--- title: "ProgressBar Control Overview" ms.date: "03/30/2017" f1_keywords: - "ProgressBar" helpviewer_keywords: - "ProgressBar control [Windows Forms], about ProgressBar control" - "progress controls [Windows Forms], about progress controls" ms.assetid: a05d9cba-3a6a-4f8f-94b8-8ec12799fb80 --- # ProgressBar Control Overview (Windows Forms) > [!IMPORTANT] > The control replaces and adds functionality to the control; however, the control is retained for both backward compatibility and future use, if you choose. The Windows Forms control indicates the progress of a process by displaying an appropriate number of rectangles arranged in a horizontal bar. When the process is complete, the bar is filled. Progress bars are commonly used to give the user an idea of how long to wait for a process to complete; for instance, when a large file is being loaded. > [!NOTE] > The control can only be oriented horizontally on the form. ## Key Properties and Methods The key properties of the control are , , and . The and properties set the maximum and minimum values the progress bar can display. The property represents the progress that has been made toward completing the operation. Because the bar displayed in the control is composed of blocks, the value displayed by the control only approximates the property's current value. Based on the size of the control, the property determines when to display the next block. The most common way to update the current progress value is to write code to set the property. In the example of loading a large file, you might set the maximum to the size of the file in kilobytes. For example, if the property is set to 100, the property is set to 10, and the property is set to 50, 5 rectangles will be displayed. This is half of the number that can be displayed. However, there are other ways to modify the value displayed by the control, aside from setting the property directly. The property can be used to specify a value to increment the property by. Then, calling the method will increment the value. To vary the increment value, you can use the method and specify a value with which to increment the property. Another control that graphically informs the user about a current action is the control. > [!IMPORTANT] > The and controls replace and add functionality to the and controls; however, the and controls are retained for both backward compatibility and future use, if you choose. ## See also - - [ProgressBar Control](progressbar-control-windows-forms.md)