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Color ProgressBar

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30 Apr 20042 min read 322K   16.6K   66   43
An attractive and fancier ProgressBar.

Introduction

This is a fairly simple Progress Bar control inherited from Windows.Forms.Control. The reason I reinvented this "wheel" is I don't like the looks of traditional ProgressBar provided in VS.NET. My ColorProgressBar looks more attractive and fancier, yet keeps the functionalities of old ProgressBar. I hope I will get some genuine comments or suggestion from you.

Complete source code can be downloaded from the link above.

Control Properties

  • BarColor

    The primary color of ColorProgressBar.

  • BorderColor

    The border color of ColorProgressBar.

  • FillStyle

    Bar styles, "Solid" or "Dashed".

  • Maximum

    The maximum value of ColorProgressBar.

  • Minimum

    The minimum value or the initial value of ColorProgressBar.

  • Value

    The current value of ColorProgressBar.

  • Step

    The value of each increment or decrement when you call methods PerformStep() and PerformStepBack().

Control Methods

  • PerformStep()

    Call the PerformStep() method to increase the value set in the Step property.

  • PerformStepBack()

    Call the PerformStepBack() method to decrease the value set in the Step property.

  • Increment(int value)

    Call the Increment() method to increase the integer value you specify.

  • Decrement(int value)

    Call the Decrement() method to decrease the integer value you specify.

Example

- See snapshot above

A timer is used to fake progress.

C#
//
// Control declarations
//
this.cpb1 = new ColorProgressBar.ColorProgressBar();
this.cpb2 = new ColorProgressBar.ColorProgressBar();
this.cpb3 = new ColorProgressBar.ColorProgressBar();
this.cpb4 = new ColorProgressBar.ColorProgressBar();
this.cpb5 = new ColorProgressBar.ColorProgressBar();
this.cpb6 = new ColorProgressBar.ColorProgressBar();
this.timer1 = new System.Windows.Forms.Timer(this.components);


// 
// cpb1
// 
this.cpb1.BarColor = System.Drawing.Color.FromArgb(((System.Byte)(255)), 
                     ((System.Byte)(128)), ((System.Byte)(128)));
this.cpb1.BorderColor = System.Drawing.Color.Black;
this.cpb1.FillStyle = ColorProgressBar.ColorProgressBar.FillStyles.Dashed;
this.cpb1.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(56, 48);
this.cpb1.Maximum = 100;
this.cpb1.Minimum = 0;
this.cpb1.Name = "cpb1";
this.cpb1.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(150, 15);
this.cpb1.Step = 10;
this.cpb1.TabIndex = 0;
this.cpb1.Value = 0;
// 
// cpb2
// 
this.cpb2.BarColor = System.Drawing.Color.FromArgb(((System.Byte)(255)), 
                     ((System.Byte)(255)), ((System.Byte)(128)));
this.cpb2.BorderColor = System.Drawing.Color.Black;
this.cpb2.FillStyle = ColorProgressBar.ColorProgressBar.FillStyles.Solid;
this.cpb2.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(56, 72);
this.cpb2.Maximum = 100;
this.cpb2.Minimum = 0;
this.cpb2.Name = "cpb2";
this.cpb2.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(150, 15);
this.cpb2.Step = 10;
this.cpb2.TabIndex = 1;
this.cpb2.Value = 100;
// 
// cpb3
// 
this.cpb3.BarColor = System.Drawing.Color.FromArgb(((System.Byte)(128)), 
                     ((System.Byte)(255)), ((System.Byte)(128)));
this.cpb3.BorderColor = System.Drawing.Color.Black;
this.cpb3.FillStyle = ColorProgressBar.ColorProgressBar.FillStyles.Dashed;
this.cpb3.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(56, 104);
this.cpb3.Maximum = 100;
this.cpb3.Minimum = 0;
this.cpb3.Name = "cpb3";
this.cpb3.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(192, 24);
this.cpb3.Step = 10;
this.cpb3.TabIndex = 2;
this.cpb3.Value = 0;
// 
// cpb4
// 
this.cpb4.BarColor = System.Drawing.Color.FromArgb(((System.Byte)(128)), 
                     ((System.Byte)(255)), ((System.Byte)(255)));
this.cpb4.BorderColor = System.Drawing.Color.Black;
this.cpb4.FillStyle = ColorProgressBar.ColorProgressBar.FillStyles.Solid;
this.cpb4.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(56, 144);
this.cpb4.Maximum = 100;
this.cpb4.Minimum = 0;
this.cpb4.Name = "cpb4";
this.cpb4.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(192, 24);
this.cpb4.Step = 10;
this.cpb4.TabIndex = 3;
this.cpb4.Value = 100;
// 
// cpb5
// 
this.cpb5.BarColor = System.Drawing.Color.FromArgb(((System.Byte)(255)), 
                     ((System.Byte)(128)), ((System.Byte)(255)));
this.cpb5.BorderColor = System.Drawing.Color.Black;
this.cpb5.FillStyle = ColorProgressBar.ColorProgressBar.FillStyles.Solid;
this.cpb5.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(56, 184);
this.cpb5.Maximum = 100;
this.cpb5.Minimum = 0;
this.cpb5.Name = "cpb5";
this.cpb5.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(272, 32);
this.cpb5.Step = 10;
this.cpb5.TabIndex = 4;
this.cpb5.Value = 0;
// 
// cpb6
// 
this.cpb6.BarColor = System.Drawing.Color.FromArgb(((System.Byte)(255)), 
                     ((System.Byte)(128)), ((System.Byte)(0)));
this.cpb6.BorderColor = System.Drawing.Color.Black;
this.cpb6.FillStyle = ColorProgressBar.ColorProgressBar.FillStyles.Dashed;
this.cpb6.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(56, 232);
this.cpb6.Maximum = 100;
this.cpb6.Minimum = 0;
this.cpb6.Name = "cpb6";
this.cpb6.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(272, 32);
this.cpb6.Step = 10;
this.cpb6.TabIndex = 5;
this.cpb6.Value = 100;
// 
// timer1
// 
this.timer1.Enabled = true;
this.timer1.Tick += new System.EventHandler(this.timer1_Tick);
C#
//
// Actual manipulation by timer1
//
private void timer1_Tick(object sender, System.EventArgs e)
{
    //
    // All values are reset at the end to have endless loop
    //
    cpb1.PerformStep();
    if (cpb1.Value == cpb1.Maximum)
        cpb1.Value = cpb1.Minimum;

    cpb2.PerformStepBack();
    if (cpb2.Value == cpb2.Minimum)
        cpb2.Value = cpb2.Maximum;

    cpb3.Increment(1);
    if (cpb3.Value == cpb3.Maximum)
        cpb3.Value = cpb3.Minimum;

    cpb4.Decrement(1);
    if (cpb4.Value == cpb4.Minimum)
        cpb4.Value = cpb4.Maximum;

    cpb5.Increment(1);
    if (cpb5.Value == cpb5.Maximum)
        cpb5.Value = cpb5.Minimum;

    cpb6.Decrement(1);
    if (cpb6.Value == cpb6.Minimum)
        cpb6.Value = cpb6.Maximum;
}

Missing Features

  • Percentage indicator.

Contributions

Using the Control

Adding ColorProgressBar control to Windows Form Toolbox

  1. Right-click the Windows Form Toolbox and choose Customize Toolbox... from the shortcut menu. The Customize Toolbox dialog box opens.
  2. Choose the .NET Framework Components tab and click Browse. Browse to the ColorProgressBar\bin\Release or \debug folder and select ColorProgressBar.dll. ColorProgressBar appears in the list of components in the Customize Toolbox dialog box.
  3. Check the box next to ColorProgressBar and Select OK. The ColorProgressBar is now added to the tab of the Windows ToolBox.

My Other Control Project

Feedbacks

Please vote for this article.

And email me or leave your messages if you have:

  • bug reports
  • code improvements
  • any comments or suggestions.

License

This article has no explicit license attached to it but may contain usage terms in the article text or the download files themselves. If in doubt please contact the author via the discussion board below.

A list of licenses authors might use can be found here


Written By
Web Developer www.LightspeedSigns.com
United States United States
Hi, my name is Alan Zhao. I live in Glens Falls, NY. Say hi to me if you see me one day.

also visit me at www.LinkGone.com - Make your long URLs easy to read, remember and reuse.

Comments and Discussions

 
GeneralRe: Enhancement of the project Pin
Alan Zhao27-Mar-05 10:09
Alan Zhao27-Mar-05 10:09 
GeneralRe: Enhancement of the project Pin
DDISoft31-Mar-05 3:07
DDISoft31-Mar-05 3:07 
GeneralVisualStyle Pin
vandergeld23-Feb-05 23:42
vandergeld23-Feb-05 23:42 
GeneralThank You. Pin
Karv2-Feb-05 10:30
Karv2-Feb-05 10:30 
QuestionHow to clear progress bar Pin
Anonymous28-Jul-04 14:30
Anonymous28-Jul-04 14:30 
AnswerRe: How to clear progress bar Pin
rlnoble9-Oct-04 21:01
rlnoble9-Oct-04 21:01 
GeneralProgress indicator Pin
Bojan Rajkovic13-Jun-04 7:01
Bojan Rajkovic13-Jun-04 7:01 
GeneralCool Control Pin
coder4rent2-May-04 16:27
coder4rent2-May-04 16:27 
Nice. I like it.

www.CoderForRent.com

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GeneralSPAMMER Pin
abhadresh2-May-04 16:30
abhadresh2-May-04 16:30 
GeneralSuggestion Pin
leppie1-May-04 9:37
leppie1-May-04 9:37 
GeneralRe: Suggestion Pin
Alan Zhao1-May-04 13:02
Alan Zhao1-May-04 13:02 
GeneralRe: Suggestion Pin
mav.northwind1-May-04 22:48
mav.northwind1-May-04 22:48 
GeneralRe: Suggestion Pin
Alan Zhao2-May-04 5:46
Alan Zhao2-May-04 5:46 
GeneralRe: Suggestion Pin
mav.northwind2-May-04 6:32
mav.northwind2-May-04 6:32 
GeneralRe: Suggestion Pin
Alan Zhao3-May-04 18:42
Alan Zhao3-May-04 18:42 
GeneralRe: Suggestion Pin
mav.northwind4-May-04 8:18
mav.northwind4-May-04 8:18 
GeneralRe: Suggestion Pin
Alan Zhao4-May-04 9:52
Alan Zhao4-May-04 9:52 
GeneralRe: Suggestion Pin
mav.northwind4-May-04 19:51
mav.northwind4-May-04 19:51 

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