Microsoft Access 2010 Bible

1009

CHAPTER

Customizing Access

Ribbons

IN THIS CHAPTER

Learning about the new Access

ribbon

Working with the default

ribbon

Examining ribbon architecture

Studying ribbon controls

Learning the XML necessary to

construct ribbons

Adding VBA callbacks

U

nless you’ve been working with Access 2007, the Office ribbon will
be entirely new to you. In fact, the ribbon is the distinguishing char-
acteristic of the Office 2007 and 2010 applications. The toolbars
and menus were an effective user interface when working with a variety of
tasks and operations, but the CommandBars model used in versions of
Access prior to 2007 was quite complex, and sometimes difficult to program.
The ribbon introduces an entirely new way of working with user interface
components.

The ribbon is quite unlike traditional toolbars or menus, and supports fea-
tures not possible with toolbars and menus. As you will soon see, customiz-
ing Access ribbons is a very different process than using CommandBars to
compose toolbars and menus in previous versions of Access.

On the CD-ROM

In the Chapter29.accdb database, you can find several database objects
needed to support the techniques described in this chapter. You can’t see the
USysRibbons table until you right-click the Navigation Pane, select
Navigation Options, and select the Show System Objects check box in the
Navigation Options dialog box.

Why Replace Toolbars and Menus?

Unlike previous version of Access where developers used CommandBar
objects to build toolbars and menus, Access developers work with the ribbon
object. The ribbon is the large, horizontal control that stretches across the top
of the main Access window. A ribbon is a complex entity, consisting of a
number of nested controls that support the functions previously provided by
toolbars and menus.