Animated indicators monitor the state of a software container and reflect the state of the container, potentially including information such as amount, type, and activity of the container. As the state of the container changes, an animation routine accordingly changes. Users are presented with up-to-date and detailed information about a container represented by a small graphic pictorial. Thus, the user receives a continuous supply of useful information about the container without having to specifically select and view the container as a full screen representation.