Ribbon (computing)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Ribbon is a Widget composed of a strip across the top of the window that exposes what the program can do.
One of the ideas behind using a Ribbon is that all the functionalities of the software should be put in one and only one place and that they are easily reachable and discoverable. One need not look through multiple levels of hierarchical menus, toolbars or task panes before finding the right functionality.
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[edit] The Ribbon in Microsoft Office 2007
The Ribbon is used in Microsoft Office 2007 and replaces menus, toolbars and many Task Panes. Microsoft claims that this will consolidate all the related functionality in one place and hence improve usability.
The Ribbon is a pane that contains controls (such as buttons and icons) that are organized into a set of tabs, each one containing a grouping of relevant commands. Each application has a different set of tabs which expose the functionality that application offers.
For example, while Excel has a tab for working with formulas, Word has a tab for creating envelopes and mailings. Within each tab, related commands are grouped together. The Ribbon is designed to make the features of the application more discoverable and accessible with fewer mouse clicks as compared to the menu-based UI used until Microsoft Office 2003.
Some tabs, called Contextual Tabs, appear only when an object is selected. Contextual Tabs expose functionality specific only to the object with focus. For example, selecting a picture brings up the Pictures Tools contextual tabs, which present commands for working with the picture. Similarly, focusing on a table exposes table-related options in a specific tab. Contextual tabs remain hidden when the object it works on are not selected.
[edit] The Ribbon in other software
As announced on microsoft.com, Microsoft is licensing the ribbon widget to third party developers royalty-free. This means that potentially the Ribbon widget may be used by other software if the developers so choose, as long as they follow certain guidelines.
[edit] Controversy of implementation
Many long-time and traditional users, especially power-users, are upset with the lack of choice between "The Ribbon" and traditional menus in the new Microsoft Office 12.
While "The Ribbon" is designed to make things easier and introduce users to more obscure but useful features, some studies show that users who would not normally search out useful features in the traditional menus are unlikely to use features just because they are presented in the ribbon form.
Furthermore, "The Ribbon" lacks keyboard accessibility. Many power users find the keyboard as a much faster and more productive approach to using features, and this was overlooked in the ribbon's implementation. While some keyboard shortcuts are available, there are many features that were previously keyboard navigable and are now off the "charted keyboard waters."
