ArcGIS Engine Developer Guide

.NET APPLICATION PROGRAMMING INTERFACE
Visual Studio .NET projects use an XML-based file format to contain managed
resources. These XML files have the extension .resx and can contain any kind of
data (images, cursors, and so forth) as long as the data is converted to ASCII
format. RESx files are compiled to .resources files, which are binary representations
of the resource data. Binary .resources files can be embedded by the compiler
into either the main project assembly or a separate satellite assembly that
contains only resources.
The following options are available to create your resource files. Each is discussed
below.
• Creating a .resx file for string resources
• Creating resource files for image resources
• Compiling a .resx file into a .resources file
Creating a .resx file for string resources
If all you need to localize is strings—not images or cursors—you can use Visual
Studio .NET to create a new .resx file that will be compiled automatically into a
.resources module embedded in the main assembly.
1. Right-click the project name in the Solution Explorer, click Add, then click
Add New Item.
2. In the Add New Item dialog box, click Assembly Resource File.
3. Open the new .resx file in Visual Studio, and add name–value pairs for the
culture-specific strings in your application.
162 • ArcGIS Engine Developer Guide