Customize the ribbon options

You can customize the ArcGIS Pro ribbon by creating tabs and choosing which commands appear on them. You can also add new groups and commands to existing tabs.

The Customize the Ribbon options are accessed from the ArcGIS Pro Settings page. To open them, follow these steps:

1. From an open project, click the Project tab on the ribbon. Or, from the ArcGIS Pro start page, click the Settings tab .
2. In the list of side tabs, click Options.
3. On the Options dialog box menu, under Application, click Customize the Ribbon.

Add tabs, groups, and commands to the ribbon

You can organize functionality by adding commands to new groups on existing ribbon tabs or new tabs. At any time, you can remove specific customizations or reset the ribbon to its default state.

Add groups and commands

The most common way to customize the ribbon is to add commands to a new group on an existing tab.

1. Open the Customize the Ribbon options.
2. In the scrolling window on the right, representing the current ribbon configuration, browse to the tab to which you want to add a group.
3. Select the tab. Optionally, expand the tab to see its groups.
4. Click New Group.

   

   In this example, the Feature Layer tab under the Feature Layer heading is selected.

   A new group named New Group (Custom) is added under the other groups on the tab.

5. With New Group (Custom) selected, click Rename.
6. On the Rename dialog box, replace the display name, and click OK.
7. In the Choose commands from drop-down list, accept the default Popular Commands option or click the drop-down arrow and choose a different option:
   • All Commands
   • List of Tabs
   • Popular Geoprocessing Tools
   • All Geoprocessing Tools

   Tip:

   If you choose All Commands or All Geoprocessing Tools, a search box appears to help you find commands.

8. In the scrolling window of commands, browse to or search for the command you want to add.

   Tip:

   Widen the Options dialog box to see the full command names. Hover over a command to see a short description of its behavior.

9. Select a command and click Add.

   

   In this example, the command to open layer properties is added to a new group named Properties.

   Tip:

   Use the arrow buttons on the right side of the dialog box to change the order of groups on a tab or the order of commands in a custom group. You cannot change the order of commands in built-in groups.

10. Click OK.

    The Options dialog box closes.

11. Return to your project or open a project. Click the tab to which you added the new group.

    The group and its commands appear on the tab.

    

    In this example, layer properties can be opened from the Feature Layer contextual tab.

Add a new tab

You can add a new tab to the ribbon to organize commands that are not grouped on the ArcGIS Pro interface by default.

1. Open the Customize the Ribbon options.
2. Under the scrolling window on the right (the current ribbon configuration), click the New Tab drop-down arrow and click New Tab.

   

   In the window, a new tab and new group are added at the bottom of the Main Tabs heading. On the ribbon, the new tab will appear to the right of other core tabs by default.

   Note:

   You can place a new tab in a different position by selecting an existing tab before adding the new tab. This is not recommended because the new tab may not appear in the expected position in all situations.

3. Click New Tab (Custom) to select it and click Rename.
4. On the Rename dialog box, replace the display name and click OK.
5. Under the new tab, click New Group (Custom) to select it. Click Rename and rename the new group. Click OK.
6. Optionally, select the new tab and add more groups. When you're finished, select a group to which to add commands.
7. In the Choose commands from drop-down list, accept the Popular Commands setting or click the drop-down arrow and make a different choice.
8. In the scrolling window of commands, browse to or search for a command. Select the command and click Add.
9. Optionally, add more commands to the group. When you're finished, click OK.

   The Options dialog box closes.

10. Return to your project or open a project to see the customization.

    

    A new tab named Metadata is added to the ribbon. It has one group and two commands.

Add a new contextual tab

Contextual tabs appear on the ribbon when the application is in a particular state. Contextual tabs may belong to a set. For example, when a feature layer is selected in a map, a set of three contextual tabs appears (Feature Layer, Labeling, and Data). When you add a custom contextual tab, it must be associated with an existing contextual tab or tab set.

1. Open the Customize the Ribbon options.
2. In the scrolling window on the right (the current ribbon configuration), scroll down past the tabs listed under Main Tabs to the list of contextual tab headings.
3. Under a heading, click a contextual tab with which your new tab will be grouped.

   For example, to add a contextual tab that appears with the Time contextual tab, click the Time tab under the Map heading.

   Note:

   The Time contextual tab appears on the ribbon when a map is active and the time property is enabled on a map layer.

4. Click New Tab and click New Tab with Context.

   

   In the window, a new tab and new group are added under the contextual tab.

5. Click New Tab (Custom) to select it and click Rename.
6. On the Rename dialog box, replace the display name and click OK.
7. Under the new tab, click New Group (Custom) to select it. Click Rename and rename the new group. Click OK.
8. Optionally, select the new tab and add more groups. When you're finished, select a group to which to add commands.
9. In the Choose commands from drop-down list, accept the Popular Commands setting or click the drop-down arrow and make a different choice.
10. In the scrolling window of commands, browse to or search for a command. Select the command and click Add.
11. Optionally, add more commands to the group.

    

    Convert Time Field and Convert Time Zone are geoprocessing tools available in the All Geoprocessing Tools list.

12. When you're finished, click OK.

    The Options dialog box closes.

13. Return to your project or open a project to see the customization.

    

    Note:

    To see the customization, you need to create the conditions under which the contextual tab appears. In this example, the time property must be set on a map layer.

Remove commands, groups, and tabs from the ribbon

You can remove custom commands, groups, or tabs that you have added to the ribbon. You can also hide built-in and custom tabs.

Remove custom commands, groups, and tabs

1. Open the Customize the Ribbon options.
2. In the scrolling window on the right (the current ribbon configuration), browse to and select a custom tab or group, or a command that you added to a custom group.
3. Click Remove. Alternatively, right-click the selected item and click Remove.

   

   In this example, a custom contextual tab is removed.

   Note:

   Removing a tab removes its groups and their commands. Removing a group removes its commands.

4. Click OK.

Hide tabs

You can hide built-in and custom tabs to simplify the user interface. Hidden tabs are not shown on the ribbon but are not removed from the Customize the Ribbon options. It is not possible to remove built-in tabs.

1. Open the Customize the Ribbon options.
2. In the scrolling window on the right (the current ribbon configuration), uncheck the check boxes next to any tabs that you want to hide.
3. Click OK.

   The tabs no longer appear on the ribbon. To show them again, open the Customize the Ribbon options and check their check boxes.

Export and import customizations

You can import and export your ribbon customizations to use on different computers or to share with others.

Export customizations

If you have customized the ribbon or the Quick Access Toolbar, you can export the customizations to a file.

1. Open the Customize the Ribbon options.
2. Click Import/Export and click Export customizations.
3. On the browse dialog box, browse to the folder where you want to save the file.
4. In the File name text box, type a name for the file.
5. Click Save.

   The customization file is saved with the .proExportedUI file extension.

Import customizations

You can import ribbon customizations from a .proExportedUI file.

1. Open the Customize the Ribbon options.
2. Click Import/Export and click Import customization file.
3. On the browse dialog box, browse to the folder that contains the customization file. Select the file and click OK.

   A prompt asks if you want to replace all existing ribbon and Quick Access Toolbar customizations.

   Caution:

   Any current customizations will be lost when you import the file. Click No if you want to keep your current customizations.

4. On the prompt, click Yes.
5. Click OK on the Options dialog box.

   The customizations specified in the file are applied to the ribbon.

Reset customizations

Use the Reset button to remove customizations from a selected tab or to restore the ribbon to its default state.

1. Open the Customize the Ribbon options.
2. In the scrolling window on the right (the current ribbon configuration), browse to a tab with a custom group and select the tab.
3. Next to Customizations, click the Reset drop-down arrow and click Reset Selected Item.

   

   In this example, the custom Properties group is removed from the Feature Layer contextual tab. If there were other custom groups on the tab, they would also be removed.

   All customizations of the selected tab are removed, and the tab is restored to its default configuration. Customizations to other tabs are not affected.

   Note:

   To remove all customizations from the ribbon, including customizations imported from a file, click Reset All. This restores the ribbon to its default configuration. Customizations to the Quick Access Toolbar must be reset in the Quick Access Toolbar options.

Use keyboard accelerators

A keyboard accelerator executes a command with a keystroke combination or function key.

Add a keyboard accelerator

Keyboard accelerators can be added for most commands. However, some commands, such as menus, split buttons, and tool palettes, are selectors that require user interaction to complete. Selector commands are indicated by icons. They can be added to the ribbon or Quick Access Toolbar but cannot be controlled by keyboard accelerators.

Selector commands are indicated by icons.

1. Open the Customize the Ribbon options.
2. In the scrolling window on the left (the list of commands), browse to or search for a command and select it.
3. In the Accelerator text box, type a keystroke combination and click Assign.

   

   In this example, the accelerator Alt+P is assigned to the command that opens layer properties.

4. Click OK.
5. Return to your project or open a project to use the accelerator.

   The accelerator only works in appropriate contexts. For example, an accelerator that opens layer properties only works if a map view is active and a layer is selected in the Contents pane.

   Note:

   • If you enter a keystroke combination that is assigned to another command (either an ArcGIS Pro default accelerator or one that you added), a message appears identifying the command to which the accelerator is currently assigned. You can choose whether to override the assignment.
   • You can only use the Shift key in an accelerator in combination with a function key (for example, Shift+F6) or a special key, such as an arrow key (for example, Shift+Up arrow). This prevents accelerators from conflicting with text input of capital letters.

Remove a keyboard accelerator

You can remove accelerators.

1. Open the Customize the Ribbon options.
2. In the scrolling window of commands on the left, select a command that has a custom accelerator assigned to it.

   Note:

   If a command has an accelerator, the keystroke combination appears in the Accelerator text box when the command is selected. Otherwise, the box is empty.

3. Click the Assign drop-down arrow and click Reset.

   The accelerator is removed from the Accelerator box.

   Tip:

   To remove all custom accelerators, click the Assign drop-down arrow and click Reset All Accelerators. ArcGIS Pro default accelerators are not removed.

Show command IDs on ScreenTips

Every command has a unique text ID, which is used by add-in developers to find or call commands. For quick reference, the command ID can be displayed in the command's ScreenTip on the ribbon.

1. Open the Customize the Ribbon options.
2. Check the Show command IDs on ScreenTips check box.
3. Click OK.
4. Return to your project or open a project. Hover over a command on the ribbon to display its ScreenTip.

   

   To stop displaying command IDs, uncheck the Show command IDs on ScreenTips check box in the Customize the Ribbon options.

   Tip:

   You can also get the command ID by browsing to a command in the scrolling window on the right, right-clicking the command, and clicking Copy ID to clipboard. (You can use the scrolling window on the left if you set the Choose commands from drop-down list to List of Tabs.)