WPF Ribbons: Comparison of Microsoft, DevExpress or Fluent?

Question

In the new WPF application we write, we will be using DevExpress controls suite, and will have a Ribbon.

Currently, the options I see are:

1. Microsoft - The vendor's offer, probably will get into the library on the next release
2. DevExpress - The controls library we know and love
3. Fluent - Open-source, got generally good recommendations

How do the different available ribbon controls compare? What features are / are not supported?

Eleazar

Answer 1

Fluent Ribbon here! The Microsoft one lacks good support

Update:

Please vote on the Microsoft UserVoice site about the buggy Ribbon control:

https://visualstudio.uservoice.com/forums/121579-visual-studio-ide

Cyclades

WE used Fluent ribbon because Microsoft ribbon lacked in-ribbon gallery. – Eleazar

The codeplex site for this project is also active. In case there are bugs. – Cyclades

please remove the link, it is dead. – Daryl

Answer 2

Fluent Ribbon is I believe a great choice if you're looking to customize the styling of your ribbon. For example, Microsoft's Ribbon control has had theme options removed and is now only shipped with a single theme.

From my experience, Fluent Ribbon is not so great at design time building in Visual Studio, but in all other areas is superb. It is Open Source so can be customised to your needs and, coupled with MahApps Metro package, you can have complete Metro-styled applications with ease. Below is a screenshot of a sample application made with Fluent.Ribbon, using its 'Office 2013' theme.

Other commercial Ribbons are available and offer more features (such as three-state visibility, as show below in a screenshot from Outlook 2013)

I would advise making a list of all the features you require from the Ribbon control before deciding which one to use and whether a paid commercial Ribbon makes sense for your scenario. In your case, you already have access to DevExpress, so perhaps that may be your best choice.

Tewell

Answer 3

I believe one of the most used is the Microsoft one.

Mccary

We will start using Microsoft Ribbon, although it has some limitation. – Eleazar

The Microsoft Ribbon has many limitations. I am considering releasing a Ribbon control I wrote on my own. I planned to use it in my own apps, but I can see that there are still many others who can't afford $$$ for a good Ribbon, so I will release it for free. – Cowberry

Answer 4

Microsoft's Ribbon library (October 2010) does not work well with non standard DPI settings. And it's design time support is not good.

Comparing to Microsoft one, I personally think Actipro Ribbon is a better choice. It has EXCELLENT design time support, and works well with non standard DPI.

I have not tried any other Ribbon library yet.

Osbert

Thanks for letting me know. We want not to relay on too many third-parties, so we will start with Microsoft Ribbon. I hope its problems won't be too limiting. – Eleazar