The Windows Ribbon framework is a rich command presentation system that provides a modern alternative to the layered menus, toolbars, and task panes of traditional Windows applications. It is available since Windows 7/Server 2008R2 (Vista and Windows Server 2008 if Windows Platform Update is installed).
What is the Windows Ribbon Framework?
Excerpt from the official MSDN article:
The Windows Ribbon framework is a rich command presentation system that provides a modern alternative to the layered menus, toolbars, and task panes of traditional Windows applications. Similar in functionality and appearance to the Microsoft Office 2007 Fluent user interface, the Ribbon framework is composed of a ribbon command bar that exposes the major features of an application through a series of tabs at the top of an application window, and a context menu system.
The Windows Ribbon Framework (aka Scenic Ribbon) is a native COM API that is available since Windows 7/Server 2008R2. With the "Windows Platform Upgrade" it can also be used in Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008.
Applications that use the Windows Ribbon Framework are Microsoft Wordpad, Paint or Movie Maker (since Windows 7), Windows Explorer (since Windows 8) for example.
What the Windows Ribbon Framework is not
Although the Ribbon concept was introduced with Office 2007 and continuously used in Office since then, the Ribbon technology in Office and the Ribbon technology of the "Windows Ribbon Framework" are different implementations of the same user interface concept. In addition to that, Microsoft implemented the Ribbon concept in WPF, using yet another platform. Please refer to the following links for more information:
Development Frameworks
As a native COM API you can use the Windows Ribbon Framework in your applications without any further requirements. A good starting point are the sample projects that are contained in the Windows SDK. There are also some frameworks available that ease the usage of the API for some platforms:
