Excel 2013 Power Programming with VBA

Chapter 20: Working with the Ribbon

In This Chapter

• Looking at the Excel Ribbon UI from a user's perspective

• Using VBA to work with the Ribbon

• Customizing the Ribbon with RibbonX code

• Looking at examples of workbooks that modify the Ribbon

• Using boilerplate code for creating an old-style toolbar

Ribbon Basics

Beginning with Microsoft Office 2007, the time-honored menus-and-toolbars user interface was scrapped and replaced with a new tabs-and-Ribbon interface. Although the new interface kind of resembles the old-fashioned menus-and-toolbars interface, you'll find that it's radically different.

Long-time Excel users probably noticed that the menu system had become increasingly complicated with each new version. In addition, the number of toolbars had become almost overwhelming. After all, every new feature must be accessible. In the past, this access meant adding more items to the menus and building new toolbars. The Microsoft designers set out to solve this overcrowding problem, and the Ribbon interface was their solution.

Reactions to the Office Ribbon interface can best be described as mixed. As with anything new, some people love it, and others hate it. Count me among the former group. I find it painful to go back to the confusing menu system in Excel 2003.

Many experienced Excel users suffered from a mild case of bewilderment when they realized that many of their familiar command sequences no longer worked. Beginning users, on the other hand, are usually able to ...