Possible to create a topbar like word has?

legitnameyo

picture of word topbar
Word has, what I think, is one of the most elegant control bar / top bar / top menu ever. Is it possible to recreate a bar that looks just like that bar in qt in c++? Most examples of bars doesn't have that clean look to it like word has. I can't seem to find a good example of a bar that doesn't look like it was programmed on a budget and made for some linux os back in 2009.

mrjj

Hi and welcome to the forums
You mean (ribbon bar)
alt text

Yes you can create that but its not a trivial task.
There are commercial offerings but i never saw a
open source/free one.
https://www.devmachines.com/qtitanribbon-overview.html

SGaist

Hi and welcome to devnet,

What version of word are you talking about ?
A picture would nice too

aha_1980

@SGaist Actually, there is a picture above the text, it's just transparent :)

legitnameyo

I am talking about the latest versions of microsoft word. I added a picture but it seems to be invisible, and above my text. Fortunately mrjj added the picture so as to illustrate what I am aiming at with my programming. Can anybody point me in the right direction? There are zero tutorials online that I can find on how to go about doing such a massive project.

mrjj

@legitnameyo
Hi
Im not sure you can find a tut on making such ribbon.
The base would be something like
http://doc.qt.io/qt-5/qtabwidget.html#details with
layouts for the sections and some stylesheets.

I did saw this
https://github.com/hdijkema/QRibbon
but i never tested it.

legitnameyo

Managed to create the ribbon, just like word has their ribbon. Thanks a ton guys!

Chris Kawa

The reason you don't see the ribbon in apps much is because it's patented. It's questionable if you can legally recreate it with 3rd party tools like Qt so people just don't risk it.

@legitnameyo if you want to incorporate the ribbon ui in your app without using the Microsoft provided library and adhering to their terms of use make sure with a lawyer that you are legally in the clear.

legitnameyo

I am recreating it for educational purposes (just the style), for now. I am going to use a ribbon in my prototype product, but it will look different. Are you saying that ribbons in notepad-like programs are potentially illegal??
Edit: Also I am not using any library not already included in Qt, so I hope no Microsoft provided libraries...?

Chris Kawa

I am not using any library not already included in Qt, so I hope no Microsoft provided libraries...

Qt itself does not use any parts of ribbon libraries. But that doesn't change the situation for you if you plan to recreate that interface yourself.

Are you saying that ribbons in notepad-like programs are potentially illegal??

I don't know, I'm not a lawyer, maybe they just paid for the patent. To give you a real life example - just recently Corel was sued by Microsoft and in February this year lost $278,000 in a patent infringement action for using just some elements of the ribbon (one of the patents is here, look up the others if you want).

I'm not saying you can't use it. I'm saying be careful and check all the legal conditions under which you're allowed to. I don't know if educational use is ok. I don't know if making it different is better or worse. Those are exactly the things you should check with a lawyer.

legitnameyo

I've read up on the conditions around ribbon styled UI controllers, and basically you can apply to use a ribbon UI if 1. Microsoft accepts the request and 2. the program doesn't compete with any of their applications. Ribbons are defined as "multiple tabs with multiple functionality", paraphrased. So I can't use a ribbon UI in my program after all... :( Thanks for the help anyways! :P