Enum localization

Question

How do you localize enums for a ListBoxFor where multiple options are possible?

For example an enum that contains roles:

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Answer 1

I solved the issue by creating a EnumExtension which I use in my view. This extension looks for a resource file called "EnumResources.resx" and looks up the resource by the following naming convention {Name of EnumType}_{Value of enum passed in}. If the resource key is missing it will display the value of the resource encapsulated within double brackets [[EnumValue]]. This way its easy to find a "untranslated" Enum in your view. Also this helps reminding you if you forgot to update the resource file after a rename or such.

public static class EnumExtensions
{
    public static string GetDisplayName(this Enum e)
    {
        var rm = new ResourceManager(typeof (EnumResources));
        var resourceDisplayName = rm.GetString(e.GetType().Name + "_" + e);

        return string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(resourceDisplayName) ? string.Format("[[{0}]]", e) : resourceDisplayName;
    }
}

The resource file looks like this:

Usage:

@ContractStatus.Created.GetDisplayName()