How to Set A Progress Bar in Android

Introduction

In this article, I will tell you how to add a progress bar to an Android application. A progress bar is a visual indicator of the progress of an operation. It displays a bar to the user representing how much work has done; the application can change the length of the bar as it moves forward. A progress bar can also be made indeterminate. In this mode, the progress bar shows a cyclic animation. This mode is used by applications when the length of the task is unknown.

Step 1

First, create a new project using "File" -> "New" -> "Android Application Project":

After opening the new window as shown in the figure, press Enter.

The Application Name, Project Name, and Package Name are as shown below:

Step 2

Open the activity_main.xml file using "ProgressBar/res/layout/activity_main.xml" and update it using the following code:

<RelativeLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
tools:context=".MainActivity" >
<TextView
android:id="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="30dp"
android:layout_alignParentLeft="true"
android:layout_alignParentRight="true"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:text="@string/hello_world" />
<ProgressBar
android:id="@+id/progressBar1"
style="?android:attr/progressBarStyleLarge"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentLeft="true"
android:layout_below="@+id/textView1"
android:layout_marginTop="37dp" />
</RelativeLayout>

Step 3

Open the MainActivity.java file using "ProgressBar/src/com.example.progressbar/MainActivity.java":

package com.example.progressbar;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.os.Handler;
import android.os.Message;
import android.widget.ProgressBar;
public class MainActivity extends Activity
{
ProgressBar myProgressBar1,myProgressBar2;
int myProgress = 0;
@Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState)
{
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
myProgressBar1=(ProgressBar) findViewById(R.id.progressBar1);
new Thread(myThread).start();
}
private Runnable myThread = new Runnable()
{
@Override
public void run()
{
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
while (myProgress<100)
{
try{
myHandle.sendMessage(myHandle.obtainMessage());
Thread.sleep(1000);
}
catch(Throwable t)
{ }
}
}
Handler myHandle = new Handler()
{
@Override
public void handleMessage(Message msg)
{
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
myProgress++;
myProgressBar1.setProgress(myProgress);
}
};
};
}

Step 4

Open the strings.xml file using "ProgressBar/res/values/strings.xml" and update it if needed:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
<string name="app_name">ProgressBar</string>
<string name="hello_world">Progress Bar :</string>
<string name="menu_settings">Settings</string>
</resources>

Step 5

Open the manifest.xml file using "ProgressBar/ProgressBar_manifest.xml" as shown in the following:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.progress.bar"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0" >
<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="8"
android:targetSdkVersion="17" />
<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
android:label="@string/app_name"
android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.progress.bar.MainActivity"
android:label="@string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
</intent-filter>
</activity> </application>
</manifest>

Step 6

The output will be as shown below: