| Revision as of 01:27, 4 July 2007 editPHenry (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Rollbackers2,089 edits →The ribbon in other software: Blender uses action panels (http://designinginterfaces.com/Action_Panel), which are fundamentally different than the Ribbon← Previous edit | Revision as of 01:32, 4 July 2007 edit undoPHenry (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Rollbackers2,089 edits →Controversy: the supplied citation does not support the assertion being madeNext edit → | ||
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| ==Controversy== | ==Controversy== | ||
| 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 2007 Office system. |
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 2007 Office system.{{Fact|date=July 2007}} However, using an add-in, the traditional menu can be simulated as one of the tabs. | ||
| Many ] proponents have expressed beliefs that the patent cannot be acquired due to the ambiguity of ], and are referring to Microsoft's licensing campaign as ] (FUD), as no patent has been acquired yet, and anyone who has not signed the license can legally implement the concept in their applications without having to conform to Microsoft's requirements.<ref>{{cite news |author=Mike Weller |date=2006-11-22 |title=Office 2007 UI License |publisher=Slashdot |url=http://developers.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/11/22/0140215 |accessdate=2007-02-01 }}</ref> It has also been stated that Microsoft will not give their approval to products competing directly with Microsoft's; Jensen Harris, a program manager in Microsoft's Office Group, has stated on his blog that "''if you are building a program which directly competes with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, or Access (the Microsoft applications with the new UI), you can't obtain the royalty-free license.''"<ref>{{cite web |author=Jensen Harris |date=2006-11-21 |title=Licensing the 2007 Microsoft Office User Interface |publisher=MSDN Blogs |url=http://blogs.msdn.com/jensenh/archive/2006/11/21/licensing-the-2007-microsoft-office-user-interface.aspx |accessdate=2006-02-01 }}</ref> Some have also raised concerns that the design guidelines might contain legal loopholes that give Microsoft a basis for future ]s against products exploiting this concept, and they would not be able to inform others due to the non-disclosure agreement.<ref name=ms-watch/> | Many ] proponents have expressed beliefs that the patent cannot be acquired due to the ambiguity of ], and are referring to Microsoft's licensing campaign as ] (FUD), as no patent has been acquired yet, and anyone who has not signed the license can legally implement the concept in their applications without having to conform to Microsoft's requirements.<ref>{{cite news |author=Mike Weller |date=2006-11-22 |title=Office 2007 UI License |publisher=Slashdot |url=http://developers.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/11/22/0140215 |accessdate=2007-02-01 }}</ref> It has also been stated that Microsoft will not give their approval to products competing directly with Microsoft's; Jensen Harris, a program manager in Microsoft's Office Group, has stated on his blog that "''if you are building a program which directly competes with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, or Access (the Microsoft applications with the new UI), you can't obtain the royalty-free license.''"<ref>{{cite web |author=Jensen Harris |date=2006-11-21 |title=Licensing the 2007 Microsoft Office User Interface |publisher=MSDN Blogs |url=http://blogs.msdn.com/jensenh/archive/2006/11/21/licensing-the-2007-microsoft-office-user-interface.aspx |accessdate=2006-02-01 }}</ref> Some have also raised concerns that the design guidelines might contain legal loopholes that give Microsoft a basis for future ]s against products exploiting this concept, and they would not be able to inform others due to the non-disclosure agreement.<ref name=ms-watch/> | ||
Revision as of 01:32, 4 July 2007
The ribbon is a graphical user interface widget composed of a strip across the top of the window that exposes all functions the program can perform in a single place, with additional ribbons appearing based on the context of the data.
One of the main driving ideas behind using a ribbon is enhancing usability; by consolidating the program's functions and commands in an easily recognizable place, one need not look through multiple levels of hierarchical menus, toolbars or task panes before finding the right command.
The ribbon in Microsoft Office 2007
The ribbon's first popular implementation is used in Microsoft Office 2007 where Microsoft refers to it as the Office Fluent Ribbon 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 for all versions of Office prior to Office 2007.
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 picture 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.
The ribbon in other software
Microsoft is in the process of acquiring a patent on the ribbon user interface concept and is licensing the ribbon design to third party developers royalty-free, as long as the user interface conforms to the Microsoft's design guidelines and they can get an approval from Microsoft. The ribbon design guidelines are confidential and an evaluation copy is only available when a non-disclosure agreement has been agreed to. However, until the patent has been filed, one does not have to agree to the license to implement this user interface concept on their own.
Currently the Microsoft-ribbon is used in several other software, like O&O Defrag 10 and PowerArchiver 2007.
Controversy
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 2007 Office system. However, using an add-in, the traditional menu can be simulated as one of the tabs.
Many free software proponents have expressed beliefs that the patent cannot be acquired due to the ambiguity of prior art, and are referring to Microsoft's licensing campaign as fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD), as no patent has been acquired yet, and anyone who has not signed the license can legally implement the concept in their applications without having to conform to Microsoft's requirements. It has also been stated that Microsoft will not give their approval to products competing directly with Microsoft's; Jensen Harris, a program manager in Microsoft's Office Group, has stated on his blog that "if you are building a program which directly competes with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, or Access (the Microsoft applications with the new UI), you can't obtain the royalty-free license." Some have also raised concerns that the design guidelines might contain legal loopholes that give Microsoft a basis for future lawsuits against products exploiting this concept, and they would not be able to inform others due to the non-disclosure agreement.
| Graphical control elements | |
|---|---|
| Command input | |
| Data input-output | |
| Informational | |
| Containers | |
| Navigational | |
| Special windows | |
| Related concepts | |
See also
References
- http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/office/aa905530.aspx
- "Microsoft Evaluation License: 2007 Microsoft Office System User Interface". license agreement of the Office guidelines evaluation copy. Retrieved 2007-02-03.
- ^ Joe Wilcox (2006-11-21). "Microsoft Cuts the Ribbon on Office 2007 UI Licensing". Microsoft Watch. Retrieved 2007-02-01.
- Mike Weller (2006-11-22). "Office 2007 UI License". Slashdot. Retrieved 2007-02-01.
- Jensen Harris (2006-11-21). "Licensing the 2007 Microsoft Office User Interface". MSDN Blogs. Retrieved 2006-02-01.