How to: Create a RibbonControl in Code

• Nov 13, 2018
• 4 minutes to read

This example demonstrates how to create a RibbonControl and RibbonStatusBar in code.

The RibbonControl contains one page (“Home”), two page groups (“File” and “File 2”) and three commands (bar items). The RibbonStatusBar contains two commands aligned to the left and right respectively.

When you create a Ribbon UI in code, ensure the following:

1. All bar items are added to the RibbonControl.Items collection.
2. All bar items have their BarItem.Id properties initialized to unique values.

C#

using DevExpress.XtraBars.Ribbon;
using DevExpress.XtraBars;

private void Form1_Load(object sender, EventArgs e) {
    // Create a RibbonControl
    RibbonControl ribbon = new RibbonControl();
    this.Controls.Add(ribbon);
    // Assign the image collection that will provide images for bar items.
    ribbon.Images = imageCollection1;

    // Create a Ribbon page.
    RibbonPage page1 = new RibbonPage("Home");
    // Create a Ribbon page group.
    RibbonPageGroup group1 = new RibbonPageGroup("File");
    // Create another Ribbon page group.
    RibbonPageGroup group2 = new RibbonPageGroup("File 2");

    // Create a button item using the CreateButton method.
    // The created item is automatically added to the item collection of the RibbonControl.
    BarButtonItem itemOpen = ribbon.Items.CreateButton("Open...");
    itemOpen.ImageIndex = 0;
    itemOpen.Id = ribbon.Manager.GetNewItemId(); //Ensures correct runtime layout (de)serialization.
    itemOpen.ItemClick += new ItemClickEventHandler(itemOpen_ItemClick);

    // Create a button item using its constructor.
    // The constructor automatically adds the created item to the RibbonControl's item collection.
    BarButtonItem itemClose = new BarButtonItem(ribbon.Manager, "Close");
    itemClose.ImageIndex = 1;
    itemClose.Id = ribbon.Manager.GetNewItemId(); //Ensures correct runtime layout (de)serialization.
    itemClose.ItemClick += new ItemClickEventHandler(itemClose_ItemClick);

    // Create a button item using the default constructor.
    BarButtonItem itemPrint = new BarButtonItem();
    // Manually add the created item to the item collection of the RibbonControl.
    ribbon.Items.Add(itemPrint);
    itemPrint.Caption = "Print";
    itemPrint.ImageIndex = 2;
    itemPrint.Id = ribbon.Manager.GetNewItemId(); //Ensures correct runtime layout (de)serialization.
    itemPrint.ItemClick += new ItemClickEventHandler(itemPrint_ItemClick);

    // Add the created items to the group using the AddRange method. 
    // This method will create bar item links for the items and then add the links to the group.
    group1.ItemLinks.AddRange(new BarItem[] { itemOpen, itemClose, itemPrint });
    // Add the Open bar item to the second group.
    group2.ItemLinks.Add(itemOpen);
    // Add the created groups to the page.
    page1.Groups.Add(group1);
    page1.Groups.Add(group2);
    // Add the page to the RibbonControl.
    ribbon.Pages.Add(page1);
    //...


    // Create a status bar with two commands.
    RibbonStatusBar ribbonStatusBar = new RibbonStatusBar();
    ribbonStatusBar.Ribbon = ribbon;
    BarItemLink linkClose = ribbonStatusBar.ItemLinks.Add(itemClose);
    linkClose.UserRibbonStyle = RibbonItemStyles.SmallWithoutText;
    linkClose.UserAlignment = BarItemLinkAlignment.Right;
    BarItemLink linkPrint = ribbonStatusBar.ItemLinks.Add(itemPrint);
    linkPrint.UserRibbonStyle = RibbonItemStyles.SmallWithoutText;
    ribbonStatusBar.Parent = this;
}


void itemPrint_ItemClick(object sender, ItemClickEventArgs e) {
    //...
}

void itemClose_ItemClick(object sender, ItemClickEventArgs e) {
    //...
}

void itemOpen_ItemClick(object sender, ItemClickEventArgs e) {
    //...
}

VB.NET

Imports DevExpress.XtraBars
Imports DevExpress.XtraBars.Ribbon

Partial Public Class Form1
    Public Sub New()
        InitializeComponent()
    End Sub

    Private Sub Form1_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
        ' Create a RibbonControl
        Dim ribbon As New RibbonControl()
        Me.Controls.Add(ribbon)
        ' Assign the image collection that will provide images for bar items.
        ribbon.Images = ImageCollection1

        ' Create a Ribbon page.
        Dim page1 As New RibbonPage("Home")
        ' Create a Ribbon page group.
        Dim group1 As New RibbonPageGroup("File")
        ' Create another Ribbon page group.
        Dim group2 As New RibbonPageGroup("File 2")

        ' Create a button item using the CreateButton method.
        ' The created item is automatically added to the item collection of the RibbonControl.
        Dim itemOpen As BarButtonItem = ribbon.Items.CreateButton("Open...")
        itemOpen.ImageIndex = 0
        itemOpen.Id = ribbon.Manager.GetNewItemId() 'Ensures correct runtime layout (de)serialization.
        AddHandler itemOpen.ItemClick, AddressOf itemOpen_ItemClick

        ' Create a button item using its constructor.
        ' The constructor automatically adds the created item to the RibbonControl's item collection.
        Dim itemClose As New BarButtonItem(ribbon.Manager, "Close")
        itemClose.ImageIndex = 1
        itemClose.Id = ribbon.Manager.GetNewItemId() 'Ensures correct runtime layout (de)serialization.
        AddHandler itemClose.ItemClick, AddressOf itemClose_ItemClick

        ' Create a button item using the default constructor.
        Dim itemPrint As New BarButtonItem()
        ' Manually add the created item to the item collection of the RibbonControl.
        ribbon.Items.Add(itemPrint)
        itemPrint.Caption = "Print"
        itemPrint.ImageIndex = 2
        itemPrint.Id = ribbon.Manager.GetNewItemId() 'Ensures correct runtime layout (de)serialization.
        AddHandler itemPrint.ItemClick, AddressOf itemPrint_ItemClick

        ' Add the created items to the group using the AddRange method. 
        ' This method will create bar item links for the items and then add the links to the group.
        group1.ItemLinks.AddRange(New BarItem() {itemOpen, itemClose, itemPrint})
        ' Add the Open bar item to the second group.
        group2.ItemLinks.Add(itemOpen)
        ' Add the created groups to the page.
        page1.Groups.Add(group1)
        page1.Groups.Add(group2)
        ' Add the page to the RibbonControl.
        ribbon.Pages.Add(page1)


        ' Create a status bar with two commands.
        Dim ribbonStatusBar As RibbonStatusBar = New RibbonStatusBar()
        ribbonStatusBar.Ribbon = ribbon
        Dim linkClose As BarItemLink = ribbonStatusBar.ItemLinks.Add(itemClose)
        linkClose.UserRibbonStyle = RibbonItemStyles.SmallWithoutText
        linkClose.UserAlignment = BarItemLinkAlignment.Right
        Dim linkPrint As BarItemLink = ribbonStatusBar.ItemLinks.Add(itemPrint)
        linkPrint.UserRibbonStyle = RibbonItemStyles.SmallWithoutText
        ribbonStatusBar.Parent = Me
    End Sub

    Sub itemPrint_ItemClick(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As ItemClickEventArgs)
        '...
    End Sub

    Sub itemClose_ItemClick(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As ItemClickEventArgs)
        '...
    End Sub

    Sub itemOpen_ItemClick(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As ItemClickEventArgs)
        '...
    End Sub

End Class