                <Row>
                  <ControlSizeDefinition ControlName="button2"
                                         ImageSize="Small"
                                         IsLabelVisible="true" />
                  <ControlSizeDefinition ControlName="button4"
                                         ImageSize="Small"
                                         IsLabelVisible="true" />
                </Row>
              </GroupSizeDefinition>
              <GroupSizeDefinition Size="Small">
                <Row>
                  <ControlSizeDefinition ControlName="button1"
                                         ImageSize="Small"
                                         IsLabelVisible="true" />
                  <ControlSizeDefinition ControlName="button3"
                                         ImageSize="Small"
                                         IsLabelVisible="false" />
                </Row>
                <Row>
                  <ControlSizeDefinition ControlName="button2"
                                         ImageSize="Small"
                                         IsLabelVisible="true" />
                  <ControlSizeDefinition ControlName="button4"
                                         ImageSize="Small"
                                         IsLabelVisible="false" />
                </Row>
              </GroupSizeDefinition>
            </SizeDefinition>
            <Button CommandName="cmdButtonG21"></Button>
            <Button CommandName="cmdButtonG22"></Button>
            <Button CommandName="cmdButtonG23"></Button>
            <Button CommandName="cmdButtonG24"></Button>
          </Group>
          <Group CommandName="cmdCheckBoxGroup">
            <CheckBox CommandName="cmdCheckBox"></CheckBox>
          </Group>
          <Group CommandName="cmdToggleButtonGroup"
                 SizeDefinition="OneButton">
            <ToggleButton CommandName="cmdToggleButton"></ToggleButton>
          </Group>
          <Group CommandName="cmdButtonGroup"
                 SizeDefinition="ThreeButtons">
            <Button CommandName="cmdButton1"></Button>
            <Button CommandName="cmdButton2"></Button>
            <Button CommandName="cmdButton3"></Button>
          </Group>
        </Tab>

The following images show how the templates from the previous example are applied to the ribbon UI to accommodate a decrease in ribbon size.

Type	Image
Large
Medium
Small
Popup

Related topics

SizeDefinition

Scale

Group