UIDatePicker - Problem Localizing

Question

I've created a UIDatePicker in my app and I also have support for several languages. My UIDatePicker is created in Interface Builder, and I have created a seperate localization XIB so I can customize my UIDatePicker.

Setting the "Locale" option in IB appears to do nothing. Attempting to change my DatePicker programatically with Locale and NSCalender also do nothing via the following code:

NSLocale * locale = [[NSLocale alloc] initWithLocaleIdentifier:@"es_ES"];
datePicker.locale = locale;
datePicker.calender = [locale objectForKey:NSLocaleCalender];

This results in an english picker.

Here's the really weird thing though. The word for "Today" is translated. As seen in the attached screenshot. (OK I'm not allowed to post images. But imagine a Date & Time picker with "May" in English and "Today" written "Ajourd'hui".

Based on what I've read, adding the UIDatePicker programatically doesn't seem to help much.

Answer 1

After further investigation, this is actually not handled by the language setting of the iPhone. The UIDatePicker is automatically localized based on the "Region Format" setting and not the language. This is odd because the dates are localized, so you would think the localization of the picker would be linked to the iDevice's language not the Region Format.

Anyway, to simulate the localized DatePicker in the Simulator:

1. Exit your app, go to Settings.
2. Select General
3. Select International
4. Select the bottom option, Region Format.
5. Change to the desired region.
6. Relaunch your app and see the new UI Picker!

Answer 2

As of iOS 6 UIDatePicker no longer looks at the device's settings for locale information. You must may set the NSLocale manually or it will use the default locale.

See this answer: https://stackoverflow.com/a/12975871/1128896

A simple solution:

   datePicker.locale = [NSLocale currentLocale];

Updated

While the locale can now be set on UIDatePicker, by default it is set to 'Default' instead of any particular language. 'Default' will check the device's locale, and set itself to that. (see Dave DeLong's comment below). Therefore, most new projects shouldn't be impacted by this change.

If you are working with older projects, migrating to iOS 6, you may find that the UIDatePickers which are created in xibs have their locale defaulted to 'English' or another language instead of 'Default'. (I've found all of my old projects, pre iOS6, followed this behavior). To fix this, simply change the locale to 'Default' in IB.

Answer 3

What I am given to understand is that the UIDatePicker automatically shows in the locale the device is set as. I'm not sure how to override it, but it seems like you probably shouldn't override it.

Answer 4

From my experience the "Today" is following the settings you have in your info.plist. For some reasons they've forgotten to adapt this.