Xcode.strings file does not support Arabic text

Question

I created an application that I assumed could be localized. So, I created a .strings resource file to save my menu and warning message text, etc. When the time came, I said:

"MyStringKey" = "السلم"

Arabic letters become matched as you type, because the .string file defines its entries in left-to-right format (that is, "a" = "b"), while Arabic words are written from right to left. It does not matter that the file encoding is UTF-8. The direction of the text cannot be changed from right to left in the file. Or so it seems to me.

How to create entries in a .strings file as above? Thanks.

Answer 1

This sounds like a problem with the editor, not a problem with supporting .strings files in the main toolchain. Therefore, I would create / edit the .string file in another editor that supports changing direction within the line and simply ignores the lack of support for Xcode editors. The file will not look right when opened in Xcode .. but it doesn’t matter.