TdxRibbonForm Class

A Ribbon form class.

Declaration

TdxRibbonForm = class(
    TdxCustomRibbonForm
)

Remarks

The TdxRibbonForm class implements Ribbon form functionality with support for Fluent Design effects on Microsoft Windows® 10 and newer operating systems. A Ribbon form can integrate a TdxRibbon control with its title bar as the main application UI and display additional title bar buttons.

Create a Ribbon Form

Use the Ribbon-Based Application Template

The DevExpress VCL 24.1 Ribbon Based Application template creates a new application project with a form derived from the TdxRibbonForm class. The new form has a preconfigured TdxSkinController component and an embedded TdxRibbon control with one tab.

To create a new Ribbon-based application, click File | New → Other… in the main menu of your RAD Studio IDE. Then, select the DevExpress VCL 24.1 Ribbon Based Application template.

Select a Ribbon style.

Derive a Form from TdxRibbonForm in Code

To create a Ribbon form without the application template, you need to create a new form in the RAD Studio IDE, add the dxRibbonForm unit to the uses clause, and replace TForm with TdxRibbonForm in the form class declaration as follows:

Delphi

uses dxRibbonForm;  // This unit declares the TdxRibbonForm class
// ...
type
  TMyForm = class(TdxRibbonForm)
  private
    { Private declarations }
  public
    { Public declarations }
  end;

C++

#include "dxRibbonForm.hpp"  // This unit declares the TdxRibbonForm class
// ...
class TMyForm : public TdxRibbonForm
{
private:
  // Private declarations
public:
  // Public declarations
};

Main API Members

The list below outlines key members^[1] of the TdxRibbonForm class that allow you to configure a Ribbon form.

General Form Settings and Methods

The following public API members are derived from the standard TCustomForm class shipped with the VCL library:

Caption

Specifies the form’s caption.

PixelsPerInch

Specifies the base DPI value for scale factor calculations.

ShowModal

Invokes the form as a modal dialog.

Scaled

Specifies if DPI awareness is enabled for the form.

Visible | Hide | Show

Hide or display the form.

Width | Height | ClientWidth | ClientHeight

Allow you to adjust form and client area dimensions.

Tip

Refer to the TCustomForm class description for detailed information on all standard form API members.

Ribbon Form-Specific API Members

AdjustLayoutForNonClientDrawing

Specifies if the form shifts its layout up by the non-client area height at runtime.

BorderIcons | BorderStyle

Allow you to hide or display the window title bar and configure base window functionality.

DisableAero

Specifies if built-in form draw routines override operating system-specific effects for non-client form areas.

The Ribbon form can apply skin effects to its non-client areas only if the operating system does not apply Aero Glass and similar effects to the non-client area.

FullUpdate

Recalculates and redraws form content.

RibbonControl

Allows you to associate the form with a TdxRibbon control.

UseSkinColor

Specifies if the Ribbon form uses the active skin’s color scheme.

Form Shadow and Corner Settings

FormCorners

Switches between available form corners^[2] at the form level.

ShowFormShadow

Allows you to explicitly enable or disable a shadow effect for the form.

Fluent Design UI-Specific Settings

AdaptiveLayoutOptions

This property set allows you to change form layout behavior in Fluent Design applications.

EnableAcrylicEffects

Specifies if acrylic effects are enabled for the form and supported controls in a Fluent Design application.

BackgroundBlur

Specifies the active form background effect when acrylic effects are enabled.

NavigationControl

Allows you to associate the form with a Navigation Bar control that supports Fluent Design effects.

Ribbon UI in MDI Applications

If you use a Ribbon form as the main MDI application window, make sure that all MDI child forms are also derived from the TdxRibbonForm class.

Fluent Design Limitations

• Fluent Design effects are available only if an application runs under Microsoft Windows® 10 Version 1803 (build 17064) or a newer operating system.
• Only the TdxNavBar control supports background acrylic effects.
• You need to place all other controls on a TdxLayoutControl to avoid possible rendering issues related to Fluent Design effects.

GDI Scaled Mode Limitations

GDI Scaled is a compatibility DPI awareness mode where the operating system scales text and GDI-based primitives automatically when a window is displayed on a high-DPI monitor.

Important

We do not recommend GDI Scaled mode for application projects with DevExpress components because this mode reduces font and image quality and prevents many effects from working correctly. For example, Aero Glass and similar non-client area effects are unavailable in GDI Scaled mode.

Inheritance

Show 12 items

TObject

TPersistent

TComponent

TControl

TWinControl

TScrollingWinControl

TCustomForm

TForm

TdxForm

TdxCustomFluentDesignForm

TdxCustomRibbonForm

TdxRibbonForm

Footnotes

1. This list does not include internal APIs that implement DPI awareness regardless of the target Embarcadero RAD Studio® IDE version. You do not need to interact with these API members in your code in the majority of usage scenarios.

   Refer to the TdxForm class description for technical details.

2. Rounded corners in skinned forms appear aliased under Microsoft Windows® 10 compared to Windows 11.

   We recommend that you use rounded corners for applications that target Microsoft Windows® 11 only.