Question

I am attempting to set a map annotation to the user’s current location. I am trying to set the pin in the viewDidLoad method, however because the method

- (void)locationManager:(CLLocationManager *)manager didUpdateToLocation:(CLLocation *)newLocation fromLocation:(CLLocation *)oldLocation

Has not been called yet, the lat and long are 0.000000. Is there a way to call this method in my viewDidLoad or any other solution that will make a pin appear at my beginning location when the application loads?

UPDATE, Added Annotation Code

CLLocationCoordinate2D theCoordinate;
theCoordinate.latitude = (_currentLocation.latitude);
    theCoordinate.longitude = (_currentLocation.longitude);
    NSLog(@"The Coordinate Value:");
    NSLog(@"%f, %f",theCoordinate.latitude,theCoordinate.longitude);

    DDAnnotation *annotation = [[[DDAnnotation alloc] initWithCoordinate:theCoordinate addressDictionary:nil] autorelease];
    annotation.title = @"Drag to Move Pin";
    annotation.subtitle = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"%f %f", annotation.coordinate.latitude, annotation.coordinate.longitude];

    [self.mapView addAnnotation:annotation];

UPDATE 2
Still not working, code is in the didUpdateLocation Method

static BOOL annotationAdded = NO;

if (!annotationAdded) {
    annotationAdded = YES;
        CLLocationCoordinate2D theCoordinate;
        theCoordinate.latitude = _currentLocation.latitude;
        theCoordinate.longitude = _currentLocation.longitude;
        //Sets Initial Point to Africa Because Method to obtain current Location
        //Hasen't Fired when View Loads
        theCoordinate.latitude = (mapView.userLocation.coordinate.latitude);
        theCoordinate.longitude = (mapView.userLocation.coordinate.longitude);
        NSLog(@"The Coordinate Value:");
        NSLog(@"%f, %f",theCoordinate.latitude,theCoordinate.longitude);

        DDAnnotation *annotation = [[[DDAnnotation alloc] initWithCoordinate:theCoordinate addressDictionary:nil] autorelease];
        annotation.title = @"Drag to Move Pin";
        annotation.subtitle = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"%f %f", annotation.coordinate.latitude, annotation.coordinate.longitude];

        [self.mapView addAnnotation:annotation];
}

Answer 1

MKMapView automatically places an annotation of class MKUserLocation when you set mapView.showsUserLocation = YES.

You can replace the default view for this annotation to whatever default annotation view you want by doing this in mapView:viewForAnnotation::

- (MKAnnotationView *) mapView:(MKMapView *)theMapView viewForAnnotation:(id <MKAnnotation>)annotation {
    if ([annotation isKindOfClass:[MKUserLocation class]]) {
        // replace the following with code to generate and return custom user position annotation view
        return customAnnotationView;
    }

    //*** other code ***//
}

Update:

If all you want to do is set a pin initially (once) at the user’s location when the view loads, then you will have to wait until the phone can grab the data you need since that takes some time. Add your annotation in mapView:didUpdateUserLocation the first time it is called, and that should do the trick:

- (void) mapView:(MKMapView *)theMapView didUpdateUserLocation:(MKUserLocation *)userLocation {
    static BOOL annotationAdded = NO;

    if (!annotationAdded) {
        annotationAdded = YES;
        //*** add annotation to mapView ***//
    }
}

Final Comment:

I would generally avoid setting a static pin at a users location the first time this method is called, however, and instead opt to just using the default standard blue dot. That is because the location services in the phone take time to find an accurate reading on the user’s location, but in the interest of time it will send you location updates as soon as possible. This means that the first location update may not be very accurate, but subsequent updates may be much more accurate. That is why the standard blue dot sometimes changes position frequently within the first few moments of showing up on the map.

Just a caveat. Obviously what you choose to do depends on what the purpose of your app is.