How to Update a ProgressBar in F#

Introduction

This article demonstrate how to create a simple smooth scrolling ProgressBar control. A ProgressBar control is used to represent the progress of a task that takes time where a user has to wait for the task to be finished. The default Progress of the ProgressBar is start from the Left to Right. A ProgressBar is a Dynamic, Graphical bar that fills up in response of control events.

Here in this article I am creating a ProgressBar using a thread. First you will create a form, than you will create the progress bar control and also set the timing for the Thread and lastly you will add the ProgressBar to the form.

Properties of ProgressBar

Properties	Description
AccessibleRole	Get/set the accessible role of the control
BackColor	Get/set the background color of the control
BindingContext	Get/set the BindingContext for the control
DataBindings	Gets the data bindings for the control
DefaultCursor	Get/set the DefaultCursor for the control
Margin	Get/set the space between controls
Minimum	Get/set the minimum value of the range of the control
Maximum	Get/set the maximum value of the range of the control

Methods Of ProgressBar

Methods	Description
GetType	Gets the Type of the current instance
Hide	Conceals the control from the user
CreateGraphics	Creates the Graphics for the control
CreateAccessibilityInstance	Creates a new accessibility object for the control
CreateHandle	Create a Handle for the control
Focus	Sets input Focus to the control
WndProc	Processes Windows Messages
ResumeLayout	Resumes usual layout logic

Getting Started

Step 1: First open a new project in F# using Visual Studio 2010 and give a name to it.

New Project Dialog Box

Step 2: Click on Program.fs file in Solution Explorer.

Solution Explorer

Step 3: Write the following code in the Program.fs window; your Program.fs window will look like below.

ProgressBar Example

open System
open System.Windows.Forms
open System.Drawing
open System.Threading

Application.EnableVisualStyles()
let form = new Form(Visible=true, TopMost = true)
form.Size <- new Size(300, 70)
let pb = new ProgressBar(Minimum = 0, Maximum = 10, Dock = DockStyle.Fill)
form.Controls.Add(pb)

let threadfunc () =
Thread.Sleep(5000)
for i = 0 to 10 do
Thread.Sleep(1000)
pb.Invoke(Action(fun _ -> pb.Value <- i)) |> ignore

let thread = new Thread(threadfunc)
thread.Start()

[<STAThread>]
do Application.Run(form)

Step 4: Now press F5 to execute the code.

Output

Summary

In this article I have discussed how to create a ProgressBar in F#.