The Enterprise Localization Toolkit is a solution for managing localized applications. Its a free, not supported tool set given by Microsoft and we can use it in our applications.
We just completed a project where we decided to use this tool. We had about 100 texts which we need to translate to four languages. We know the amount of text will grow in future releases. I find it more comfortable to edit and add new texts using the web administration tool that is part of the toolkit. In my opinion its easier to use the toolkit for managing the application text/s then just using the .NET RESX files.
The toolset enable u to manage your localization by attaching for each application the supported culture/s. For each application u can then attach set of localization Keys (e.g lblGenericError, lblWelcomeMessage and so on). For each key u should attach one or more web controls that should support localization in your application modules. Eventually for each Key you should supply the localization text for any of the supported language/s. The flow for managing text/s is easy and intuitive.
The advantage of the toolkit web admin compared to RESX file are:
As already mentioned the web admin tool is easy to use and intuitive
You can manage localize text for web controls that required single property value like Label. You can also add localize data to DropDownList by adding key/value pairs. I did not find the way to attach a grid localized dataset xml - maybe its supported but because we did not need this feature - we did not spend time in order to find how to do it.
In order to display localize pages you should inherit from localize page base which is part of the toolkit - That's all. You don't need to add any code for doing localization stuff. Its being done in the page init event for u.
You still can and usually do use localization on demand by using the toolset api in your code.
The Web Admin for managing the texts is easy to use and more user friendly then the RESX files. Its easy to find the localization Text Keys and add to it the localization text. The good thing you can manage and edit your 10 culture text in one entry form when using localization. In order to do it using RESX file u have to open 10 different files for each culture and add the localize text to the specific key and this is not an easy task.
After adding your texts u need to use another winforms tool to create resources file/s from the localize text. These file/s will be use to create satellite assemblies which u will use in your localized application. You need to copy the files to your application bin folder. These actions r exactly as if u r using RESX files.
Disadvantages:
I did not find the way to attach a grid localized dataset xml - maybe its supported but because we did not need this feature - we did not spend time to find how to do it. So of this feature is missing then this is huge disadvantage
Tip (its good thing to do when managing any kind of textual keys):
Gives your localize Text Key/s prefixes that will enable u to find your text quickly in the web admin tool. Use something like P1_h1_WelcomeMsg, P1_h2_SmallTitle, P1_footer_h1_aaa, P1_footer_h2_bbb. Also use excel file to synch your pages number with a more logical names. You can also use "F" for entry forms "G" for Grids and so own.
Conclusions:
The toolkit make your localization work very productive by saving u lots of time and money.
Check the performance numbers in Microsoft article specified above in order to understand if its fit your application requirements
Additional resource by Greg Reddick regard using Localization ToolKit