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: