ASP.NET Localization

Today I want to cover about how to make use of resource file to create an ASP.NET web application that support language localization.

First of all, develop a web application normally with English language. For a quick one, just create a simple web page with a simple form.

Then, at this aspx page design view, click the [Tools] option in Visual Studio, then select [Generate Local Resource] to generate resource file automatically.

Note: The Generate Local Resource menu only available when the aspx designer view is focusing.

Then, you will notice a new local resource file is generated in the App_LocalResources folder. The filename is following your web page filename, and the resources are generated automatically base on the controls you have in that page.

Now, prepare another resource file for other language. For example, I want to create another resource file for Chinese language. So, just go to Solutions Explorer, then duplicate the resource file, and then rename it with this specific format: <Page Name>.aspx.<CultureInfo ISO Name>.resx.

For example: Default.aspx.zh-CN.resx.

Then, in the new resource file, replace the English characters with Chinese characters.

After you have the resource file ready, you can start coding to make the web application to load the language dynamically. The following is the sample code that change the page language base on the value from query string:

The InitializeCulture method is a method from Page object. It is used to initialize the page culture, so we have to override it and change the culture there before the ASP.NET Page Life Cycle events kick in.

protected override void InitializeCulture()

{

    base.InitializeCulture();

    if (Request.QueryString["lang"] == "cn")

    {

        //The culture info name must be same as the one named in the resource file

        //For example: zh-CN, it will refer to resource file Default.aspx.zh-CN.resx

        Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentUICulture = new CultureInfo("zh-CN");

        Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture = new CultureInfo("zh-CN");

    }

}

Run the application to test it out. This is what you will see originally:

Now, enter the query string to make the language change.

The following is the list of all Language ISO name that I had extracted from CultureInfo class:

af                Afrikaans

af-ZA             Afrikaans (South Africa)

am                Amharic

am-ET             Amharic (Ethiopia)

ar                Arabic

ar-AE             Arabic (U.A.E.)

ar-BH             Arabic (Bahrain)

ar-DZ             Arabic (Algeria)

ar-EG             Arabic (Egypt)

ar-IQ             Arabic (Iraq)

ar-JO             Arabic (Jordan)

ar-KW             Arabic (Kuwait)

ar-LB             Arabic (Lebanon)

ar-LY             Arabic (Libya)

ar-MA             Arabic (Morocco)

ar-OM             Arabic (Oman)

ar-QA             Arabic (Qatar)

ar-SA             Arabic (Saudi Arabia)

ar-SY             Arabic (Syria)

ar-TN             Arabic (Tunisia)

ar-YE             Arabic (Yemen)

arn               Mapudungun

arn-CL            Mapudungun (Chile)

as                Assamese

as-IN             Assamese (India)

az                Azeri

az-Cyrl           Azeri (Cyrillic)

az-Cyrl-AZ        Azeri (Cyrillic, Azerbaijan)

az-Latn           Azeri (Latin)

az-Latn-AZ        Azeri (Latin, Azerbaijan)

ba                Bashkir

ba-RU             Bashkir (Russia)

be                Belarusian

be-BY             Belarusian (Belarus)

bg                Bulgarian

bg-BG             Bulgarian (Bulgaria)

bn                Bengali

bn-BD             Bengali (Bangladesh)

bn-IN             Bengali (India)

bo                Tibetan

bo-CN             Tibetan (PRC)

br                Breton

br-FR             Breton (France)

bs                Bosnian

bs-Cyrl           Bosnian (Cyrillic)

bs-Cyrl-BA        Bosnian (Cyrillic, Bosnia and Herzegovina)

bs-Latn           Bosnian (Latin)

bs-Latn-BA        Bosnian (Latin, Bosnia and Herzegovina)

ca                Catalan

ca-ES             Catalan (Catalan)

ca-ES-valencia    Valencian (Spain)

chr               Cherokee

chr-Cher          Cherokee (Cherokee)

chr-Cher-US       Cherokee (Cherokee)

co                Corsican

co-FR             Corsican (France)

cs                Czech

cs-CZ             Czech (Czech Republic)

cy                Welsh

cy-GB             Welsh (United Kingdom)

da                Danish

da-DK             Danish (Denmark)

de                German

de-AT             German (Austria)

de-CH             German (Switzerland)

de-DE             German (Germany)

de-LI             German (Liechtenstein)

de-LU             German (Luxembourg)

dsb               Lower Sorbian

dsb-DE            Lower Sorbian (Germany)

dv                Divehi

dv-MV             Divehi (Maldives)

el                Greek

el-GR             Greek (Greece)

en                English

en-029            English (Caribbean)

en-AU             English (Australia)

en-BZ             English (Belize)

en-CA             English (Canada)

en-GB             English (United Kingdom)

en-HK             English (Hong Kong)

en-IE             English (Ireland)

en-IN             English (India)

en-JM             English (Jamaica)

en-MY             English (Malaysia)

en-NZ             English (New Zealand)

en-PH             English (Republic of the Philippines)

en-SG             English (Singapore)

en-TT             English (Trinidad and Tobago)

en-US             English (United States)

en-ZA             English (South Africa)

en-ZW             English (Zimbabwe)

es                Spanish

es-419            español (Latinoamérica)

es-AR             Spanish (Argentina)

es-BO             Spanish (Bolivia)

es-CL             Spanish (Chile)

es-CO             Spanish (Colombia)

es-CR             Spanish (Costa Rica)

es-DO             Spanish (Dominican Republic)

es-EC             Spanish (Ecuador)

es-ES             Spanish (Spain)

es-GT             Spanish (Guatemala)

es-HN             Spanish (Honduras)

es-MX             Spanish (Mexico)

es-NI             Spanish (Nicaragua)

es-PA             Spanish (Panama)

es-PE             Spanish (Peru)

es-PR             Spanish (Puerto Rico)

es-PY             Spanish (Paraguay)

es-SV             Spanish (El Salvador)

es-US             Spanish (United States)

es-UY             Spanish (Uruguay)

es-VE             Spanish (Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela)

et                Estonian

et-EE             Estonian (Estonia)

eu                Basque

eu-ES             Basque (Basque)

fa                Persian

fa-IR             Persian

ff                Fulah

ff-Latn           Fulah (Latin)

ff-Latn-SN        Fulah (Latin, Senegal)

fi                Finnish

fi-FI             Finnish (Finland)

fil               Filipino

fil-PH            Filipino (Philippines)

fo                Faroese

fo-FO             Faroese (Faroe Islands)

fr                French

fr-BE             French (Belgium)

fr-CA             French (Canada)

fr-CD             français (Congo [RDC])

fr-CH             French (Switzerland)

fr-CI             français (Côte d’Ivoire)

fr-CM             français (Cameroun)

fr-FR             French (France)

fr-HT             français (Haïti)

fr-LU             French (Luxembourg)

fr-MA             français (Maroc)

fr-MC             French (Monaco)

fr-ML             français (Mali)

fr-RE             français (Réunion)

fr-SN             français (Sénégal)

fy                Frisian

fy-NL             Frisian (Netherlands)

ga                Irish

ga-IE             Irish (Ireland)

gd                Scottish Gaelic

gd-GB             Scottish Gaelic (United Kingdom)

gl                Galician

gl-ES             Galician (Galician)

gn                Guarani

gn-PY             Guarani (Paraguái)

gsw               Alsatian

gsw-FR            Alsatian (France)

gu                Gujarati

gu-IN             Gujarati (India)

ha                Hausa

ha-Latn           Hausa (Latin)

ha-Latn-NG        Hausa (Latin, Nigeria)

haw               Hawaiian

haw-US            Hawaiian (United States)

he                Hebrew

he-IL             Hebrew (Israel)

hi                Hindi

hi-IN             Hindi (India)

hr                Croatian

hr-BA             Croatian (Latin, Bosnia and Herzegovina)

hr-HR             Croatian (Croatia)

hsb               Upper Sorbian

hsb-DE            Upper Sorbian (Germany)

hu                Hungarian

hu-HU             Hungarian (Hungary)

hy                Armenian

hy-AM             Armenian (Armenia)

id                Indonesian

id-ID             Indonesian (Indonesia)

ig                Igbo

ig-NG             Igbo (Nigeria)

ii                Yi

ii-CN             Yi (PRC)

is                Icelandic

is-IS             Icelandic (Iceland)

it                Italian

it-CH             Italian (Switzerland)

it-IT             Italian (Italy)

iu                Inuktitut

iu-Cans           Inuktitut (Syllabics)

iu-Cans-CA        Inuktitut (Syllabics, Canada)

iu-Latn           Inuktitut (Latin)

iu-Latn-CA        Inuktitut (Latin, Canada)

ja                Japanese

ja-JP             Japanese (Japan)

jv                Basa Jawa

jv-Latn           Basa Jawa

jv-Latn-ID        Basa Jawa (Indonesia)

ka                Georgian

ka-GE             Georgian (Georgia)

kk                Kazakh

kk-KZ             Kazakh (Kazakhstan)

kl                Greenlandic

kl-GL             Greenlandic (Greenland)

km                Khmer

km-KH             Khmer (Cambodia)

kn                Kannada

kn-IN             Kannada (India)

ko                Korean

ko-KR             Korean (Korea)

kok               Konkani

kok-IN            Konkani (India)

ku                Central Kurdish

ku-Arab           Central Kurdish (Arabic)

ku-Arab-IQ        Central Kurdish (Iraq)

ky                Kyrgyz

ky-KG             Kyrgyz (Kyrgyzstan)

lb                Luxembourgish

lb-LU             Luxembourgish (Luxembourg)

lo                Lao

lo-LA             Lao (Lao P.D.R.)

lt                Lithuanian

lt-LT             Lithuanian (Lithuania)

lv                Latvian

lv-LV             Latvian (Latvia)

mg                Malagasy

mg-MG             Malagasy (Madagasikara)

mi                Maori

mi-NZ             Maori (New Zealand)

mk                Macedonian (FYROM)

mk-MK             Macedonian (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia)

ml                Malayalam

ml-IN             Malayalam (India)

mn                Mongolian

mn-Cyrl           Mongolian (Cyrillic)

mn-MN             Mongolian (Cyrillic, Mongolia)

mn-Mong           Mongolian (Traditional Mongolian)

mn-Mong-CN        Mongolian (Traditional Mongolian, PRC)

mn-Mong-MN        ᠮᠤᠨᠭᠭᠤᠯ ᠬᠡᠯᠡ (ᠮᠤᠨᠭᠭᠤᠯ ᠣᠯᠣᠰ)

moh               Mohawk

moh-CA            Mohawk (Mohawk)

mr                Marathi

mr-IN             Marathi (India)

ms                Malay

ms-BN             Malay (Brunei Darussalam)

ms-MY             Malay (Malaysia)

mt                Maltese

mt-MT             Maltese (Malta)

my                ဗမာ

my-MM             ဗမာ (မြန်မာ)

nb                Norwegian (Bokmål)

nb-NO             Norwegian, Bokmål (Norway)

ne                Nepali

ne-IN             नेपाली (भारत)

ne-NP             Nepali (Nepal)

nl                Dutch

nl-BE             Dutch (Belgium)

nl-NL             Dutch (Netherlands)

nn                Norwegian (Nynorsk)

nn-NO             Norwegian, Nynorsk (Norway)

no                Norwegian

nqo               ߒߞߏ

nqo-GN            ߒߞߏ (ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߬ ߞߊ߲ߓߍ߲)

nso               Sesotho sa Leboa

nso-ZA            Sesotho sa Leboa (South Africa)

oc                Occitan

oc-FR             Occitan (France)

om                Oromoo

om-ET             Oromoo (Itoophiyaa)

or                Oriya

or-IN             Oriya (India)

pa                Punjabi

pa-Arab           پنجابی

pa-Arab-PK        Punjabi (Islamic Republic of Pakistan)

pa-IN             Punjabi (India)

pl                Polish

pl-PL             Polish (Poland)

prs               Dari

prs-AF            Dari (Afghanistan)

ps                Pashto

ps-AF             Pashto (Afghanistan)

pt                Portuguese

pt-AO             português (Angola)

pt-BR             Portuguese (Brazil)

pt-PT             Portuguese (Portugal)

qut               K'iche

qut-GT            K'iche (Guatemala)

quz               Quechua

quz-BO            Quechua (Bolivia)

quz-EC            Quechua (Ecuador)

quz-PE            Quechua (Peru)

rm                Romansh

rm-CH             Romansh (Switzerland)

ro                Romanian

ro-MD             română (Republica Moldova)

ro-RO             Romanian (Romania)

ru                Russian

ru-RU             Russian (Russia)

rw                Kinyarwanda

rw-RW             Kinyarwanda (Rwanda)

sa                Sanskrit

sa-IN             Sanskrit (India)

sah               Sakha

sah-RU            Sakha (Russia)

sd                Sindhi

sd-Arab           Sindhi (Arabic)

sd-Arab-PK        Sindhi (Islamic Republic of Pakistan)

se                Sami (Northern)

se-FI             Sami, Northern (Finland)

se-NO             Sami, Northern (Norway)

se-SE             Sami, Northern (Sweden)

si                Sinhala

si-LK             Sinhala (Sri Lanka)

sk                Slovak

sk-SK             Slovak (Slovakia)

sl                Slovenian

sl-SI             Slovenian (Slovenia)

sma               Sami (Southern)

sma-NO            Sami, Southern (Norway)

sma-SE            Sami, Southern (Sweden)

smj               Sami (Lule)

smj-NO            Sami, Lule (Norway)

smj-SE            Sami, Lule (Sweden)

smn               Sami (Inari)

smn-FI            Sami, Inari (Finland)

sms               Sami (Skolt)

sms-FI            Sami, Skolt (Finland)

sn                chiShona

sn-Latn           chiShona (Latin)

sn-Latn-ZW        chiShona (Latin, Zimbabwe)

so                Soomaali

so-SO             Soomaali (Soomaaliya)

sq                Albanian

sq-AL             Albanian (Albania)

sr                Serbian

sr-Cyrl           Serbian (Cyrillic)

sr-Cyrl-BA        Serbian (Cyrillic, Bosnia and Herzegovina)

sr-Cyrl-CS        Serbian (Cyrillic, Serbia and Montenegro (Former))

sr-Cyrl-ME        Serbian (Cyrillic, Montenegro)

sr-Cyrl-RS        Serbian (Cyrillic, Serbia)

sr-Latn           Serbian (Latin)

sr-Latn-BA        Serbian (Latin, Bosnia and Herzegovina)

sr-Latn-CS        Serbian (Latin, Serbia and Montenegro (Former))

sr-Latn-ME        Serbian (Latin, Montenegro)

sr-Latn-RS        Serbian (Latin, Serbia)

st                Sesotho

st-ZA             Sesotho (South Africa)

sv                Swedish

sv-FI             Swedish (Finland)

sv-SE             Swedish (Sweden)

sw                Kiswahili

sw-KE             Kiswahili (Kenya)

syr               Syriac

syr-SY            Syriac (Syria)

ta                Tamil

ta-IN             Tamil (India)

ta-LK             Tamil (Sri Lanka)

te                Telugu

te-IN             Telugu (India)

tg                Tajik

tg-Cyrl           Tajik (Cyrillic)

tg-Cyrl-TJ        Tajik (Cyrillic, Tajikistan)

th                Thai

th-TH             Thai (Thailand)

ti                Tigrinya

ti-ER             Tigrinya (Eritrea)

ti-ET             Tigrinya (Ethiopia)

tk                Turkmen

tk-TM             Turkmen (Turkmenistan)

tn                Setswana

tn-BW             Setswana (Botswana)

tn-ZA             Setswana (South Africa)

tr                Turkish

tr-TR             Turkish (Turkey)

ts                Xitsonga

ts-ZA             Xitsonga (South Africa)

tt                Tatar

tt-RU             Tatar (Russia)

tzm               Tamazight

tzm-Latn          Tamazight (Latin)

tzm-Latn-DZ       Tamazight (Latin, Algeria)

tzm-Tfng          Tamazight (Tifinagh)

tzm-Tfng-MA       Central Atlas Tamazight (Tifinagh, Morocco)

ug                Uyghur

ug-CN             Uyghur (PRC)

uk                Ukrainian

uk-UA             Ukrainian (Ukraine)

ur                Urdu

ur-IN             اردو (بھارت)

ur-PK             Urdu (Islamic Republic of Pakistan)

uz                Uzbek

uz-Cyrl           Uzbek (Cyrillic)

uz-Cyrl-UZ        Uzbek (Cyrillic, Uzbekistan)

uz-Latn           Uzbek (Latin)

uz-Latn-UZ        Uzbek (Latin, Uzbekistan)

vi                Vietnamese

vi-VN             Vietnamese (Vietnam)

wo                Wolof

wo-SN             Wolof (Senegal)

xh                isiXhosa

xh-ZA             isiXhosa (South Africa)

yo                Yoruba

yo-NG             Yoruba (Nigeria)

zgh               Standard Morrocan Tamazight

zgh-Tfng          ⵜⴰⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵜ

zgh-Tfng-MA       ⵜⴰⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵜ (ⵍⵎⵖⵔⵉⴱ)

zh                Chinese

zh-CN             Chinese (Simplified, PRC)

zh-Hans           Chinese (Simplified)

zh-Hant           Chinese (Traditional)

zh-HK             Chinese (Traditional, Hong Kong S.A.R.)

zh-MO             Chinese (Traditional, Macao S.A.R.)

zh-SG             Chinese (Simplified, Singapore)

zh-TW             Chinese (Traditional, Taiwan)

zu                isiZulu

zu-ZA             isiZulu (South Africa)

zh-CHS            Chinese (Simplified) Legacy

zh-CHT            Chinese (Traditional) Legacy