--- title: Multithreading in Controls ms.date: "03/30/2017" helpviewer_keywords: - "BackgroundWorker component" - "threading [Windows Forms], controls" ms.assetid: c311d652-0f26-45fa-bdcc-b1615d73ce4e --- # Multithreading in Windows Forms Controls In many applications, you can make your user interface (UI) more responsive by performing time-consuming operations on another thread. A number of tools are available for multithreading your Windows Forms controls, including the namespace, the method, and the `BackgroundWorker` component. > [!NOTE] > The `BackgroundWorker` component replaces and adds functionality to the namespace and the method; however, these are retained for both backward compatibility and future use, if you choose. For more information, see [BackgroundWorker Component Overview](backgroundworker-component-overview.md). ## In This Section [How to: Make Thread-Safe Calls to Windows Forms Controls](how-to-make-thread-safe-calls-to-windows-forms-controls.md) Shows how to make thread-safe calls to Windows Forms controls. [How to: Use a Background Thread to Search for Files](how-to-use-a-background-thread-to-search-for-files.md) Shows how to use the namespace and the method to search for files asynchronously. ## Reference Documents a component that encapsulates a worker thread for asynchronous operations. Documents how to load a sound asynchronously. Documents how to load an image asynchronously. ## Related Sections [How to: Run an Operation in the Background](how-to-run-an-operation-in-the-background.md) Shows how to perform a time-consuming operation with the component. [BackgroundWorker Component Overview](backgroundworker-component-overview.md) Provides topics that describe how to use the component for asynchronous operations.