Read .strings file in Objective-C?

Question

I'm creating a Mac app and I want to localize my Labels. I thought a .strings file would be a better choice. But I have trouble reading .strings file in Objective-C. I'm looking for a simpler method.

This is my .string file content:

"LABEL_001" = "Start MyApp";
"LABEL_002" = "Stop MyApp";
"LABEL_003" = "My AppFolder";
...

I have already looked at http://developer.apple.com/library/mac/#documentation/cocoa/conceptual/LoadingResources/Strings/Strings.html.

This is my code:

NSBundle *bundle = [NSBundle mainBundle];
NSString *strFilePath = [[NSBundle mainBundle] pathForResource:@"Labels" ofType:@"strings"];
NSString *tt =NSLocalizedStringFromTableInBundle(@"LABEL_001",strFilePath,bundle, nil);
NSLog(@"STRING ::: %@",tt);

But the string tt gives "LABEL_001", I want "Start MyApp"

What am I doing wrong?

Have you looked at NSLocalizedString ? – Luke Aug 17 '12 at 10:44 — Luke, Aug 17 '12 at 10:44

score 30 · Accepted Answer · answered Aug 17 '12 at 10:58

One. You have to name your file Localizable.strings in the <LANGUAGENAME>.lproj directory in the app bundle.

Two. Use the NSLocalizedString macro:

NSString *loc = NSLocalizedString(@"LABEL_001", nil);

Three. If nothing works, you can initialize an NSDictionary using a strings file, as a strings file is a special type of plist:

NSString *fname = [[NSBundle mainBundle] pathForResource:@"whatever" ofType:@"strings"];
NSDictionary *d = [NSDictionary dictionaryWithContentsOfFile:fname];
NSString *loc = [d objectForKey:@"LABEL_001"];

Swift4, the same idea, still helpful. Thanks – infinity_coding7 Feb 11 '19 at 22:51 — infinity_coding7, Feb 11 '19 at 22:51

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Aug 17 '12 at 11:12

    NSString *path = [[NSBundle mainBundle] pathForResource:@"Labels" ofType:@"strings"];
    NSData *plistData = [NSData dataWithContentsOfFile:path];
    NSString *error; NSPropertyListFormat format;

    NSDictionary *dictionary = [NSPropertyListSerialization propertyListFromData:plistData
                                                          mutabilityOption:NSPropertyListImmutable
                                                                    format:&format
                                                          errorDescription:&error];
    NSString *stringname = [dictionary objectForKey:@"LABEL_001"];

I think it will be helpful to you.

score 1 · Answer 3 · edited Nov 17 '12 at 06:21

Here the your code

NSBundle *bundle = [NSBundle mainBundle];
NSString *strFilePath = [[NSBundle mainBundle] pathForResource:@"Labels" ofType:@"strings"];
NSString *tt =NSLocalizedStringFromTableInBundle(@"LABEL_001",strFilePath,bundle, nil);
NSLog(@"STRING ::: %@",tt);

The problem here is the 2nd Param "strFilePath", change it to @"Labels" so the above code would become,

NSString *tt =NSLocalizedStringFromTableInBundle(@"LABEL_001",@"Labels",bundle, nil);

For reference, the following line copied from Apple Docs regarding table name, "When specifying a value for this parameter, include the filename without the .strings extension."

hope this helps.

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Sep 15 '15 at 10:15

Simple Code

Just create a method as follows

- (void)localisationStrings
{
    NSString* path = [[NSBundle mainBundle] pathForResource:@"localisation" ofType:@"strings"];
    NSDictionary *localisationDict = [NSDictionary dictionaryWithContentsOfFile:path];
    NSLog(@"\n %@",[localisationDict objectForKey:@"hello"]);
}

Read .strings file in Objective-C?

4 Answers4

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