Localizing Nibs

Localizing Nib/Xib files is tedious and error prone. You want to reduce the manual edit to a minimum. (Basically, just the traslation.) Oversights and other weirdness may still happen though. This is the process I follow.

1. Save Nib in en.lproj folder.
2. In Xcode, select the Nib, open the Utilities pane and select the first tab (View > Utilities > File Inspector) and add a localization (e.g. Italian). Xcode will create a new file in the right location (it.lproj folder).
3. From Terminal:

# extract all strings from original nib file
$ ibtool --generate-strings-file text.strings en.lproj/MyNib.xib 

# open file in Xcode, translate all the strings and save
$ open text.strings

# create a new nib exactly like the original but with the localized strings
$ ibtool --strings-file text.strings --write it.lproj/MyNib.xib en.lproj/MyNib.xib

Finally, Run the app. If the localized Nib is not displayed, it’s because iOS is holding a cache of the Nib file. Remove the app from the simulator or the device and reinstall it. Now it should show the new localized Nib.

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