Revit Ribbon

Revit Ribbon

The Nice3point.Revit.Extensions ribbon API wraps the verbose, stringly-typed raw API (RibbonPanel.AddItem(new PushButtonData(...)), manual BitmapImage URIs, manual tab creation) into a fluent, generic, theme-aware chain. CreatePanel creates the tab if needed and returns an existing panel by name; calling it repeatedly is safe.

When to use

• Building an add-in's ribbon in ExternalApplication.OnStartup.
• Reviewing ribbon code that constructs PushButtonData and BitmapImage by hand.

When not to use

• Adding right-click menu entries — use revit-context-menu.

Workflow

Step 1: Create a panel

var panel = application.CreatePanel("Analysis", "MyAddin");

application is the UIControlledApplication from OnStartup. The overload without a tab name adds the panel to the add-ins tab.

Step 2: Add buttons bound to command classes

panel.AddPushButton<AnalyzeCommand>("Analyze")
    .SetImage("/MyAddin;component/Resources/Icons/Analyze16.png")
    .SetLargeImage("/MyAddin;component/Resources/Icons/Analyze32.png");

AddPushButton<TCommand> wires the command by type. Group related commands under AddPullDownButton("…") or AddSplitButton("…") and add their children with the pulldown's own AddPushButton<TCommand>; AddRadioButtonGroup, AddComboBox, and AddTextBox add the other input controls.

var pulldown = panel.AddPullDownButton("Tools");
pulldown.AddPushButton<AnalyzeCommand>("Analyze");
pulldown.AddPushButton<ExportCommand>("Export");

Step 3: Stack small items vertically

AddStackPanel packs one to three small items into a vertical stack (overflow flows into a new column). It carries its own AddPushButton/AddPullDownButton/AddSplitButton/AddComboBox/AddTextBox, and AddLabel for a caption.

var stack = panel.AddStackPanel();
stack.AddPushButton<AnalyzeCommand>("Analyze");
stack.AddLabel("Mode:");
stack.AddComboBox();

On the stack panel the pulldown and split overloads take (buttonText, internalName).

Step 4: Set icons, tooltips, availability, and shortcuts

SetImage/SetLargeImage take a pack URI; when the file path contains light/dark the icon auto-swaps for the Revit theme (2024+). Add SetToolTip, SetLongDescription (which accepts <p> paragraphs), and SetAvailabilityController<T>, which greys the button out when its command cannot run. Bind keyboard shortcuts with AddShortcuts (or TryAddShortcuts, which skips if other buttons use this shortcut); both support a params enumeration.

panel.AddPushButton<AnalyzeCommand>("Analyze")
    .SetToolTip("Analyze the active model")
    .SetLongDescription("<p>Runs the analysis and writes a report.</p>")
    .SetAvailabilityController<DocumentAvailableController>()
    .AddShortcuts("RA");

Step 5: Tint the panel (optional)

Tint the panel body, its title bar, or its slide-out area with SetBackground, SetTitleBarBackground, and SetSlideOutPanelBackground — each takes a color name, a Color, or a WPF Brush.

Step 6: Verify

Launch Revit and confirm the panel and buttons appear on the tab, icons render in both light and dark themes, and each button invokes its command.

Validation

• Panels come from CreatePanel, not hand-built tabs.
• Buttons use AddPushButton<TCommand>, not raw PushButtonData.
• Icons are set with SetImage/SetLargeImage.
• The ribbon is built in OnStartup.

Common Pitfalls