Localization in WPF SfDiagram

18 Nov 20186 minutes to read

Localization is the process of adapting an application to a specific language or culture. WPF Diagram lets you localize all static text used for annotations and context menu contents.

The following items can be localized:

• Annotation content (e.g., AnnotationEditorViewModel.Content).
• Context menu items on nodes, connectors, groups, and the diagram surface.
• Status bar messages and tooltips displayed by the diagram.

You can refer to the WPF Localization overview to add a resource file to the application.

NOTE

Set CurrentUICulture in App.OnStartup (or in App.xaml.cs before Application.Run) so the culture is applied before any UI is created. Setting it inside MainWindow only affects that window’s flow after construction, too late for resources resolved during layout.

Localize the Annotations Using ResourceManager

SfDiagram supports localizing the annotations of nodes and connectors. The following code illustrates how to provide localization support for an annotation.

The NewIdea resource key referenced below uses the following .resx entry (default Resources.resx) and culture-specific overrides:

File	Key	Value
Resources.resx	NewIdea	New Idea
Resources.fr.resx	NewIdea	Nouvelle idée
Resources.de.resx	NewIdea	Neue Idee

The fallback chain (de-DE → de → invariant) is resolved automatically by ResourceManager; provide region-specific .resx files (Resources.de-DE.resx) only when you need to override regional differences.

XAML

<!-- Style for the node. -->
<Style TargetType="Path" x:Key="NodeStyle">
    <Setter Property="Stretch" Value="Fill"/>
    <Setter Property="Fill" Value="#FF5B9BD5"/>
</Style>

C#

public partial class MainWindow : Window
{
    // Set CurrentUICulture in App.OnStartup, before this constructor runs:
    //   System.Threading.Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentUICulture =
    //       new System.Globalization.CultureInfo("fr");

    private readonly System.Resources.ResourceManager manager;

    public MainWindow()
    {
        // Use the executing assembly so it matches the project that contains
        // the Localization.Resources.Syncfusion.SfDiagram.WPF resource file.
        Assembly assembly = System.Reflection.Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly();
        manager = new System.Resources.ResourceManager(
            "Localization.Resources.Syncfusion.SfDiagram.WPF", assembly);

        InitializeComponent();

        // Create the diagram.
        SfDiagram diagram = new SfDiagram();

        // Add the diagram to the main grid of the MainWindow.
        RootGrid.Children.Add(diagram);

        // Populate the diagram with a localized node.
        NodeViewModel node = new NodeViewModel
        {
            UnitWidth = 150,
            UnitHeight = 60,
            OffsetX = 345,
            OffsetY = 140,
            Shape = new EllipseGeometry { RadiusX = 100, RadiusY = 100 },
            ShapeStyle = this.Resources["NodeStyle"] as Style,
            Annotations = new ObservableCollection<IAnnotation>
            {
                new AnnotationEditorViewModel
                {
                    // Localize the annotation using ResourceManager.
                    Content = manager.GetString("NewIdea"),
                }
            }
        };

        diagram.Nodes = new ObservableCollection<NodeViewModel> { node };
    }
}

NOTE

manager.GetString("NewIdea") returns null when the resource key is missing. Fall back to a default value with manager.GetString("NewIdea") ?? "New Idea" if you want to avoid empty annotation content.

NOTE

For right-to-left (RTL) cultures such as ar-SA, set FlowDirection="RightToLeft" on the host Window or on the diagram’s panel.

Localize the Context Menu Items

SfDiagram exposes its context menu items through SfDiagram.Menu so the labels can be localized. The following example binds the menu text to a ResourceManager.

C#

void MainWindow_Loaded(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
    foreach (var item in diagram.Menu.Items)
    {
        if (item is DiagramMenuItem menuItem &&
            menuItem.Content is string key &&
            !string.IsNullOrEmpty(key))
        {
            menuItem.Content = manager.GetString(key) ?? key;
        }
    }
}

NOTE

Define the textual descriptions of the context menu items for each custom culture you support (for example, “Cut” → “Couper” in Resources.fr.resx).

View Sample in GitHub