# Element states

## Changing element state

The state of an element can be changed with the following code:

      GstElement *bin;

      // create a bin, put elements in it and link them
      ...
      gst_element_set_state (bin, GST_STATE_PLAYING);
      ...

You can set the following states on an element:

`GST_STATE_NULL` | Reset the state of an element.
`GST_STATE_READY` | will make the element ready to start processing data.
`GST_STATE_PAUSED` | temporary stops the data flow.
`GST_STATE_PLAYING` | means there really is data flowing through the graph.