Application Button

• Oct 10, 2018
• 2 minutes to read

The Application button allows an end-user to access an application’s main menu. The main menu typically contains commands such as New, Open, Print and Exit. However, you can place any required commands in the main menu.

The Application button is displayed in the top left corner of the Ribbon control. It is painted differently in different Ribbon paint styles (see the RibbonControl.RibbonStyle property).

Ribbon Style	Image	Notes
Office 2007		In this style, the Application button is only displayed when the RibbonControl resides in a Ribbon Form. Text is not displayed in this style. The button can only display an image specified by the RibbonControl.ApplicationIcon property.
Office 2010, Office 2013 and MacOffice		In these styles, the Application button is supported for any form. The button can display text (RibbonControl.ApplicationButtonText) or an image (RibbonControl.ApplicationIcon). If an image is assigned, no text is displayed.

To specify the Application button’s visibility, use the RibbonControl.ShowApplicationButton property.

The RibbonControl.ApplicationButtonDropDownControl property specifies the menu displayed when the Application Button is clicked. There are two types of menus.

• Application Menu - a simple drop-down menu to be used with the Office 2007 Ribbon Style.
• BackstageView Control - a modern Ribbon menu that covers nearly the entire form.

Application Button Events

A click on the Application button fires the RibbonControl.ApplicationButtonClick event. You can handle this event or the RibbonControl.BeforeApplicationButtonContentControlShow event to customize the control assigned to the RibbonControl.ApplicationButtonDropDownControl property. It is possible to use the RibbonControl.ApplicationButtonClick event to dynamically assign the required control to the RibbonControl.ApplicationButtonDropDownControl property.

To perform actions when the dropdown control associated with the Application button is hidden, handle the RibbonControl.AfterApplicationButtonContentControlHidden event.

You can allow an end-user to access the Application button via the keyboard by assigning a keyboard shortcut to the button via the RibbonControl.ApplicationButtonKeyTip property.