How to use String Resources

In this Tip I will be showing you how to place hard coded strings into a resource area. This is a common best practice for software development that makes it much easier to manage the strings in your application.

To start, open up your App.xaml file and add a reference to the MSCORLIB library as seen highlighted here.

<Application xmlns=http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation
xmlns:x=http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml 
xmlns:clr="clr-namespace:System;assembly=mscorlib"
x:Class="TestApp.App">

One place you can add all your strings is under the Application.Resources section in your App.xaml. To illustrate this, I have added one string resource that can be referenced through the key “MyName”.

<Application.Resources>
    <clr:String x:Key="MyName">Mike Snow</clr:String>
</Application.Resources>

Finally, open up Page.xaml and add a TextBlock. Set the text of this TextBlock to point to the string resource we just added. This can be done by using the syntax Text=”{StaticResource MyName}” as seen here:

<TextBlock Text="{StaticResource MyName}"></TextBlock>