Simplify Translation with Resx Files using ResXResourceManager in C#

ResXResourceManager is a tool for managing .resx resource files in .NET applications.

This library facilitates the localization and globalization of applications by providing an intuitive interface to handle text strings and other resources that need to be translated into multiple languages.

• Intuitive user interface: Offers an easy-to-use graphical interface for managing .resx files.
• Support for multiple languages: Facilitates the addition and editing of translations for multiple languages.
• Integration with Visual Studio: Integrates seamlessly with Visual Studio, allowing for efficient resource management directly from the development environment.
• Unused resource detection: Identifies and helps remove resources that are not being used in the code.
• Import and export: Allows importing and exporting resources to and from CSV files to facilitate work with translators.

For more information, detailed documentation, and access to the source code, visit the project repository on GitHub - ResXResourceManager.

Installing ResXResourceManager

To start using ResXResourceManager, you can install it as a Visual Studio extension or use it as a standalone tool. To install it as a Visual Studio extension, follow these steps:

Using ResXResourceManager

Create and manage resources

To start using ResXResourceManager, open the tool from the Tools menu in Visual Studio. Then, open a project that contains .resx files. ResXResourceManager will automatically scan the project and display all available resources.

From this window, we can easily add or edit resources in different languages.

Import and export resources

To facilitate collaboration with translators, ResXResourceManager allows importing and exporting resources to and from CSV files.

Example of usage in C# code

Once the resources have been managed with ResXResourceManager, they can be used in C# code as follows:

Define resources in .resx

Imagine we have a resource file Resources.resx with the following keys and values:

• Greeting : Hello, World! (in English)
• Greeting : Hola, Mundo! (in Spanish)

Use resources in the code

To use these resources in your application, you can do the following:

using System;
using System.Globalization;
using System.Threading;
using System.Resources;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        // Set the language to Spanish
        Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentUICulture = new CultureInfo("es");

        // Load the resource file
        ResourceManager rm = new ResourceManager("Namespace.Resources", typeof(Program).Assembly);

        // Get the resource value
        string greeting = rm.GetString("Greeting");

        Console.WriteLine(greeting); // Output: Hola, Mundo!
    }
}

In this example, we changed the user interface language to Spanish (es) and loaded the Greeting resource from the Resources.resx file.

Unused resource detection

To keep the project clean and avoid including unnecessary resources, ResXResourceManager can detect resources that are not being used in the code.

1. Open ResXResourceManager.
2. Navigate to the Unused tab.
3. Review the list of unused resources.
4. Remove unnecessary resources as needed.