How do I create a resource that I can reference and use in various parts of my program easily?
My specific problem is that I have a NotifyIcon that I want to change the icon of depending on the state of the program. A common problem, but one I've been struggling with for a long time.
This question is related to
c#
visual-studio
resources
icons
Well, after searching around and cobbling together various points from around StackOverflow (gee, I love this place already), most of the problems were already past this stage. I did manage to work out an answer to my problem though.
How to create a resource:
In my case, I want to create an icon. It's a similar process, no matter what type of data you want to add as a resource though.
How to use a resource:
Great, so we have our new resource and we're itching to have those lovely changing icons... How do we do that? Well, lucky us, C# makes this exceedingly easy.
There is a static class called Properties.Resources that gives you access to all your resources, so my code ended up being as simple as:
paused = !paused;
if (paused)
notifyIcon.Icon = Properties.Resources.RedIcon;
else
notifyIcon.Icon = Properties.Resources.GreenIcon;
Done! Finished! Everything is simple when you know how, isn't it?
The above method works good.
Another method (I am assuming web here) is to create your page. Add controls to the page. Then while in design mode go to: Tools > Generate Local Resource. A resource file will automatically appear in the solution with all the controls in the page mapped in the resource file.
To create resources for other languages, append the 4 character language to the end of the file name, before the extension (Account.aspx.en-US.resx, Account.aspx.es-ES.resx...etc).
To retrieve specific entries in the code-behind, simply call this method: GetLocalResourceObject([resource entry key/name]).
The above didn't actually work for me as I had expected with Visual Studio 2010. It wouldn't let me access Properties.Resources, said it was inaccessible due to permission issues. I ultimately had to change the Persistence settings in the properties of the resource and then I found how to access it via the Resources.Designer.cs file, where it had an automatic getter that let me access the icon, via MyNamespace.Properties.Resources.NameFromAddingTheResource. That returns an object of type Icon, ready to just use.
The above method works good.
Another method (I am assuming web here) is to create your page. Add controls to the page. Then while in design mode go to: Tools > Generate Local Resource. A resource file will automatically appear in the solution with all the controls in the page mapped in the resource file.
To create resources for other languages, append the 4 character language to the end of the file name, before the extension (Account.aspx.en-US.resx, Account.aspx.es-ES.resx...etc).
To retrieve specific entries in the code-behind, simply call this method: GetLocalResourceObject([resource entry key/name]).
The above didn't actually work for me as I had expected with Visual Studio 2010. It wouldn't let me access Properties.Resources, said it was inaccessible due to permission issues. I ultimately had to change the Persistence settings in the properties of the resource and then I found how to access it via the Resources.Designer.cs file, where it had an automatic getter that let me access the icon, via MyNamespace.Properties.Resources.NameFromAddingTheResource. That returns an object of type Icon, ready to just use.
The above method works good.
Another method (I am assuming web here) is to create your page. Add controls to the page. Then while in design mode go to: Tools > Generate Local Resource. A resource file will automatically appear in the solution with all the controls in the page mapped in the resource file.
To create resources for other languages, append the 4 character language to the end of the file name, before the extension (Account.aspx.en-US.resx, Account.aspx.es-ES.resx...etc).
To retrieve specific entries in the code-behind, simply call this method: GetLocalResourceObject([resource entry key/name]).
Source: Stackoverflow.com