How to register a global hotkey for your application in C#

How to register a global hotkey for your application in C#

Register a hotkey for your application that can be triggered even if your form is minimized and does not have focus. More »

How to download a file in C# (progressbar and download speed)

How to download a file in C# (progressbar and download speed)

Learn how to download files in C# while displaying the percentage and the download speed. More »

UDP hole punching implementation in C#

UDP hole punching implementation in C#

Learn how to implement UDP hole punching so you can make your clients life a lot easier by not forcing them to open ports on their end. More »

 

How to download a file in C# (progressbar and download speed)

This is a simple snippet that will allow you to download a file from the internet in C# while being able to display the download percentage, download speed and the amount of total data received while downloading.

This is the example form of what to expect when you have the code in place:

Download file example form

On to some code!

First we need to import three new namespaces in addition to the ones we already have.

Then we add the two following global variables.

Then finally we have our main methods that will do all the handling and displaying of the information.

That’s pretty much it. You just need call the DownloadFile method with the URL address you want to download the file from and the place you want to save it to as arguments.

The above snippet uses labels to show the information (download speed, percentage, number of kilobytes downloaded) but feel free to modify the snippet to suit your needs.

Share on FacebookTweet about this on TwitterShare on Google+Share on StumbleUponShare on LinkedInShare on RedditPin on PinterestShare on TumblrDigg thisPrint this pageEmail this to someone

62 Responses to How to download a file in C# (progressbar and download speed)

  1. ShadoW says:

    hello guys. i have a question any one can share source code with ready to open in VS

  2. Kayode Oluwole says:

    Hi Bob
    I am having same problem of download complete but nothing is happening
    Can you help to resolve the problem.
    If yes i can send you my code

    Regards
    Olukay

  3. Tanjiro says:

    How can we change the progress download color from green to anyother color

  4. vas2005 says:

    how can I add that when the button is clicked this script happens?

  5. alok says:

    Thanks youe code is working fine,

    But full file is not download.

    For example i have file size 4 mb in ZIP
    but only 6 kb is downloaded.

  6. codeme says:

    Hi Iam new to c# programming. I have been trying to cancel my download by using the code webClient.CancelAsync();

    i have a cancel button after clicking on it this is what i got

    and then i entered webClient.CancelAsync(); inside the method but its not working.
    I need help on this. Thank You in advance

  7. Izghard says:

    This is a good program, easy & short.

    How I can calculated the aprox time to finish the download?

    Any idea?

    Thanks! So much!

  8. Bob says:

    I can’t get this to work, i added a button(button1):

    It just says complete when i press button1, no labels update and it doesnt download anything any ideas? Does it need to be ran as admin?

  9. Misiu says:

    Hi, thank You for sharing Your code. Everything works fine, as expected.
    What I’m trying to add is ability to get original file name from server (if for example download url looks like this: . Below is code I’m adding before I call

    When I click Save file first time everything works fine, but after second click I only get file name, download isn’t starting. Without that code I’m able to download file multiple times – I click button, get message box, click button and so on. With above code when I click button second time (after first download finish) nothing happens.

    Could You please help me solve that?

  10. Chris says:

    Hopefully you can help. I’m new to this and im really in need of getting this to work. When I click my button to start the whole process I just instantly get the Download complete message box but nothing has downloaded. Do you know which direction to point me in? Thank you in advance

  11. Fns says:

    how to show percentage with decimals?

  12. camenbert75 says:

    How to add the link for the download file ?

  13. mcLach says:

    Hi,
    very nice Stuff.
    I used ur code and it works fine in the “real World”.
    But what i need to insert, if i must use a proxy?
    If i try to use it “as is” i get a 401-Error from the (Proxy?)Server.
    Its a company-wide rule, and i can not see the settings, i do not need any User or PW, just using the system settings for the Proxy.
    Any hints? Thank Thee.

    • CooLMinE says:

      You can use WebClient’s Proxy property to set the proxy but adding the following line under the using statement in the DownloadFile method:

      • mcLach says:

        thank You for the quick answer.
        I do not have a adress/port for the proxy. The Proxy in the company is automaticly configures by a script that the normal user can not touch.
        I need something like
        “webClient.Proxy = WebRequest.GetSystemWebProxy();”
        what would the example therefor look like, please?

        • CooLMinE says:

          The code you mentioned is actually correct.

          WebRequest.GetSystemWebProxy will give you the system’s proxy server, which is what is under Control Panel -> Internet Options -> Connections -> Lan Settings.

          If the company’s script uses another method to enforce the proxy (not using the system’s proxy settings) then this will not work.

          • mcLach says:

            OK, seems to be a Problem with httpS-Connections. If i try to reach http-Server it works. Thank Thee.

  14. Hashan Madhumal says:

    please add pause/resume support for this project….

  15. Noah Halstead says:

    Ok. I have gotten the code and its working mostly… When you goto download the file it makes not attempt to download it. It just says that the file has been downloaded. All the Lables and Buttons (also the loading bar) are named correct and Im getting no errors. Its just not downloading. Any Ideas?

  16. Lucas says:

    I got Message “Download completed!” instantly without downloading or error.

    Can you Help me?

  17. Waty says:

    Don’t forget to clean up the eventhandlers int the Completed event, otherwhise the function will give unexpected results when you use it multiple times in a row

  18. Amin says:

    hi,thank’s
    a problem:
    i’m disconnect from internet and call DownloadFile method!
    app show massage(“Download Complete!”) and a file with 0KB created(string location)!!!

    how to resolve this problem and show error when the connection don’t exist?

    • Jeremy says:

      @Amin: in AsyncCompletedEvent

  19. raju says:

    which arguments i do enter in webClient.CancelAsync();????

  20. James says:

    If I want to Download a file to the applications executing directory with a set URL to download the file.
    Sorry it’s a n00by question I’m new to c#…

  21. Rob says:

    Hi,

    Give the project file ?

  22. swapnil says:

    How to upload a file in windows application and also i have to show how much it is upload in progress bar , please help me out

  23. BW says:

    Good day.
    Execllent code.

    i am stuck on how to exactly pause and resume the download, do i cancel it first and then recall download passing the header with the bytes to continue?

    when i do that it just goes straight to ‘download complete’.
    i have a variable that holds the current bytes received, and i do pass it to the header. what am i missing here?

    thanks in advance.

  24. Javed says:

    Thank You For Above Coding But in my application i have to upload file with percentage as you have done in this application please help me

  25. Gagan Sohal says:

    Hi Fluxbyte.

    I am using above code but my downloaded file is of 0 Kb in size. I have called File Download Method firstly on form_load and after that on Button Click.

    I am trying to download an file which is of 6 mb in size and its extension is .EXE .

    Please Help

  26. Hessam says:

    Hi,
    How multiple files to download ?

  27. shravan says:

    Hi fluxbytes,

    this is awesome explanation each and everything step by step in commented
    Thank you so much,
    this saved my time also..

    Thanks
    Shravan.

  28. Sebastián says:

    Excelente, me sirvió mucho.
    Muchas gracias.

  29. Josue says:

    How to download a file from an protected folder with username and password?

  30. Andy says:

    Can you help me ?

    I get error “Infinity” where : labelSpeed.Text = string.Format(“{0} kb/s”, (e.BytesReceived / 1024d / sw.Elapsed.TotalSeconds).ToString(“0.00”));

  31. Mike Smith says:

    I’m trying to figure out how to use the CancelAsync() method.

    I look at a few MSDN articles, but I’m new to programming.

    Can you please give me an example to follow.

    Thanks,

    Mike

  32. LaocheXe says:

    So you have a Stop Button

    What do you put in to stop the download?

    Click Event so on?

  33. ali says:

    Hi
    I’ve downloaded all the files but the program files with the extension. Xlsx I can not open
    please help me

  34. oksummer says:

    this is profect code.
    I have another question.How can I Back the download complete bool flag to main thread ?

    • CooLMinE says:

      Depends what you want to do exactly. If you simply want to announce to the user that the download has been completed when the downloading is taking place in another thread you will need to invoke that control.

      Example:

  35. khan says:

    what about resuming the download..?

    • CooLMinE says:

      You will need to add and specify the range header.

      Change 200 with the value you would want to continue from.

      • m4rcel says:

        Hey, at beginning sorry for my English.
        You code is great but i don’t understand how to resuming download. When I add

        webClient.Headers.Add(HttpRequestHeader.Range, “”);

        before

        webClient.DownloadFileAsync(URL, location);

        I get Message “Download completed!” instantly without downloading or error.

        Can you Help me?

        • CooLMinE says:

          You need to specify the offset. As an example, the above code will skip the first 200 bytes.

          The idea is to monitor how much bytes have been downloaded in order to know how many bytes to skip when you are resuming the download.

          • m4rcel says:

            Yes I know this is only exemple:)
            But even when i add correct value I get Message “Download completed!” instantly. Something is missing.
            Thanks anyway.

          • RequiredName says:

            webclient will not accept range headers

  36. stopwatch egg. says:

    I am regular visitor, how are you everybody? This piece
    of writing posted at this web site is really good.

  37. Satyakee Chowdhury says:

    I have one c# based application. what i want to do is display the csv files present in the folder in a list and facilitate the user to download the specific file to the local pc when one user clicks on the link.

  38. SEO Murah says:

    Wow, marvelous blog layout! How long have you been blogging for? you made blogging look easy. The overall look of your web site is fantastic, as well as the content!

  39. James says:

    I was looking for something like this for a while now. Thanks for sharing !

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *