Customize the ribbon

By Cynthia, 10 November, 2025

To customize the Ribbon, you can right click the Ribbon, choose Customize the Ribbon from the context menu to bring out the Customize Tools dialog box first, and then follow the steps below. 

Create a new tab

To create a new tab, please do one of the following:

  • Select the tab after which you want to add the new tab, and then click New Tab

  • (Alternatively) Right-click the tab after which you want to add the new tab, and then choose New Tab from the context menu. 

Add a new group to a tab

To add a new group to a tab, please do one of the following:

  • Select the tab to which you want to add the group, and then click New Group
  • (Alternatively) Right-click the tab to which you want to add the group, and then choose New Group from the context menu. 

Rename a tab or group 

  • Select the tab or group to be renamed, and click Rename.
  • (Alternatively) Right-click the tab or group to be renamed, and choose Rename from the context menu. 
  • In the Rename dialog box, input the new name and click OK
  • For a custom group, you can also choose the display symbol from the Rename dialog box.

Add commands to a group

  • Select the group under which you want to add a command. 

  • Choose the command category and the desired command from the Choose command from list.

  • Click Add to add the selected command to the desired group. 

Remove a tab, group or command

To remove a tab, group or command, please do one of the following:

  • Select the tab, group or command to be removed, and click Remove.

  • (Alternatively) Right-click the tab, group or command to be removed, and choose Delete from the context menu. 

Reorder the tabs or groups 

To reorder the tabs or groups, please do one of the following: 

  • Select the tab or group you want to reorder, then click the Up or Down arrow to move accordingly. 

  • (Alternatively) Right-click the tab or group you want to reorder, and then select Move Item Up or Move Item Down to move accordingly. 

Reset the Ribbon 

  • Click Reset in the Customize Tools dialog box to reset the Ribbon to the default settings. 

Import a customized Ribbon

  • Click Import.

  • In the Open dialog box, select the Ribbon customization file (.xml file), and click Open.

Note: After importing a Ribbon customization file, you will lose all the arrangements you have customized previously. If you want to revert to the customization you currently have, it is easier to export the customized Ribbon before importing any customization. 

Export a customized Ribbon

  • Click Export

  • In the Save As dialog box, specify the file name and path and click Save.

Notes

1. After customization, you need to click OK in the Customize Ribbon tab to save and apply your customizations to the Ribbon. 

2. To help you distinguish a default tab or group from the customized ones, the custom tabs or groups in the Customize the Ribbon list are tabbed with “(Custom)” after the name (like this: ), but the word “(Custom)” will not appear on the Ribbon.

3. The commands in the default group under a default tab are displayed in grey, and they cannot be renamed, reordered, or removed. 

4. You cannot remove default tabs in Foxit PDF Editor. 

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