[Resolved] Not all product categories are shown in admin area
This thread is resolved. Here is a description of the problem and solution.
Problem: The client reported that 285 product categories were hidden in the admin area when WPML plugins were enabled on their large WooCommerce site. After disabling WPML, these categories became visible. The issue arose after categories were imported and synced in two languages, followed by a re-import which duplicated some categories without language assignments. Solution: The client resolved the issue by manually deleting the duplicated categories (after disabling WPML) and renaming the remaining categories to their original names without numbers. This action aligned the number of items across both languages, resolving the visibility issue in the admin area.
If you're experiencing similar issues, we recommend checking your import process and ensuring that categories are correctly assigned to their respective languages. It's crucial to use separate files for the original language and translations during imports. For detailed guidance on importing with WPML, please review the following documentation:
If this solution does not apply to your case, or if it seems outdated, please open a new support ticket. We also highly recommend checking related known issues at https://wpml.org/known-issues/, verifying the version of the permanent fix, and confirming that you have installed the latest versions of themes and plugins.
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Background of the issue:
I have a large WooCommerce website with 998 product categories. I imported the categories and products in both languages. I am working on a site under development.
Symptoms:
Multiple product categories are not shown in the admin area in the main language. The total category items in the Product categories page is 1283 instead of 998. When I disable all the WPML plugins, I can find the 285 categories that are hidden when WPML is enabled.
Questions:
Why are 285 product categories hidden in the admin area when WPML is enabled?
How can I make all product categories visible in the admin area with WPML enabled?
Can you please give me access to your site to see this problem?
Please specify which import is involved.
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Thanks a lot for the video. It is very helpful to understand the problem.
1. Using the Chrome search option on a webpage is wrong in this case. The count of instances it finds includes the search box itself (I saw this happen many times). This is the reason you get 3 instances.
2. You should use the Search Categories option. I used it in the English language to search for the term "home" and received 154 results. Please see the attached screenshot search-home-in-english.jpg.
When I search for "home" in Greek, I can find 8 instances. One of them is the Home term, which you consider lost while WPML is active. Please see the attached screenshot search-home-in-greek.jpg. (As you said, when WPML is deactivated, all the categories are mixed.)
Moreover, I can also see Greek terms mixed in the English categories. Please see the attached screenshot greek-terms-inside-english.jpg.
All this brings me to the conclusion that you did not import the categories correctly. This brings me to the questions I asked in the previous reply, which you have not answered yet.
Please tell me which WP All Import bridge plugins were used to import the WooCommerce content and whether you have read our guides.
It is essential to read our guides and do the import as instructed. Otherwise, problems like the one you are facing will occur. When importing, you must have separate files for the original language and the translations. You should also read all the guides about exporting and importing with WPML. But here are also important links you should review.
I think i have managed to narrow down the root of the problem.
In this installation i have first inserted the product categories and sync the languages and after that i have inserted the products.
Many of them they have the same name do i had to alter them adding a number after their names (the duplicated ones).
At some time the categories are imported again (with a wp all import) and this has caused to inserted again the categories which they didnt have the number after their names.
That's whey there are products categories that they are not shown (they didn't have language).
I deleted them manually (by disabling WPML first) and changed the remaining categories names to the original ones (without the number after their names).
Now i have the same numbers of items for both languages.
Consider this as resolved and forgive me for the time you spend with my issue.
