What is known as “Options” in any of the programs Office, refers to the band located at the top of the program window A containing the command groups. Without a doubt, it is a very important component in the user interface.
Maybe once you have become familiar with Access, you wish create a little more advanced applications, so you will require more specific functions such as customizing the Office Fluent ribbon, in order to facilitate the use of the application.
Therefore, in this post we explain How to customize the Microsoft Access ribbon from scratch?, through the help of a simple step-by-step guide. In addition to that, we will explain what this tape is and what it is for.
What is the Microsoft Access Ribbon and what is it for?
First of all, and in simple words, the Access is the strip of tabs at the top of the program window and contains all command groups. You could say that it is the main replacement for menus and toolbars. It consists of tabs with groups of buttons. In this sense, once you enter the program, you will see that within the options ribbon there are main tabs that group the most used commands related.
You can also see the contextual tabs that are only displayed when you can use them, the Quick-access tool bar and a small toolbar that you can customize with your favorite commands. In the different tabs of the ribbon, some of the buttons they offer a gallery of options, while others simply take care of starting a command. When you ask yourself the question of What is the Access ribbon for? The answer is very simple.
This section is for consolidate tasks or entry points in one place that previously used to require the display of menus, toolbars, and other user interface components. This way you will have a dedicated space exclusively for searching commands, instead of doing it a multitude of times. That is, when you open any database, the ribbon is located at the top of the main window of Access where all the commands of the active command tab will be.
The main command tabs in Access are:
- Archive.
- Start.
- Create.
- External data.
- Database tools.
Learn step-by-step how to customize the Access ribbon
There are a number of things to keep in mind when you want to customize the Access. First, system tables are not displayed in the navigation pane so you need to change the settings in the dialog Navigation options.
So you can see the table USysRibbons after creating it. But before doing so, you must be clear that in all programs of Microsoft Office using the interface Office Fluent, you work with him Extensible Markup Language (XML) so that you can customize the ribbon.
Consequently, if you are going to customize it, it is recommended that you have basic knowledge in the area:
Before starting
As we noted earlier, the system tables are not displayed in the navigation pane. Therefore, you have to change the settings to see the UsysRibbons table.
The procedure is the next:
- When you have the database open in Access, right-click on the navigation bar located at the top of the navigation panel. Then, click on Navigation options within the context menu.
- Within Navigation options, specifically in Presentation options, check the box Show system objects. Then, click on To accept.
Later, it is time to enable display of plugin user interface error messages. These types of messages are very valuable to the user, since they create and solve the problems of XML customization of the ribbon, therefore it is recommended to make Access show them.
The step by step to achieve this is indicated below:
- Press on File / Options.
- Once there, go to Client configuration.
- Within general, select the check box corresponding to Show errors in plugin user interface.
- Finally, click To accept.
Create the USysRibbons system table
This table used to store the customization XML for the ribbon.
The process to create the USysRibbons system table is:
- Address the group Boards inside the tab Create. Click on Table layout.
- Then, you must add the following fields to the table (be sure to write them exactly as we indicate):
- Field name: Type: Self-numbering. Field size: Long integer.
- Field name: Type: Text. Field size: 255.
- Field name: Type: Memo.
- If you wish, you can add more fields to the table, as in the case of a comment field to describe the function of XML of the ribbon.
- Select the ID field. Go to group Tools of the tab Design and click on Primary key.
- Go to Quick-access tool bar, tap on save or press CTRL + S. Then, write a name to the new table USysRibbons.
Add ribbon customization XML to USysRibbons table
To explain this procedure much better, we will do it with an example. Imagine what you want prevent users of your database from using any of the tools that are in the Create tab. Besides, you want to create a new tab called Custom tab that has the command Paste in her. The XML code that we will mention below, creates that configuration.
In this sense, the step by step is:
- Go to the navigation panel and right-click on the USysRibbons table. Then press on view Information sheet within the context menu.
- Add the following data to the table (We recommend you copy the XML example and paste it directly into the table):
- ID: Self-numbering.
- RibbonName: File my.
- RibbonXML:
- This XML is the one indicated to execute the mentioned function Therefore, it is important that the user, before customizing the Access ribbon, has knowledge about XML.
- By last, close the USysRibbons table and then close and reopen the database.
Apply the custom tape
Once he XML of the custom ribbon has been stored inside the table, you must follow one of the procedures that we will indicate. Each method will depend on what you want to do, that is, if you want apply the tape to the entire database or if you just want do it to a form or report specific.
Apply to the entire database:
- Go to File / Options.
- Press on Current database and, subsequently, enter Ribbon and toolbar options. Click on the ribbon name list and select the ribbon you want: in this case it would be in “My tab”.
- Tap on To accept.
Apply to a specific form or report:
- Inside the navigation panel, right click on the form or inform to which you want to apply the custom ribbon. Then, click on Design view in the context menu.
- In case the Property sheet, press F4 to do it.
- In Selection type, located at the top of the property sheet, make sure the object type (report or form) is selected in the list.
- Inside the tab Other, from the property sheet, click the list Ribbon name. Then, click on the tape you want to show when opening the form or report (in this case it would be “my file”).
- Click on the option save, in the Quick-access tool bar, or press CTRL + S.
- Close the report or form, and then double click on it inside the navigation pane to reopen it. The ribbon you selected will be displayed.
After you verify that the custom ribbon works without problems, there is the possibility to hide the system tables again as follows:
- With the right button, click on the navigation bar at the top of the navigation panel. Then tap on Navigation options in the context menu.
- In Navigation options, specifically in Presentation options, uncheck the box Show system objects. Finally, tap on To accept.