NOTES FOR RIBBON.CPP

RIBBON.CPP is the simplest method I've found for creating a customizable
ribbon bar (sorry, Borland -- I mean "Speed Bar ()") (oops - sorry,
Microsoft, I mean "Toolbar ()") in a standard window.

Essentially, what Ribbon does is use a modeless dialog box that
can be created with any resource editor (I used Resource Workshop,
but you can use WRT, MS Dialog Editor, etc.) as a template
for the ribbon bar. In the dialog template, the dialog box is
created to be wider than the maximized window on a standard display.
This ensures that it will always cover the entire width of the window
it is displayed in. It is created as a child window to simplify
positioning (it defaults to 0,0 of the parent window) and is given
its own window class to allow for simple painting when the WM_PAINT
message is received (for top and bottom highlighting, giving it a
nice 3D appearance).

Since the ribbon bar is at its heart a dialog box, standard
ObjectWindows calls are made to control it. TRibbonDialog is a
TDialog descendant, with very few methods overridden. In the
main window, it is initialized via a GetApplication()->MakeWindow() call,
thus creating a modeless dialog box. Any notification messages are
processed by the programmer.

Lots of users here have expressed a desire to incorporate a ribbon bar
in new applications. It seems to be becoming a semi-standard part of
the evolving Windows GUI, and I think its a good addition. Hopefully,
a glance at this code will show you how simple creating a ribbon bar
can be. Of course, you might want to spruce it up with owner
drawn buttons or other exotic controls. Having the ability to
create the basic design in a resource editor simplifies the
job considerably.


Michael D. Most
Valencia, CA.
2/14/92