AX1175

Managing ribbon tabs

Ribbon tabs can be created, edited, or deleted using Manage > Ribbon Tabs, in the Administration group of the Axiom tab. You can also manage ribbon tabs from the Ribbon Tabs Library in the Explorer task pane.

Creating a ribbon tab

You can create ribbon tabs for various purposes and display them to users in the application ribbon. Once a ribbon tab is created, it can be assigned to users and roles to open automatically when the user logs into the system.

Ribbon tabs are created by defining one or more groups, and placing one or more child items in each group. The top-level group item is text only and cannot link to any file or feature. Child items in the group can link to any eligible file or feature. The following screenshot illustrates how groups and child items display in the ribbon tab:

As you create the ribbon tab in the editor, a preview of the tab displays in the bottom of the dialog. You can use this preview to see what your ribbon tab will look like when displayed in the ribbon.

NOTE: Only administrators and users with the Administer Task Panes security permission can create new ribbon tabs.

To create a new ribbon tab:

  1. On the Axiom tab, in the Administration group, click Manage > Ribbon Tabs.

    The Axiom Explorer dialog opens, with the focus on the Ribbon Tabs Library. You can also use the Explorer task pane for this purpose.

  2. In the Libraries section, right click the Ribbon Tabs Library, and then select New > Ribbon Tab.

    The Edit Ribbon Tab dialog opens.

  3. New ribbon tab files start with a single group, named Group1. Edit the name of this section using the Group name box in the right-hand side of the dialog.

    All top-level items in the ribbon tab are groups. In most cases, the only valid property for a group is the group name.

  4. Add child items to the group as needed. You can add child items by doing any of the following:

    • With the group name selected, click Add New Item > Child of selected item.
    • With a child item selected, click Add New Item and then either Before selected item or After selected item.
    • Drag and drop an item from the Axiom Explorer pane in the left hand side of the screen to the desired place in the ribbon structure. A black line shows you where the item will be placed.

    You can configure each item as desired. In most cases, you want each item in the ribbon tab to link to an Axiom file or feature. If you dragged and dropped an item from the Axiom Explorer pane into the ribbon tab, then the item is automatically linked to that file or feature. Otherwise, use the Shortcut Target setting to assign the item to a file or feature.

    For more information on the types of files and features that can be included in ribbon tabs and how they work, see Linking to Axiom files and features in a task pane or ribbon tab. For more details on available appearance properties, see Ribbon tab properties.

    There are a variety of ways to configure ribbon tabs. For more details on some common design goals and avoiding potential issues, see Ribbon tab design considerations.

  5. Add additional groups and child items as needed. You can add new groups by using Add New Item > New top level group. Arrange these items as desired by dragging or dropping items within the structure, or by using the Edit button to cut, copy, and paste.

  6. Check the ribbon Preview at the bottom of the dialog, to make sure the groups and items display in the ribbon as you expect.

  7. Click OK to save.

    The Save As dialog opens to the Ribbon Tabs Library. Give the file a name and optionally a description, and save it to the desired location.

    NOTE: The name of the file determines the default name of the tab in the ribbon. Make sure the file name is brief and intuitive. When assigning the ribbon tab to users in security, you can override the file name and define an alternate tab name using the Axiom Tab Name shortcut parameter.

After you have created a ribbon tab, the only way to test it in the ribbon is to assign it to yourself as a startup file in security, and then close and reopen Axiom Software. If the ribbon tab is for a particular user or user group, then an administrator should also test the ribbon tab by assigning it to the appropriate user or group and then logging in as a representative user. See Assigning ribbon tabs to users.

Editing a ribbon tab

You can edit a ribbon tab at any time, regardless of whether it is currently open in the ribbon. Ribbon tabs currently open in the ribbon do not impact editing availability. If a message tells you that a ribbon tab file is locked, this means that another user has opened the ribbon tab in the editor, not that the ribbon tab is open in the ribbon.

Ribbon tabs are only loaded at startup. If you edit a ribbon tab, you will not see the changes to that ribbon tab until you close and reopen the system (assuming the ribbon tab is configured to open at startup).

To edit a ribbon tab:

  1. From the Axiom tab, in the Administration group, click Manage > Ribbon Tabs.

    You can also access the Ribbon Tabs Library from the Explorer task pane.

  2. In the Ribbon Tabs Library, navigate to the ribbon tab that you want to edit, then double-click it to open.

  3. In the Edit Ribbon Tab dialog, edit the ribbon tab as desired.

  4. Click Apply or OK to save the ribbon tab. If you would rather save this ribbon tab as a new file, you can click File > Save As from the dialog toolbar.

Deleting a ribbon tab

You can delete a ribbon tab at any time. It does not matter if the ribbon tab is currently open on the ribbon in your session or any other user's session.

If a ribbon tab is currently open in a user's session and that ribbon tab file is deleted, the ribbon tab will remain useable in that session until the user exits the system. If the deleted ribbon tab was configured to open on startup, no special steps are required to remove it from user configurations—the next time users log in, the ribbon tab will simply no longer exist and therefore will be ignored by the startup configuration. However, it is a good idea to remove the obsolete configuration from Security so that user configurations match what you expect to be displayed.

To delete a ribbon tab:

  1. From the Axiom tab, in the Administration group, click Manage > Ribbon Tabs. You can also delete ribbon tabs using the Explorer task pane.
  2. In the Ribbon Tabs Library, navigate to the ribbon tab that you want to delete, then right-click and select Delete.