how to prefix a culture string such as “en-gb” before the {controller} position in the url in asp.net mvc?

Question

so basically I want to achieve a multi-lingual website with the following scenarios:

• Using ASP.NET MVC 3
• most language are using resource files so they are using same views, however there are also many views that are country-specific (i.e. language culture specific) and not available for all.
• example url: http://localhost/en-us/{area}/{controller}/{action}/{id}

The MVC folder structure as here:

- Areas
    - Channel1
        - Controllers
        - Content
        - Views
            - en-us
                - View1.cshtml
                - View2.cshtml
            - zh-cn
                - View1.cshtml
                - View2.cshtml
                <b>- Special.cshtml</b>

    - Channel2
       ....(similar folder structure)
- ....

I think there must be a way to define the "en-us" into a parameter like {lang} and make decision in a default Controller outside the Areas - however I'm asp.net MVC newbie, how can I do that?

Answer 1

You can always write your own viewengine to look at folders based on what comes in. There's code out there for a ThemedViewengine that does just that.

Answer 2

Here's a fantastic article with practical suggestions on how to implement globalization on ASP.NET MVC 3

http://www.hanselman.com/blog/GlobalizationInternationalizationAndLocalizationInASPNETMVC3JavaScriptAndJQueryPart1.aspx

Answer 3

There's no great way to do this, but it is possible. First, you need to rearrange your views a little bit -- they still have to have a controller. Let's say the files you have (View1.cshtml and View2.cshtml) live in your home controller. Put them here:

- Views
  - Home
    - en-us
      - View1.cshtml
      - View2.cshtml
    - zh-cn
      - View1.cshtml
      - View2.cshtml

Then, create a custom route for the views in Global.asax.cs:

routes.MapRoute(
    "MultiLingual",
    "{lang}/{controller}/{action}/{id}",
    new {  controller = "Home", action = "Index", lang="en-us", id = UrlParameter.Optional }
);

Finally, in your home controller (or whatever controller you want to put the views in), use the lang parameter to determine which view to use:

public ActionResult View1( string lang, int? id ) {
    return View( lang + "/View1" );
}

public ActionResult View2( string lang, int? id ) {
    return View( lang + "/View2" );
}

I tried this and it works, but it feels awfully clunky, and not very DRY (at least in the actions). Anyone have a better approach?