Localizing Your App with Swift: Make it Global-Ready!
The world is getting smaller and more connected than ever. As a result, businesses are increasingly looking to expand their reach by targeting customers in different countries and regions. To do this, they must first localize their products to meet cultural preferences and language standards. While localization can often be intimidating for developers, it doesn’t have to be. With the right tools and knowledge, you can create an app that’s ready for a global audience.
In this article, we’ll discuss the basics of Swift localization. We’ll cover how to prepare your project for localization, how to add localized strings to your project, and how to test your localized app. Let’s get started!
Preparing Your Project for Localization
The first step to localizing your app is to set up your project for localization. To do this, you’ll need to add the base language, which is typically English, to your project. This is done by adding a .strings file to the project. You can then add other languages to the project by adding .strings files for each language.
Once the base language has been added, you’ll need to add localized versions of each of your app’s resources. These include images, audio files, and any text that appears on screen. For example, if you have an image of a flag that you want to use for localization, you’ll need to add a localized version for each language you’re targeting.
Adding Localized Strings to Your Project
Once the project is prepared for localization, you can start adding localized strings. Localized strings are key-value pairs that contain the original English string and its translated counterpart. For example, if you wanted to localize the string “Hello”, you would add the following key-value pair to the .strings file:
"Hello" = "Bonjour"; You can also add placeholders to your strings to indicate where dynamic data should appear. For example, if you wanted to localize a string like “Hello, {name}”, you would add the following key-value pair to the .strings file:
"Hello, {name}" = "Bonjour, {name}"; Once all of your localized strings have been added, you can start using them in your code. To do this, you’ll need to use the NSLocalizedString() function. This function takes two parameters: the key of the localized string and the comment associated with the string. For example, if you wanted to use the string “Hello”, you would use the following code:
let greeting = NSLocalizedString("Hello", comment: "Greeting") Testing Your Localized App
Once all of your localized strings have been added, it’s time to test your app. To do this, you’ll need to change the language settings on your device or simulator to the language you’re testing. Once the language has been changed, you can launch the app and verify that it displays the correct localized strings.
If you’d like to test multiple languages at once, you can also use the iOS Simulator’s “Force Language” setting. This setting allows you to force the app to display a specific language, regardless of the device’s language settings.
Conclusion
Localizing an app can seem intimidating, but with the right tools and knowledge, it doesn’t have to be. By preparing your project for localization, adding localized strings, and testing your localized app, you can make sure your app is ready for a global audience.
So, what are you waiting for? Get started localizing your app with Swift today!