DisplayName attribute from Resources?

Question

I have a localized application, and I am wondering if it is possible to have the DisplayName for a certain model property set from a Resource.

I'd like to do something like this:

public class MyModel {
  [Required]
  [DisplayName(Resources.Resources.labelForName)]
  public string name{ get; set; }
}

But I can't to it, as the compiler says: "An attribute argument must be a constant expression, typeof expression or array creation expression of an attribute parameter type" :(

Are there any workarounds? I am outputting labels manually, but I need these for the validator output!

Answer 1

If you use MVC 3 and .NET 4, you can use the new Display attribute in the System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations namespace. This attribute replaces the DisplayName attribute and provides much more functionality, including localization support.

In your case, you would use it like this:

public class MyModel
{
    [Required]
    [Display(Name = "labelForName", ResourceType = typeof(Resources.Resources))]
    public string name{ get; set; }
}

As a side note, this attribute will not work with resources inside App_GlobalResources or App_LocalResources. This has to do with the custom tool (GlobalResourceProxyGenerator) these resources use. Instead make sure your resource file is set to 'Embedded resource' and use the 'ResXFileCodeGenerator' custom tool.

(As a further side note, you shouldn't be using App_GlobalResources or App_LocalResources with MVC. You can read more about why this is the case here)