Modern Ribbon look (like in Office 2016)

Question

Couple years ago I've decided to use MS Ribbon for my application.

At that time there was a choice: to use MFC Ribbon, use Windows Ribbon, or use 3rd party library.

MFC Ribbon look already was outdated (like MS Office 2007 look-and-feel). 3rd party is not an option for me.

I started to implement my app with WTL. Right now I am using WTL 9.1 and VS 2015.

Recently I compared my app with MS Office 2016, it seems that its look became outdated.

Ribbon's XML definition starts from:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Application xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/windows/2009/Ribbon">
<Application.Commands>
   <Command Name="cmdAppMenu"        Symbol="RID_RIBBON_APP_MENU" />
   ...

I assume that this maybe a problem (year 2009). But I failed to find another xmlns path =(

Is it possible somehow to make ribbon in my App looks the same as in MS Office 2016?

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 11 '16 at 10:33

No, this isn't possible using WTL, which is using the Windows Ribbon Framework. The Windows Ribbon Framework is API-wise something completely different than the Office ribbons. Both technologies were developed independently at Microsoft. While they share the same UI concepts, the implementation is completely different. Therefore, you won't be able to instruct your Windows Ribbon Framework based application to use the "Office style".

You will have to stick to a 3rd party library or develop a UI that looks like the Office 2016 ribbons on your own.

Modern Ribbon look (like in Office 2016)

1 Answers1