Change the position of a tab on the ribbon

You can change the order of custom tabs on a ribbon by using the Tab Collection Editor. You can position custom tabs before or after a built-in tab on the ribbon. A built-in tab is a tab that is already on the Ribbon of a Microsoft Office application. For example, the Data tab is a built-in tab in Excel.

Applies to: The information in this topic applies to document-level projects and VSTO Add-in projects for the following applications: Excel; InfoPath 2013 and InfoPath 2010; Outlook; PowerPoint; Project; Visio; Word. For more information, see Features available by Office application and project type.

To change the order of tabs on the ribbon

1. Select the Ribbon code file (.vb or .cs file) in Solution Explorer.

2. On the View menu, click Designer.

3. Right-click the Ribbon Designer, and then click Properties.

4. In the Properties window, select the Tabs property, and then click the ellipsis button ().

   The Tab Collection Editor appears.

5. In the Tab Collection Editor, in the Members list, select the tab you want to move and click the up or down arrows to change the tab order.

To position a tab before or after a built-in tab on the ribbon

1. In the Ribbon Designer, select a custom tab.

2. In the Properties window, expand the ControlId property, and then make sure that the value of the ControlIdType property is set to Custom.

3. In the Properties window, expand the Position property.

4. Set the PositionType property to the appropriate value:

   • BeforeOfficeId positions the group before a specified built-in tab.

   • AfterOfficeId positions the group after a specified built-in tab.

5. Set the OfficeId property to the control ID of a built-in tab.

   For a list of control IDs, see Office 2010 help files: Office fluent user interface control identifiers.

Related content

• Ribbon overview
• Ribbon Designer
• Ribbon XML
• Walkthrough: Create a custom tab by using the Ribbon Designer
• Walkthrough: Create a custom tab by using Ribbon XML