How can I stop Xcode 3.2.6 defaulting to the iPad Simulator? Is this new behaviour?

Question

It seems like every time I launch an Xcode project or 'Clean all Targets' the Active Executable resets to the iPad simulator.

Prior to the Xcode 3.2.6 release Xcode was defaulting to the iPhone Simulator or remembered my previous Active Executable... I've never noticed this behaviour because I generally do iPhone work. This has been bothering me sine the latest Xcode update (iOS 4.3 release) and is really irritating.

Similar questions/answers suggest setting the 'Targeted Device Family' of my Target to 'iPhone' - this has been done.

Is this new behaviour?

Is there anyway to change the default 'Active Executable'?

Answer 1

I tried some options and at the end I figured out a workaround that doesn't default to iPad simulator, but it uses SDK4.2 and always defaults back to the iPhone 4.2 Simulator.

I hope this works on your machine too and maybe sdk4.2 is good enough for you.

1. Option-Click the build configuration overview menu (or whatever it's true name is)
2. Select iOS Simulator 4.2 as Active SDK
3. Select iPhone Simulator 4.2 as Active Executable
4. Build
5. Clean/Reopen/Whatever
6. Build again and the iPhone simulator should be starting.

As I said, it uses SDK4.2, but imho it's better to use SDK4.2 than to switch to the iPad simulator each time you open/clean/... the project.

After you've compiled for the device (which switches the sdk to the base sdk) you have to redo the workaround.

Afaik there is no real solution for the problem. It exists in different variants for more than 6 months. Until the current xcode3 version for me it was switching back to iPhone simulator all the time. For other users it was defaulting to iPad.

There are more than a dozen threads in the apple dev forums. None of them offers a solution, or even a workaround.

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You should file a bug at bugreport.apple.com and pray that xcode3 isn't considered end of life.

Answer 2

From How to change the default Xcode iphone simulator when testing and Why do my xcode builds always go to the iPad simulator instead of the iPhone simulator?:

Try changing the base SDK to 4.0 or higher.