Introducing Busy Indicator in Windows Forms

Getting started

Busy indicator is available in Syncfusion.Core.WinForms assembly. Refer to the control dependencies section to learn how to add an assembly reference to your application. BusyIndicator class provides the option to show an animated GIF image in the control. The Show method can be used to show the GIF image. By default, busy indicator shows the built-in GIF image. You can change the GIF image using the Image property or Show method.

Let’s see an example for showing the busy indicator in the button control. I’m going to show the busy indicator when a button is clicked, before an iteration gets started, and then hide it once the iteration gets completed.

public partial class Form1 : Form
{
    BusyIndicator busyIndicator = new BusyIndicator();
    ObservableCollection<int> sampleData = new ObservableCollection<int>();
    public Form1()
    {
        InitializeComponent();           
    }
    
    private void sfButton1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        this.sfButton1.Text = string.Empty;
        busyIndicator.Show(this.sfButton1);
        for (int i = 0; i <= 10000000; i++)
        {
            sampleData.Add(i);
        }
        busyIndicator.Hide();
        this.sfButton1.Text = "Get items";
        sampleData.Clear();
    }
}   

Showing busy indicator in a different location

By default, the GIF image will be shown at the center of the control. It’s easy to move the busy indicator to any location in the control, though. This can be done using the Location property or Show method.

public partial class Form1 : Form
{
    BusyIndicator busyIndicator = new BusyIndicator();
    ObservableCollection<int> sampleData = new ObservableCollection<int>();
    public Form1()
    {
        InitializeComponent();           
    }
    
    private void sfButton1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        this.sfButton1.Text = "Loading";
        busyIndicator.Show(this.sfButton1, new Point((this.sfButton1.Width / 2) + this.busyIndicator.Image.Width, (this.sfButton1.Height / 2) - this.busyIndicator.Image.Height / 2));
        for (int i = 0; i <= 10000000; i++)
        {
            sampleData.Add(i);
        }
        busyIndicator.Hide();
        this.sfButton1.Text = "Get items";
        sampleData.Clear();
    }
}

BackgroundWorker backgroundWorker = new BackgroundWorker();
BusyIndicator busyIndicator = new BusyIndicator();
ObservableCollection<int> sampleData = new ObservableCollection<int>();
public Form1()
{   
    InitializeComponent();           
    backgroundWorker.WorkerSupportsCancellation = true;
    backgroundWorker.DoWork += DoWork;
    backgroundWorker.RunWorkerCompleted += RunWorkerCompleted;
}

private void DoWork(object sender, DoWorkEventArgs e)
{
    this.sfButton1.Invoke(new Action(() => this.sfButton1.Text = string.Empty));
    busyIndicator.Show(this.sfButton1);
    for (int i = 0; i <= 10000000; i++)
    {
        sampleData.Add(i);
    }            
}

private void RunWorkerCompleted(object sender, RunWorkerCompletedEventArgs e)
{
    this.sfButton1.Text = "Get items";
    if (!backgroundWorker.IsBusy)
        backgroundWorker.CancelAsync();
    busyIndicator.Hide();
    sampleData.Clear();
}

private void sfButton1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    backgroundWorker.RunWorkerAsync();
}

Built-in busy indicator in data grid

Our new data grid has built-in busy indicator support for large data operations such as data loading, grouping, sorting, and filtering. Refer to this documentation to learn more about this support.

Summary

In this blog, we hope you enjoyed learning how to show the busy indicator in a Windows Forms control. You can also refer to this documentation to learn about additional options provided in the busy indicator. If you’re already a Syncfusion user, you can download the Windows Forms setup on Direct-Trac. If you’re not yet a Syncfusion user, you can download a free, 30-day trial on our website. Give us your feedback in the comments section below, our online forum, or a support ticket.

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