What's New: UI Enhancements

Applies to: SharePoint Foundation 2010

The user interface (UI) in Microsoft SharePoint Foundation has been upgraded significantly. This includes the introduction of the Server ribbon, a revamped master page, and new cascading style sheets (CSS). Each of these enhancements creates a more consistent experience for users across pages and makes it easier to work with objects inside SharePoint Foundation.

User Interface Improvements

The following elements have been upgraded in SharePoint Foundation.

The Server Ribbon

The Server ribbon was introduced to make the command surfaces in SharePoint Foundation easier to use. The commands are logically grouped into tabs and groups to help users find commands more easily. The ribbon can also be extended to include customized tabs, groups, and commands. For more information about the ribbon, see Building Block: Server Ribbon.

Master Pages

In SharePoint Foundation application pages now reference the site master page. Site and application pages now contain the same content placeholders in SharePoint Foundation. Administrators can turn off custom master pages for application pages as well. For more information about master pages, see Default Master Pages in SharePoint Foundation.

Cascading Style Sheets

The cascading style sheets in SharePoint Foundation have been revamped. The CSS has been divided into multiple files to enable more targeted customization scenarios and to improve page loading performance. For more information, see Cascading Style Sheets Class Usage in SharePoint Foundation.

See Also

Concepts

Building Block: Pages and User Interface

Building Block: Server Ribbon

Default Master Pages in SharePoint Foundation

Server Ribbon in SharePoint Foundation