How to Make Multi-Language App in Winforms

How to make multi-language app in Winforms?

Using Localizable and Language Property of Form

Form class have Localizable and Language Property. If you set Localizable property to true, you can add controls to form for default language and set properties for default language. Then you can select another languages and change properties for those languages. This way, value or localizable properties will store in separate resource files for different cultures.

Note: A property is considered as localizable if it's decorated with [Localizable(true)] attribute. For example BackColor property is not localizable, but Text property is localizable.

Localizing Messages and Images using Resx Resource Files

The project has a Rseources.Resx file under Properties folder which you can use for localizing images and messages. Also you can add .resx Resource files to project. For example you can create a Strings.resx file and add some string key and values to it, then copy it as strings.en.resx and strings.fa.resx and edit values for those languages. Then you can use those resource values, For example:

MessageBox.Show(Properties.Resources.AreYouSure);

Will show the value of AreYouSure from Resources.Resx file with the current UI culture language.

If a resource key not found for a culture or the specified culture not found for the resource file, value of the key in neutral culture of the Resx file will be used.

Change the language at Run-time

You can set the culture of a application to Persian using:

System.Threading.Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture =
    System.Globalization.CultureInfo.GetCultureInfo("fa");

System.Threading.Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentUICulture =
    System.Globalization.CultureInfo.GetCultureInfo("fa");

You should put the above code at start of your application or before showing a form.

More information

For more information and Example:

• Globalizing Windows Forms
• Walkthrough: Localizing Windows Forms
• How to: Set the Culture and UI Culture for Windows Forms Globalization

Multilanguage Support In C#

Create Resources files for each language you want to give support for mentioned below.

alt text http://geekswithblogs.net/images/geekswithblogs_net/dotNETPlayground/resx.gif

Based on the language/currentculture of the user, read values from respective Language Resource file and display in label or MessageBox. Here's some sample code:

public static class Translate

{

    public static string GetLanguage()

    {

        return HttpContext.Current.Request.UserLanguages[0];

    }

    public static string Message(string key)

    {

        ResourceManager resMan = null;

        if (HttpContext.Current.Cache["resMan" + Global.GetLanguage()] == null)

        {

            resMan = Language.GetResourceManager(Global.GetLanguage());

            if (resMan != null) HttpContext.Current.Cache["resMan" + Global.GetLanguage()] = resMan;

        }

        else

            resMan = (ResourceManager)HttpContext.Current.Cache["resMan" + Global.GetLanguage()];

        if (resMan == null) return key;

        string originalKey = key;

        key = Regex.Replace(key, "[ ./]", "_");

        try

        {

            string value = resMan.GetString(key);

            if (value != null) return value;

            return originalKey;

        }

        catch (MissingManifestResourceException)

        {

            try

            {

                return HttpContext.GetGlobalResourceObject("en_au", key).ToString();

            }

            catch (MissingManifestResourceException mmre)

            {

                throw new System.IO.FileNotFoundException("Could not locate the en_au.resx resource file. This is the default language pack, and needs to exist within the Resources project.", mmre);

            }

            catch (NullReferenceException)

            {

                return originalKey;

            }

        }

        catch (NullReferenceException)

        {

            return originalKey;

        }

    }

}

In asn asp.net application, you'd use it as following:

<span class="label">User:</span>

You now would put:

<span class="label"><%=Translate.Message("User") %>:</span>

Multilingual winforms application

If you want the users to edit the translations through your application while keeping things simple and quick, resource file is best. If you don't like it, the second best option is XML file.

Still, to answer you question on how to do it best with a text file, it is pretty straight forward: You just make sure that your unique identifier (int probably) are in order (validate before using the file). Then to search quickly, you use the technique of the halves.

You look for number X, so you go to the file's middle line. If id > x, to go to ¼ of the file, etc.

You cut in two until you get to the right line. This is the fastest know research method.

NOTE: Beware of the things that are external to the application but need translation: External file items, information contained in a database, etc.

C# how to change multi language in all windows form?

First you should make the ChangeLanguage method to allow calling it on any control or form.
Here is a version which is recursive and which takes a Control as a parameter.

Note: Forms are Controls, too.

So you can call this method to change all forms you have a handle of..

public ComponentResourceManager resources;

private void ChangeLanguage(Control ctl, string lang)
{
    resources.ApplyResources(ctl, ctl.Name, new CultureInfo(lang));
    foreach (Control c in ctl.Controls) ChangeLanguage(c, lang);
}

Next you need to keep a list of your open forms in some way. A List<Form> is a good way.

Instead of calling the ChangeLanguage function on only the current window you call a ChangeLanguageOnAllforms function. So if you have maybe a List<Form> called myFormsList you can do:

void ChangeLanguageOnAllforms(  string lang )
{
  foreach (Form f in myFormsList) 
  {
     if (f != null)
     { 
        resources = new ComponentResourceManager(typeof(f));
        ChangeLanguage(f, languageString);
     }
  }
}

You should also keep a public variable to hold the current language!

public string language = "en"; 

And you should also upon opening any new Form say form7

• add it to the list and
• call the ChangeLanguage( form7, language )

You should think about keeping the list of forms uptodate by removing closed forms from it.
If you make it a public property the closing form can remove itself from it, if it has a reference to your main form..

How can I convert a C# .NET application to support multiple languages?

Yes! It's called resource (.resx) files. What you do is this:

1. Change the Localizable property of your localizable forms to true. This will make the designer fetch text and other properties from the .resx files instead of hard-coding them.
2. Create your program in one language, let's say English.
3. Next, change all your forms to another language like so:
   
   1. Change the Language property of the form to the other language, let's say Spanish.
   2. Change the text on all your controls. The designer will automatically generate a new .resx file for the language.
   3. Swap back and forth as needed during development.
4. When publishing, go into your Assembly Settings and change the language. You can also change the language in code, I think.

And voilà! You're done!

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