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Showing progress bar in a status bar pane

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23 Aug 2010CPOL2 min read 590.2K   14.6K   194   66
An easy way to add a progress control to a status bar

Sample Image

Adding a CProgressCtrl to the status bar has already been addressed by Brad Mann. His method involved modifying the status bar and messing around with the resource editor. I developed a separate CProgressBar class in order to allow the programmer to just drop in a progress bar whereever they wanted using a single "CProgressBar Bar(...)" declaration, which would initialise and display itself and clean up after itself after it was done. The progress bar can also be created once (say as a member variable) and reused multiple times. This new version of the progress bar also resizes itself if the status bar size changes.

The progress bar lets you specify a message (displayed to the left of the bar) and a Progress Control bar in the any pane of your applications status bar (if it has one - thanks to Patty You for a bug fix on that one). The message for the progress bar can be changed at any time, as can the size and range of the bar.

Construction

C++
CProgressBar(); 
CProgressBar(LPCTSTR strMessage, int nSize=100, int MaxValue=100, BOOL bSmooth=FALSE, int nPane=0);
BOOL Create(LPCTSTR strMessage, int nSize=100, int MaxValue=100, BOOL bSmooth=FALSE, int nPane=0);

Construction is either via the constructor or a two-step process using the constructor and the "Create" function. "strMessage" is the message to be displayed, "nSize" is the percentage width of the status bar that will be occupied by the bar (including the text), and "MaxValue" is the maximum range of the bar.

"bSmooth" will only be effective if you have the header files and commctrl32.dll from IE 3.0 or above (no problems for MS VC 5.0). It specifies whether the progress bar will be smooth or chunky.

Operations

C++
BOOL Success()                      // Construction successful?

COLORREF SetBarColour(COLORREF clrBar);  // Set Bar colour, returns previous
COLORREF SetBkColour(COLORREF clrBar);   // Set background colour, returns previous

int  SetPos(int nPos);              // Same as CProgressCtrl
int  OffsetPos(int nPos);           // Same as CProgressCtrl
int  SetStep(int nStep);            // Same as CProgressCtrl
int  StepIt();                      // Same as CProgressCtrl
void Clear();                       // Clear the status bar
void SetRange(int nLower, int nUpper, int nStep = 1);
                                    // Set min, max and step size
void SetText(LPCTSTR strMessage);   // Set the message
void SetSize(int nSize);            // Set the bar size

To use the bar, just do something like:

C++
CProgressBar Bar("Testing", 40, 1000);

for (int i = 0;  i <  1000; i++)
{
    // perform operation
    Bar.StepIt();
}
or it can be done two stage as:
C++
CProgressBar bar;

bar.Create("Processing", 40, 1000);
for (int i = 0; i < 1000; i++)
{
    //    perform operation
    bar.StepIt();
}
bar.SetText("Writing");
for  (int i = 0;  i <  1000; i++)
{
    // perform operation
    bar.StepIt();
    PeekAndPump();    // Message pump
}
bar.Clear();

In the above case, PeekAndPump() is a function which simply peeks and pumps messages, allowing user interaction with the window during a lengthy process. If the window size changes during the processing, the progress bar size will alsow change.

This article was updated by Michael Martin (allowing the progress bar can now be placed in any pane of the status bar). A further update by YoSilver has fixed an issue that occurs in multithreaded apps. Yet Another Update by Alex Paterson allows you to specify which statusbar you wish the bar to appear in.

License

This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)


Written By
Founder CodeProject
Canada Canada
Chris Maunder is the co-founder of CodeProject and ContentLab.com, and has been a prominent figure in the software development community for nearly 30 years. Hailing from Australia, Chris has a background in Mathematics, Astrophysics, Environmental Engineering and Defence Research. His programming endeavours span everything from FORTRAN on Super Computers, C++/MFC on Windows, through to to high-load .NET web applications and Python AI applications on everything from macOS to a Raspberry Pi. Chris is a full-stack developer who is as comfortable with SQL as he is with CSS.

In the late 1990s, he and his business partner David Cunningham recognized the need for a platform that would facilitate knowledge-sharing among developers, leading to the establishment of CodeProject.com in 1999. Chris's expertise in programming and his passion for fostering a collaborative environment have played a pivotal role in the success of CodeProject.com. Over the years, the website has grown into a vibrant community where programmers worldwide can connect, exchange ideas, and find solutions to coding challenges. Chris is a prolific contributor to the developer community through his articles and tutorials, and his latest passion project, CodeProject.AI.

In addition to his work with CodeProject.com, Chris co-founded ContentLab and DeveloperMedia, two projects focussed on helping companies make their Software Projects a success. Chris's roles included Product Development, Content Creation, Client Satisfaction and Systems Automation.

Comments and Discussions

 
QuestionAdding snake feature to the control ? Pin
jongallegraud19-Mar-06 22:03
jongallegraud19-Mar-06 22:03 
GeneralDoesn't seem to work for dialog status bar Pin
TobyNorris2-Feb-06 4:56
TobyNorris2-Feb-06 4:56 
GeneralThanks Pin
David.Kelly7-Nov-05 8:08
David.Kelly7-Nov-05 8:08 
GeneralRe: Thanks Pin
Chris Maunder7-Nov-05 8:09
cofounderChris Maunder7-Nov-05 8:09 
General! Bug: Multiple Instances Pin
Synetech1-Jun-05 14:37
Synetech1-Jun-05 14:37 
GeneralUsing the CProgressBar in the Status Bar of a FormView Pin
Steve Mayfield4-Jan-05 15:35
Steve Mayfield4-Jan-05 15:35 
GeneralRe: Using the CProgressBar in the Status Bar of a FormView Pin
Tom Gee8-Jan-06 11:43
Tom Gee8-Jan-06 11:43 
GeneralRe: Using the CProgressBar in the Status Bar of a FormView Pin
Tom Gee8-Jan-06 11:48
Tom Gee8-Jan-06 11:48 
GeneralUsing With Pop3 Download Traffic Problem Pin
otrcomm11-Jul-04 9:33
otrcomm11-Jul-04 9:33 
GeneralUsing the progress bar in a CMDIChildWnd Pin
Rafael Melo18-Mar-04 9:11
Rafael Melo18-Mar-04 9:11 
GeneralDisplaying menu item prompt in a status bar Pin
toxcct4-Dec-03 3:03
toxcct4-Dec-03 3:03 
GeneralOh Good Pin
hyuckmin16-Nov-03 2:37
hyuckmin16-Nov-03 2:37 
Generalconnect progress bar with the process Pin
gravity_ok13-Oct-03 1:35
gravity_ok13-Oct-03 1:35 
GeneralThanks.. Pin
small26-May-03 6:05
small26-May-03 6:05 
GeneralBug: m_Rect not Initialized Pin
Matt Brunk8-Apr-03 21:01
Matt Brunk8-Apr-03 21:01 
GeneralRe: Bug: m_Rect not Initialized Pin
Anonymous14-Aug-03 6:35
Anonymous14-Aug-03 6:35 
GeneralProblem with changing size Pin
Jack_pt27-Mar-03 3:35
Jack_pt27-Mar-03 3:35 
QuestionA solution in C#? Pin
LokivonAsgard26-Mar-03 23:45
LokivonAsgard26-Mar-03 23:45 
AnswerRe: A solution in C#? Pin
The Cake of Deceit27-May-08 10:19
The Cake of Deceit27-May-08 10:19 
GeneralMoving the Proogress...... Pin
dilmathew12-Feb-03 21:24
dilmathew12-Feb-03 21:24 
GeneralRe: Moving the Proogress...... Pin
Jack_pt27-Mar-03 3:29
Jack_pt27-Mar-03 3:29 
GeneralCompiler warnings with VC7 and /Wp64 switch Pin
User 2694223-Jan-03 4:02
professionalUser 2694223-Jan-03 4:02 
GeneralPeekAndPump Pin
min_2_max24-Dec-02 15:01
min_2_max24-Dec-02 15:01 
GeneralRe: PeekAndPump Pin
dilmathew12-Feb-03 21:23
dilmathew12-Feb-03 21:23 
GeneralProgress bar Problem again Pin
Ken Le25-Jul-02 11:51
Ken Le25-Jul-02 11:51 

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