A critical vulnerability was discovered in React Server Components (Next.js). Our Systems Remain Fully Protected. Learn More

Stephan Lonntorp
Nov 22, 2018
  3132
(2 votes)

Localizations in PropertyValueList

The PropertyValueList property type ca be really useful for things that don't have a need for reuse, or doesn't have a view. If you've used it you might have noticed that the editor experience, especially in regards to localizations, hasn't been optimal.

In Per's blog post from 2015, the question on how to localize arose, and Kai de Leuw answered with:

[Display(Name="/path/to/lang/resource")]

That worked really well, up until a few weeks ago.

In Episerver CMS UI 11.12, something was introduced, that broke this functionality. But have no fear, it can still be done, and it's even cleaner.

Now, your POCOs are localized in the same way that other content types are localized.

Provided you have a POCO like this:

public class Contact {
    public string Name { get; set; }
    public string Country { get; set; }
}

You can localize it with an XML like this:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<languages>
  <language name="English" id="en">
    <contenttypes>
      <Contact>
        <properties>
          <Name>
            <caption>Contact name</caption>
            <help>The name of the contact.</help>
          </Name>
          <Country>
            <caption>Country of origin</caption>
            <help>The country of origin for the contact.</help>
          </Country>
        </properties>
      </Contact>
    </contenttypes>
  </language>
</languages>

Happy localizing!

Nov 22, 2018

Comments

valdis
valdis Nov 23, 2018 06:55 AM

hmm.. think I should really dig into this built-in localization thingy and try to remove xpath based things there as well ;)

Stephan Lonntorp
Stephan Lonntorp Nov 23, 2018 08:09 AM

@valdis Totally off-topic, but why? The XML based localization stuff (or your DbLocalizationProvider for that matter) should, in my opinion, only be used for translation of the Episerver UI. Everything else is content, and should be managed as such.

Treating UI texts as content enables editors to do A/B testing, scheduling and anything else that the CMS allows. While your DbLocalizationProvider certainly solves the editability challenge that the XML-based system has, and is a fine piece of engineering, in my opinion it solves a problem that shouldn't be a problem.

valdis
valdis Nov 26, 2018 02:15 PM

because you would not have these stringly-typed problems ;)

Please login to comment.
Latest blogs
Jhoose Security Modules v2.6.0 — Added support for Permissions Policy and .NET 10

Version 2.6.0 adds Permissions Policy header support, updates to .NET 10, improved policy management, configurable security settings, and enhanced...

Andrew Markham | Dec 6, 2025 |

Building a 360° Customer Profile With AI: How Opal + Optimizely Unlock Predictive Personalization

Creating truly relevant customer experiences requires more than collecting data—it requires understanding it. Most organizations already have rich...

Sujit Senapati | Dec 4, 2025

Building a Lightweight Optimizely SaaS CMS Solution with 11ty

Modern web development often requires striking a difficult balance between site performance and the flexibility needed by content editors. To addre...

Minesh Shah (Netcel) | Dec 3, 2025

Creating Opal Tools Using The C# SDK

Over the last few months, my colleagues at Netcel and I have partaken in two different challenge events organised by Optimizely and centered around...

Mark Stott | Dec 3, 2025