NSLocalizedString doesn't work - objective-c

I want to use NSLocalizedString in my app but it always failed. What i do is:
Define 3 Localizations in Project Properties (See screenshot bellow)
Create a new file: Resource Strings File
Check in the app bundle if file.strings is there
Then I use NSLocalizedStrings as follow but it doesn't work!
- (void)applicationDidFinishLaunching:(NSNotification *)aNotification
{
// Insert code here to initialize your application
NSString *v1 = NSLocalizedString(#"MyWindow", nil);
//NSString *v1 = [[NSBundle mainBundle] localizedStringForKey:(#"MyWindow") value:#"" table:nil];
[label setStringValue:v1];
}
In my 3 .strings files I define the below key/value:
"MyWindow" = "Ma Fenetre";
Normally, my label should display "Ma Fenetre" and not "MyWindows"
You can download an example project here and tell me where is the issue.
Bellow the content of Resources folder in my app bundle :
DerivedData om$ find test/Build/Products/Debug/test.app/Contents/Resources/
test/Build/Products/Debug/test.app/Contents/Resources/
test/Build/Products/Debug/test.app/Contents/Resources//de.lproj
test/Build/Products/Debug/test.app/Contents/Resources//de.lproj/File.strings
test/Build/Products/Debug/test.app/Contents/Resources//en.lproj
test/Build/Products/Debug/test.app/Contents/Resources//en.lproj/File.strings
test/Build/Products/Debug/test.app/Contents/Resources//fr.lproj
test/Build/Products/Debug/test.app/Contents/Resources//fr.lproj/File.strings
test/Build/Products/Debug/test.app/Contents/Resources//MainMenu.nib
Thanks
Elfoiros

NSLocalizedString uses Localizable.strings file by default. Change your File.strings name and try again.

For every time you make changes in .Strings file you need to clean your project and remove application from device and simulator. This is the only way to develop Localised application.
Have a happy coding.!

As Adam stated, NSLocalizedString uses Localizable.strings for a lookup table. To specify a custom table, use:
NSLocalizedStringFromTable(#"MyWindow", #"File");
Documentation

Need to take care over case sensitive file names: Localizable.strings not localizable.strings. Simply rename in Finder, delete reference in Xcode project and add Localizable string back to the project. Then make sure the appropriate Localization boxes are selected in the file inspector. Don't know if there's a better slicker process.

I had a similar issue as described here but the solution was different. Somehow I managed to mangle how the Localization.strings file was being referenced in the project.
Removing the Localizable.strings file and readding it fixed the problem for me.

Related

Objective C reading array from file fails on different locations

I am developing a mac app and I want to put my settings (array of strings) into a file. If that file exists in the same folder as the app it is read and it overwrites default settings.
No problems writing the file but when reading with code:
NSArray* settingsInput = [[NSArray alloc] initWithContentsOfFile:#"./SettingsFile"];
something strange happens. When running the app from XCode (the settings file is in the build/debug folder next to the app) settings are read without a problem. When I archive the app and run it from the desktop, the file cannot be loaded. Even when I copy the app from the build folder to the desktop it does not work.
What could be the reason for this kind of behaviour? How can I read this file?
It may be a better Idea to use the normal prefence system. NSUserDefaults.
There a couple of ways you can do it.
But the idea is to give your app a set of default preference which are registered for you in the correct domain and always with a fresh app.
Using the registerDefaults: from NSUserDefaults.
See Apples documentation NSUserDefaults and its #registerDefaults
But the one I would use is :
Copy a plist file into the supporting files in you Xcode project.
Making sure "Copy files into destination group's folder" is checked. And the "Add to targets is check also"
The plist file should contain your array of strings.
(I created mine. By duplicating another plist in my user preferences. Renaming it. Copying it to the project. Selecting it and editing it to how I needed it. Making sure I use the file menu ->'Save' to save the changes. )
Declare a NSUserDefaults * prefs;
Now in the - (id)init method for the app. you register the contents of the file as your default preferences.
- (id)init
{
self = [super init];
if (self) {
prefs = [NSUserDefaults standardUserDefaults] ;
NSString *registerDefaultsPlistFile= [[NSBundle mainBundle] pathForResource:#"registerDefaults" ofType:#"plist"];
[prefs registerDefaults:[NSDictionary dictionaryWithContentsOfFile: registerDefaultsPlistFile]];
}
return self;
}
You can later make a call to read these preferences.
NSLog(#" arrayOfStrings = %#", [prefs objectForKey:#"arrayOfStrings" ]);
These default preferences are NOT written to file/out unless you make a change to them. By written to file I mean to the applications preference file. Once you do make a change to them then they will be written out into the users preferences and those are what will be used from then on.
You should not rely on the current directory of the app. You should either read from the app bundle (see NSBundle class for get the correct path) or the app's document directory (see NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSDocumentDirectory ...).
The UNIX concept of the current working directory is not commonly used in Mac desktop applications. When launching an app through the Finder it's usually set to the root directory of the boot volume.
You should find another way to determine locations for your settings files. Good spots would be ~/Library/Preferences or ~/Library/Application Support/MyApp. You can get the absolute path to these directories using:
NSString *path = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSApplicationSupportDirectory, NSUserDomain, YES)[0];

Compile time check for valid file references in Xcode

Is it possible to force the Xcode complier to verify that files referenced in code are valid?
There are multiple points in Cocoa development when you naturally reference a file programmatically via an NSString:
[UINib nibWithNibName:#"MyNib" bundle:nil];
[UIImage imageNamed:#"MyImage"];
[[UIViewController alloc] initWithNibName:#"MyNib" bundle:nil];
Is there any way at compile time to check is these file references are valid?
Often times after using above methods, I end up changing the name of the referenced file but forget to change the name in code. Everything complies without a problem and it is only when you happen to go to the portion of the app that accesses this file that the bug will reveal itself.
Is there another approach or technique that people use to avoid this sort of error?
Referencing a file name via a string feels very fragile.
Warning: This answer is mostly outdated. The general idea is fine but better solutions exist now (e.g. Image assets with a SwiftGen script to generate an enum).
Nibs usually have a class with the same name as the file, e.g.
[[MyViewController alloc] initWithNibName:NSStringFromClassName([MyViewController class]) bundle:nil];
I usually hide it into the controller's init method as [self class].
For image loading, compile-time checks are difficult. Help yourself with macros, first replace the loading method by a simple macro, e.g.
#define LOAD_IMAGE(__IMAGE_NAME__) [UIImage imageNamed:__IMAGE_NAME__]
First thing you should do is to put an assert into this macro and always check that the image was successfully loaded. It's not a compile-time check but it helps to find missing resources.
The second thing is to write a ruby/python/shell/(any scripting language) script that will search your source files for LOAD_IMAGE and check if the file (between parenthesis) exists. As a shell script, it will be very simple (e.g. using grep). You can add this script into your xcode project to be run when compiling.
Don't forget to check images referenced by xibs.
However, often you have to create the image name dynamically, e.g. NSString* imageName = [NSString stringWithFormat:#"image_%i", index]. There's no way how you can check this at compile time.
Also don't forget to do the reverse check - don't include image files which are not used anywhere.
AutoComplete for [UIImage imageNamed:] by Kent Sutherland.
This provides code completion support within Xcode - a brilliant piece of code. This is working for me in Xcode 4.6:
Currently this project does not have support for strings other than imageNamed:. To support those, I will try to write a compile time script. Or maybe I will become bold and try to extend Mr. Sutherland's spectacular work.
Xcode doesn't support this, but if this problem is really biting you then you could use the following hack:
Give every in-bundle file a unique prefix (e.g. app__)
When you add a file to your project, make sure you first rename it to add this prefix.
Your compile time (pre-distribution) check then has two parts: 1) Search through all .m files and enumerate strings that begin with the prefix. You shouldn't have to check if the string is quoted since your prefix is unique. 2) grep project.pbxproj for each string to check if it is included in the bundle.
With some effort, this process can be mostly automated and also optimized, but the above recipe ought to work.
here is a bash script that we use that lists all images on disk but NOT referenced in code.
https://gist.github.com/3750087
it would likely be easy to reverse this to check for non-exting images and xibs.
Anyways, the script should be a good starting point

How to intercept reading of plist values in Objective-C code?

We're using the new Urban Airship iOS plugin for PhoneGap.
In the plugin's plist file, we're supposed to enter the app-specific keys needed to enable push notifications.
The problem is we have two versions, free and paid, of the same app, but the plist file only accommodates one version.
Essentially, we need to modify the Objective-C code to read different plist values, depending on whether it's the free or premium version.
We currently manage both versions with the same code base and Xcode project. Unless we change the plugin code, it seems like we need to create a new Xcode project, which we don't want to do.
How do we adjust Urban Airship's Objective-C files to read different values from the plsit file?
Sorry to keep you waiting, I wanted to give you a very detailed answer instead of rushing last night :) So here we go.
First in your project we need to add a new target. Go to your project settings and right click your target. Click duplicate.
You'll get a new target probably named Target-copy. You'll also get a new info.plist file just for that target.
Next we're going to edit our Pro version's Built Settings. Scroll or search and find Apple LLVM compiler 4.0 Preprocessing. Add to both your Debug and Release configurations. I normally just go with the simple PRO=1. You also need to add PRO=0 to your lite version or it will be undefined when you try to build that version.
Now lets look at how to add a custom plist like I'm sure you'll need. First create two folders. Its important these are folders not groups. In each folder we can create a plist with the exact same filename.
Since Now you can add something to each of them. I just added a key property and a value pro string / lite string. Finally to the code. In the sample project I made I simple overrode viewDidLoad but obviously this will work anywhere. Since the plists have the same name you can load them with one line of code. They'll never get mixed up because they are only copied to their respective target. If you need to do code level based logic you can use the PRO preprocessor we made.
- (void)viewDidLoad
{
[super viewDidLoad];
// This will load the proper plist automatically.
NSLog(#"Plist Value: %#",[[NSDictionary dictionaryWithContentsOfFile:[[NSBundle mainBundle] pathForResource:#"Property List" ofType:#"plist"]] objectForKey:#"property"]);
// Also remember we set up a preprocessor PRO. you can use it as well.
if (PRO) {
NSLog(#"Only Show for Pro");
} else {
NSLog(#"Only Show for Lite");
}
NSLog(#"This will show for both");
}
This is the method I use for all my lite/pro version apps so I can share a common codebase without copying it between projects or other complicated systems. It has worked pretty well for me so far :) Happy Coding!
Source
Figured someone may be able to use the project to look at so here it is on GitHub.

Getting a nil path from NSBundle

I have created a new folder in my project in which I have copied an image (called "io.jpg").
I also have checked on build phases -> copy bundle resources and the file is there.
So I am trying to get the path of this image:
NSBundle* bundle=[NSBundle mainBundle];
NSString* path=[bundle pathForResource: #"io" ofType: #"jpg"];
NSLog(#"%#",path);
But it prints (null), I also have tried this way:
NSBundle* bundle=[NSBundle mainBundle];
NSString* path=[bundle pathForImageResource: #"io"];
NSLog(#"%#",path);
But it still prints (null).
What's the problem?
Go to : Target -> "Build Phases" -> "copy bundle Resources" Then add that particular file here.
clean the project and RUN. It works. :)
My guess, given that you said you created a new folder in your Xcode project is that you have created a blue folder reference and your image resource is in a sub directory of your bundle.
I'd be willing to bet it's not a bug with NSBundle, given how old and crutial the class is to the Foundation framework.
Try and access your resource using the more specific instance method
- (NSString *)pathForResource:(NSString *)name ofType:(NSString *)extension inDirectory:(NSString *)subpath
where subpath is the name of the folder reference I am guessing you created.
You'll get a nil path if the resource you're requesting doesn't exist in the output (or doesn't exist where it should). That's really the only reason I've seen.
Forget about proving it should exist, and just check the output to make sure it does.
(Remember also that filenames are case sensitive.)
To clarify, you should be looking in the output bundle in ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerviedData/Project-{GUID}/Build/Products. Your image will be missing.
I had a problem like this a few weeks ago. And it turned out I just hadn't ticked a box. Here is the answer I got when I asked.
"Select the file on in the Xcode Project Navigator (to the left) and make sure that your target is checked under "Target Membership" in the File Inspector (to the right). -- Also double-check the spelling of the file names – Mundi"
All of this is kind of overkill if you're just trying to get an image. Let's say you have included bundleImage.PNG in your application bundle.. somewhere, somehow…
NSImage *image = [NSImage imageNamed:#"bundleImage"];
will, for sure.. find it… If it's there… Can't get more simple, right?
If - in the off chance - it's a slightly more complicated situation, like the image is in a loadable bundle or framework - you can use code similar to the following (a class category on NSImage) which will also return the resource.
+ (id) imageInFrameworkWithFileName:(NSString *) fileName {
NSBundle *b = [NSBundle bundleForClass: [DummyClass class]];
return [self imageWithFileName: fileName inBundle: b];
}
To be honest, I don't really understand the concept of, or how such a "Dummy class" works.. but this is what it looks like
#interface DummyClass : NSObject
#end
#implementation DummyClass
#end
Try removing the image from your app.And then adding it again.And clean your build before running it.See if it helps.Otherwise please give a screenshot of your project navigator showing where is the image added.It must be in the top level of your Application.app.Is it somwhere inside any folder/sub-folder.

NSBundle pathForResource is NULL

I'm creating a simple application with xcode and objc and I need to load an NSDictionary from a file, but I can't get the path to the file using NSBundle:
NSString *l = [[NSBundle mainBundle] pathForResource:#"LoginStatuses" ofType:#"plist"];
NSLog(#"%#", l);
When I run this code I get this:
2010-10-16 10:42:42.42 Sample[5226:a0f] (null)
And I don't know why.
I created a group called Resources and there I added the LogingStatuses.plist:
So here's the solution for this problem after I got the source:
I didn't really pay attention to the posted screenshot, but the target is of type "Command-line Tool"... and since those don't have a bundle [NSBundle mainBundle] of course returns nil. It's pretty misleading that Xcode doesn't complain that it can't execute the "Copy Bundle Resources" step, it just silently skips it.
Solution is simply to add a new target, of type "Application" so a bundle-based application is generated. Then check the Target Membership checkboxes for all sources and resources for this new target. The plist paths are correctly resolved then.
I was trying to get my iPhone app to use a default sqlite database and the darn app couldn't find it. Turned out that I had to make sure that the .sqlite file was in the bundle resource.
Select your project
Select Target
Select Build Phases tab
Open the section labelled "Copy Bundle Resources"
Drag and drop your .sqlite file into this section.
now your app will find this default sqlite database.
Is the file really included in the target (and will therefor be copied to the bundle) ? There two ways to find out/set that:
First way: right-click (or Cmd-click) on the file, select "Get Info". Then click on the "Targets" tab and make sure the file is checked for the desired target(s).
Second way: right-click (or Cmd-clock) in the project browser on the header of the file browser (it will likely read "Groups & Files"). Then select "Target Membership". Now you have checkboxes next to each file that can be member of a target (like .m files or resources). Again, make sure the checkbox next to your file is checked.
Since I have googled here, did not find the answer, but then discovered it by myself, I'll leave it here...
I had 2 files: tray.png and tray#2x.png for Retina. The files were added to "Copy Bundle Resources" automatically.
But:
[[NSBundle mainBundle] pathForResource:#"tray" ofType:#"png"];
did not return the file actually copied to the bundle! The reason was: IDE created one TIFF file tray.tiff (joint tray.png and tray#2x.png), so ... ofType:#"tiff"] helped!
My problem and solution are very similar to Dmitriy Isaev's ones. I have tried to get path for a xib file. Both calls (in Swift) pathForResource("myfile", ofType: "xib") and pathForResource("myfile.xib", ofType: nil) are failed.
The solution is to use extension "nib" instead:
pathForResource("myfile", ofType: "nib")
I encountered this issue today with a Command Line project.
Luckily, the solution is easy. Simply go to "Build Phases", click on "+" and add a new "Copy Files" phase. Choose "Resources" as Destination, and add any files you want to use.
Now you can still use [NSBundle mainBundle] and it should work!
In my case (executing XCTestCase) for some reason resources were stored in non-main Bundle. I fixed the problem by checking first which bundle test class belongs to:
[[NSBundle bundleForClass:[self class]] pathForResource:#"Config" ofType:#"plist"];
Hopefully this can help someone else as well.
Filename is case sensitive on iPad. You need use small letters.
There is a way to do this for a Command-Line app.
Instead of using "Copy Bundle Resources" use "Copy Files". For "Destination" select "Resources". This will copy the file to the app bundle and the Bundle.main can find it.
Make sure you spell your resource's file name properly. I just learned that the hard way. :)