The great Windows Ribbon Framework for Delphi won't fit our need of a on-the-fly generated Ribbon from code.
Its action-driven design won't make it easy to interface with the event-driven design of our User Interface handling, and we have to confess that this component has rather bad reputation (at least in the Delphi 2009 version). We didn't use yet the Ribbon component as was introduced in Delphi 2009. the TSynForm, TSynToolBar, TSynToolButton, TSynPopupMenu, TSynPage, TSynPager, TSynBodyPager and TSynBodyPage classes) and SynTaskDialog (for TSynButton) in your own code, the USETMSPACK conditional will do all the magic for you. If you use the generic components as defined in SQLite3ToolBar (i.e. We just defined some classes, implemented by either libraries.
For our Open Source framework, we published a dual solution for building a Ribbon-like GUI, generated from code: it will use either standard VCL components for a basic layout, either the TMS components for a full Office 2007/2010 rendering. For our Clients, rendering was what mattered.
The code is a bit over-sized (a lot of duplicates or bad written stuff like component persistence) but it works and renders well, supporting both 20 Ribbon styles.
In some of our projects for some clients, we used TMS software Ribbon components. The Delphi VCL Ribbon implements Office 2007 style, whereas the Windows Seven WordPad uses an Office 2010 style. Note also that you have two kind of layout: Office 2007 and Office 2010.
This is the API used by the Windows 7 Word Pad.
This is an Open Source wrapper around the Windows Ribbon Framework available since Windows 7 (and Vista after some official update is installed). The TMS ones look worse than the standard Delphi TRibbon.įor a native look and feel, check the Windows Ribbon Framework for Delphi. I have looked at the TMS and DevExpress ones but for the price of them, they dont look as good either. I dont use Ribbon Style Interfaces all the time so purchasing 3rd Party Components is not something I really want to do. What suggestions could you give to enhance or make the TRibbon work and look like the Microsoft ones? I believed the Ribbon Components are to provide your Application with a better experience for the end user both visually and better workspace etc. The Delphi Ribbon seems incomplete, unless I am expecting too much. Have a look at this comparison screenshot to get a better idea: How can I make a Ribbon styled Application look and work as neatly as the Microsoft ones do just like I said before the way that Wordpad and Paint do in Windows 7? I guess my point is that using the standard Delphi TRibbon components appears to be not the best approach both visually and useably.
It is really awkward sizing the controls and position etc. Thirdly, sometimes when a Ribbon Action is disabled, it still shows the Hot glow effect as if hovering over the Action, even though it is disabled.įinally I find it very fiddly trying to place container components such as a TCombobox in a group. For the actual Ribbon there is, but if say for continuity purposes you wanted the Ribbon style popup menus assigned to a TListbox or TListView for example, there doesnt appear to be one. Secondly if you want to create Ribbon Styled interfaces, I noticed that there is no Ribbon style menus or popup menus independent of the TRibbon. Using the standard Delphi TRibbon components I noticed they are not that brilliant.įirstly they dont look as nice as the Microsoft ones, for example the glow effects and colors in the TRibbon dont look as impressive as the ones used in Wordpad or Paint in Windows 7.