Managing Application Resources (.NET)

Note

This article applies to Visual Studio 2015. If you're looking for the latest Visual Studio documentation, see Visual Studio documentation. We recommend upgrading to the latest version of Visual Studio. Download it here

Resource files are files that are part of an application but are not compiled, for example icon files or audio files. Since these files are not part of the compilation process, you can change them without having to recompile your binaries. If you are planning to localize your application, you should use resource files for all the strings and other resources that need to be changed when you localize your application.

For more information about resources in .NET desktop apps, see Resources in Desktop Apps. For more information about resources in C++ desktop apps, see Working with Resource Files.

Windows Store apps use a different resource model from desktop apps. For information about resources in Windows Store apps, see Defining Application Resources on the Windows Dev Center website.

Working with Resources

In a managed code project, open the project properties window (right-click the project node in Solution Explorer and select Properties, or type project properties in the Quick Launch window, or type ALT + ENTER in the Solution Explorer window). Select the Resources tab. You can add a .resx file if your project does not contain one already, add and delete different kinds of resources, and modify existing resources.

To find out how to work with resources in C++ projects, see How to: Create a Resource.