An integral part of the evolution Microsoft is attempting to catalyze for the Windows client via the move from Windows Vista to Windows 7 is to scrap the traditional graphical user interface associated with the programs running on top of the operating system for the style introduced with Office 2007 Ribbon/Fluent UI. Applications such as WordPad and Paint, which ship as default components of the platform, have already embraced the new UI, but Microsoft is pushing hard for developers of third-party programs to also adopt Ribbon in mass, and make it mainstream.

“Developers can eliminate much of the drudgery of Win32 UI development, and deliver a rich, graphical, animated, and highly familiar user interface by using markup based UI and a small, high-performance, native code runtime. The Scenic Ribbon control helps developers improve usability by exposing your application's most frequently accessed features directly to end users. The Ribbon makes it easier for end users to find and use application features, because less functionality is hidden, leading to increased productivity,” Microsoft revealed.

Essentially, what Microsoft is delivering for Windows 7 is a collection of new user interface application programming interfaces for Win32 applications, dubbed Windows Scenic. Vista's successor also brings to the table the Scenic Ribbon platform, which Microsoft describes as a new UI command system built with Windows Scenic.

The Redmond company would wish for nothing better than to see the old Windows command presentation model of UI scrapped by developers, as they tailor their applications for Windows 7. As far as end-users are concerned, this means no more of the old menus, toolbars, task panes, and dialog boxes.

Moreover, loyal to the saying “out with the old and in with the new,” the company is offering various sub-controls for the next generation of Windows 7 application UI. In this regard, applications adapted to the new Windows Scenic Ribbon would feature visual components including: application button (or pearl); Quick-access toolbar; Ribbon control of contextual tabs; Mini-toolbars and Style galleries.

“The Scenic Ribbon controls consist of a set of Microsoft Win32 APIs that override the top-level menu bar functionality and render a ribbon-style command UI instead. It is similar in functionality and appearance to the Ribbon in Office 2007,” Microsoft explained.