display a gif while asp.net page loads

Question

I have a lenghty ASP.NET page load process.

Is there a way to display a loading gif while the ASP.NET page loads?

Obviously I can't use an image on the page itself, and when I fiirst load a "dummy page" with the "Loading..." picture, that page is discarded as soon as I redirect the user to the real page...

Any clue? Thanks

Answer 1

You can use an UpdateProgress control for this, like this:

<asp:UpdateProgress ID="prgLoadingStatus" runat="server" DynamicLayout="true">
    <ProgressTemplate>
        <div id="overlay">
            <div id="modalprogress">
                <div id="theprogress">
                    <asp:Image ID="imgWaitIcon" runat="server" ImageAlign="AbsMiddle" ImageUrl="/images/wait.gif" />
                    Please wait...
                </div>
            </div>
        </div>
    </ProgressTemplate>
</asp:UpdateProgress>  

Here are some styles you can use if you want it to be semi-transparent:

#overlay {
    position: fixed;
    z-index: 99;
    top: 0px;
    left: 0px;
    background-color: #f8f8f8;
    width: 100%;
    height: 100%;
    filter: Alpha(Opacity=90);
    opacity: 0.9;
    -moz-opacity: 0.9;
}            
#theprogress {
    background-color: #fff;
    border:1px solid #ccc;
    padding:10px;
    width: 300px;
    height: 30px;
    line-height:30px;
    text-align: center;
    filter: Alpha(Opacity=100);
    opacity: 1;
    -moz-opacity: 1;
}
#modalprogress {
    position: absolute;
    top: 40%;
    left: 50%;
    margin: -11px 0 0 -150px;
    color: #990000;
    font-weight:bold;
    font-size:14px;
}