Customizing icons and groups in the ribbon

<< Click to Display Table of Contents >>

Customizing icons and groups in the ribbon

FreeOffice: These Customize options are not included in SoftMaker FreeOffice.

"Ribbon" only: This section is relevant only for users who have configured the program to use the ribbon interface. (For information on customizing the classic menu interface, see Customizing toolbars.)

The command Customize ribbon customize_icon allows you to customize the ribbon to a certain extent. The main purpose of this command is to add additional icons, command groups or even complete ribbon tabs to the ribbon.

Important: The icons in the predefined command groups on the ribbon cannot be changed. This means that you cannot add, remove, or change the order of icons in the existing command groups. Additional icons can only be inserted in new command groups at the end of a ribbon tab (or optionally in a completely new ribbon tab).

To customize the ribbon, proceed as follows:

1.Choose the command Customize ribbon under File | group Settings | Customize customize_icon to open the dialog box. Alternatively: Right-click anywhere on the ribbon with the mouse button.

Tip: The dialog box can be opened even faster by double-clicking on any empty area of the ribbon.

2.Use one of the procedures described below to edit the ribbon tabs.

Basic structure of the dialog box

The dialog box of the command Customize ribbon contains two lists:

▪Left list: all available commands

The left list shows all commands available in the program.
Tip: You can use the option Categories (above the left list) to filter the list by a specific category (for example, all commands of the "File" category).
You can also search the list by typing something in the Quick search field.

▪Right list: icons of the currently selected ribbon tab

The right list displays the icons contained in the currently selected ribbon tab.
You define the ribbon tab to be displayed here via the dropdown list Customize (top right).

In this dialog box, you can perform the following actions:

Adding an icon

Note: You can only add icons to command groups that you have added yourself (or to completely new ribbon tabs). You cannot insert an icon into the predefined groups.

To add an icon to a specific ribbon tab, perform the following steps in the dialog box of the command File | group Settings | Customize | Customize ribbon:

1.In the dropdown list Customize (top right), select the ribbon tab to which you want to add an icon.
The right list now displays all icons that are currently on the selected ribbon tab.
2.In the left list, select the icon that you want to add.
3.Click on the button double_arrow_right.
Even faster: Simply double-click on the icon in the left list.

The icon is now added to the ribbon tab. If you have not yet created a new group here, the program automatically creates a new command group for the icon at the end of the ribbon tab.

Removing an icon

Note: You can only remove icons that you added to the ribbon yourself. You cannot delete any of the predefined icons.

To remove one of the icons you added from a ribbon tab, perform the following steps in the dialog box:

1.In the dropdown list Customize, select the ribbon tab on which the icon is located.
2.In the right list below it, select the icon to be removed.
3.Click on the button double_arrow_left.
Even faster: Simply double-click on the icon in the right list.

The icon is now removed from the ribbon tab.

Moving an icon

Note: You can only move icons that you added to the ribbon yourself. You cannot change the position of any of the predefined icons.

To move an icon in a ribbon tab, perform the following steps in the dialog box:

1.In the dropdown list Customize, select the ribbon tab on which the icon is located.
2.In the right list below it, select the icon to be moved.
3.Use the up arrow_button_up and down arrow_button_down arrow buttons to move the icon within the ribbon tab.
Note: If you want to move an icon to a different ribbon tab, you must first remove it from its current ribbon tab and then add it to the other ribbon tab.

Adding a new command group

Note: New command groups can only be added after the default command groups. You cannot insert a user-defined group between the predefined command groups.

To add a new command group (a new section) to a ribbon tab, perform the following steps in the dialog box:

1.Select the desired ribbon tab from the dropdown list Customize.
2.Click on the New group button (displayed below the right list).

The new command group is now created (at the end of the ribbon tab).

Renaming a command group

Note: Only user-defined command groups can be renamed. You cannot rename any of the predefined command groups.

To rename a user-defined command group in a ribbon tab, perform the following steps in the dialog box:

1.Select the desired ribbon tab from the dropdown list Customize.
2.Select the desired command group from the right list below it.
3.Click on the Rename button (displayed below the right list).
4.Type in the new name and confirm it.

The command group will now be renamed accordingly.

Removing a command group

Note: Only user-defined command groups can be removed. You cannot delete any of the predefined command groups.

To remove a user-defined command group from a ribbon tab, follow these steps in the dialog box:

1.Select the desired ribbon tab from the dropdown list Customize.
2.Select the desired command group from the right list below it.
3.Click on the button double_arrow_left. (Any icons must have been removed from the group.)
Even faster: Simply double-click on the command group in the right list.

The command group is now removed from the ribbon tab.

Assigning shortcut keys

If you click on the Shortcut keys button in the dialog box, the dialog box will expand to include an additional area called Shortcut keys, which can be used to edit shortcut keys for commands.

Summary: You can assign a shortcut key of your choice to any command here: Select the command in either of the two lists, click on the Press new shortcut key field and then press the key combination with which you want to choose this command in future.

For more information, see Customizing shortcut keys.

"Edit" button

The Edit button is only enabled if you have selected a user-defined icon in the list on the left side of the dialog box. For more information see Creating user-defined icons.

Buttons for managing the ribbon tabs (right side)

Above and below the list on the right side of the dialog box, there are buttons for managing the ribbon tabs. Some of these buttons have already been mentioned in this section. To ensure that users understand them better, all buttons and their functions are clearly listed again below.

Above the list on the right:

▪New

This button creates a new, empty ribbon tab. You can then customize this ribbon tab by adding icons and command groups.

▪Rename

Use this button to rename the ribbon tab selected in the dropdown list Customize (only available for user-defined ribbon tabs).

▪Reset

This button resets the ribbon tab selected in the dropdown list Customize back to its delivery state.

▪Delete

This button deletes the ribbon tab selected in the dropdown list Customize (only available for user-defined ribbon tabs).

Below the list on the right:

▪New group

This button adds a new command group to the ribbon tab selected in the dropdown list Customize.

▪Rename

Use this button to rename a command group (only available for user-defined command groups). First, select the desired command group in the list on the right of the dialog box.

▪Reset all

This button resets all ribbon tabs back to their delivery state.

The Close button closes the dialog box and all changes are applied.