Question: I am just getting into EF. For the past 2 years I have been coding database code by hand and finally got fed up with it. I am having one issue when it comes to using enums with E.F. All my previously coded enums used display attributes so that when bound in xaml to a data form or any other control, would display friendly names instead of code names. EX display "Light Brown" instead of "LightBrown or light\_brown" etc. All the enum designer allows is to set values and names. Is there a way to get these auto enums to show a different name when bound to?

```
[Display(Name="Light Brown")]
Light_Brown,

```

**Edit**
I am not looking how to convert enum names into friendlier names. I already know how to do that. My issues is accessing the auto generated code for enumerations that are automatically generated using the entity framework designer. It seems there is a way to reference an external code file so I am going to look into this.

Answer: 
Found a question and answer here on stack. You can circumvent this issue by using the "Reference External Type" option in the designer. This is only a solution in the event you are using the database first design of Entity Framework and not the model first design.

[Entity Framework 5 Enums with Description attribute using Database First](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/11101148/entity-framework-5-enums-with-description-attribute-using-database-first)

The author answered his own question under the comments of his question.
Try using 

```
[Description("Light Brown")]
Light_Brown,

```

Check out this [answer](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/388483/how-do-you-create-a-dropdownlist-from-an-enum-in-asp-net-mvc/5255108#5255108) you might need to add a converter.