Now available as a Source Generator!
ReswPlus is a C# Source Generator for Visual Studio that enhances .resw files with a powerful set of features:
- Strongly typed static properties for safer and more efficient string access.
- Automatic generation of string formatting methods, supporting:
- Typed and named parameters, literal strings, string references, and macros.
- Pluralization support for 196 languages, including handling empty states when the item count is zero.
- Variant support for managing multiple versions of a string.
- Generation of a markup extension for accessing strings with compile-time verification.
| Feature | Resw | Resw + ReswPlus | Resx | Android XML (for reference) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Modify UI properties via resource files (x:uid) | ✅ | ✅ | ||
| Generate strongly typed accessors | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |
| Generate string formatting methods | ✅ | |||
| Support pluralization | ✅ | ✅ | ||
| Support empty states | ✅ | |||
| Auto-generate string formatting methods | ✅ | |||
| Support literal strings in formatters | ✅ | |||
| Support macros in formatters | ✅ | |||
| Support string references in formatters | ✅ | |||
| Strongly typed string formatting | ✅ | |||
| Support resources in libraries | ✅ | ✅ | ||
| Support string variants (e.g., gender-based) | ✅ |
⚡ How to Install ReswPlus – Step-by-step installation guide.
ReswPlus generates a class that exposes all strings from your .resw files as strongly typed static properties, ensuring compile-time safety in both XAML and C#.
🗨 How to Generate a Strongly Typed Class
Easily add pluralization support for 196 languages, including correct handling of empty states when the count is zero.
🗨 How to Add Pluralization
⚙️ Handling Empty States
⚙️ Supported Languages
ReswPlus simplifies ViewModels and Views by handling string formatting directly and generating strongly typed methods.
🗨 How to Use String Formatting
⚙️ Named Parameters
⚙️ Using String References
⚙️ Using Literal Strings
⚙️ Using Macros
ReswPlus allows multiple variants of a string based on different criteria, such as gender-based messages or other conditions.
In addition to features to enrich resw files, ReswPlus also provides some interesting tools to improve your productivity or make it easier to use/support resw files in your workflow and localization process.
Unfortunately, not all localization tools and companies support .resw files. This becomes even more problematic when dealing with pluralization, as .resw does not support it by default.
To address this, ReswPlus includes a converter for seamless conversion between .resw and Android XML, a format that supports string pluralization and is widely compatible with existing localization tools.
Simply right click on the resw associated to the default language of your app and select ReswPlus > Export to Android XML format. To convert the Android files once localized, you can use the command-line tool provided with the nuget package (packages/ReswPlusLib.xxxx/Tools/ReswPlusCmd\ReswPlusCmd.exe with the following arguments xml-to-resw -i <folder path> <output path>.
If you don't want to use Visual Studio to convert your resw files to Android XML files, you can use the same command-line tool with the following arguments resw-to-xml -i <resw file path> <output file path>
The current Source Generator supports only C#. If your project uses VB.NET, C++/CX, or C++/WinRT, you can use our legacy Visual Studio extension, available here
