Problem: The client experienced an issue where after enabling automatic translation for product variations, the translation queue and used credits increased significantly. They also faced a problem where setting product variations to 'Not translatable' resulted in the original product losing all its variations after translating a test product. Solution: We advised the client to set global attributes to 'Translatable' but not to enable automatic translation for them. To manage the translation queue, we recommended the following steps: 1) Switch the translation mode to 'Translate what you choose' at WPML > Settings > Translation Mode. 2) Go to WPML > Translation Management > Jobs to cancel unnecessary jobs using the filters. 3) Refresh the page to ensure the jobs were canceled. 4) Re-enable 'Translate everything automatically' and choose whether to translate existing untranslated content or only new content. For translating global attributes, they should be done at WooCommerce > WooCommerce Multilingual > Attributes. Custom attributes declared directly on each product will be translated automatically if the product is translated.
If this solution does not resolve your issue or seems outdated, please check related known issues at https://wpml.org/known-issues/, verify the version of the permanent fix, and confirm that you have installed the latest versions of themes and plugins. If the problem persists, we highly recommend opening a new support ticket for personalized assistance.
If this solution does not apply or is outdated, or if further assistance is needed, we recommend checking related known issues at https://wpml.org/known-issues/, verifying the version of the permanent fix, and confirming that the latest versions of themes and plugins are installed. If the issue persists, please open a new support ticket in the WPML support forum.
Problem: The client wanted to know how WPML's automatic translation feature handles product featured and gallery images, specifically if it duplicates these images in the database, and how to prevent this to avoid bloating the
wp_posts
and
wp_postmeta
tables.
Solution: We explained that WPML's "WPML Media Translation" module manages media duplication across translations. By default, WPML duplicates media entries for each language in the database but does not duplicate the actual image files. To prevent automatic media duplication: 1. Navigate to WPML -> Settings. 2. Scroll to the 'Media translation' section. 3. Uncheck the options shown in the provided screenshot and save the changes.
We also clarified that it's not possible to have a single image load in the translation without duplication unless custom coding is implemented. If the client needs a custom solution, we suggested hiring a certified developer experienced in customizing WPML from https://wpml.org/contractors/.
Please note that this solution might be outdated or not applicable to your case. If so, we 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. If the issue persists, please open a new support ticket at our support forum.
Problem: The client had several questions about WPML's automatic translation feature, including the ability to edit published translations, the cost of automatic translation, the implications of switching from manual to automatic translation, the scope of what can be automatically translated, and how existing translations are handled.
Solution: 1. You can edit translations after they are published. WPML allows for manual adjustments at any time. 2. WPML provides initial free credits for automatic translation, but additional credits must be purchased once these are used up. For more details, please refer to our automatic translation pricing. 3. Switching to automatic translation will not re-translate existing manual content. It will only apply to new or untranslated content. 4. WPML can automatically translate posts, pages, products, custom post types, and taxonomies. Theme elements like headers and footers may need manual translation via WPML String Translation unless they are stored in a post type. 5. Backend content like email templates typically requires translation through WPML String Translation. For automatic string translation, please check this guide. 6. Widgets within themes can be automatically translated if recognized by WPML String Translation. For the Astra theme's header builder widget, refer to the guide mentioned in point 5. 7. WPML will not re-translate already translated product attributes and will focus on translating the remaining untranslated attributes. 8. WPML allows enabling automatic translation for specific language pairs and excluding certain languages from automatic translation. 9. WPML preserves existing manual translations and will not overwrite them with automatic translations unless the original content is updated and the translation mode is set to use WPML Translation Editor. 10. Auto-translated content is stored in the site’s database, just like manually entered translations.
For content that has been manually translated independently, WPML respects these translations and will not overwrite them when automatic translation is enabled. If the translation mode for a page is changed to "WPML Translation Editor" and the source content is updated, then automatic translation will apply.
When automatic translation is activated, untranslated pages or posts will be placed in the translation queue and begin translating immediately.
Switching from the WordPress Editor to the Advanced Translation Editor will not transfer translations due to different translation memories. To test automatic translation, you can either disconnect the existing translation or delete them, and the automatic translation feature will start to translate them automatically.
If this solution is not relevant to your case, or if you find it outdated, we highly recommend checking related known issues at WPML Known Issues, verifying the version of the permanent fix, and confirming that you have installed the latest versions of themes and plugins. If you need further assistance, please feel free to open a new support ticket in our support forum.
Problem: The client wanted to know how to undo the creation of language-specific versions of images in the WPML Media Translation section and why options related to Media Translation were still available even when the WPML Media Translation Addon was deactivated.
Solution: We explained that WPML does not create duplicate physical image files but assigns new IDs with language-specific information to the same image. Unfortunately, it is not possible to undo the process once initiated. If the client wishes to remove duplicated images, they should manually delete them from the "Media" section, ensuring only the cloned images are removed, not the original media items.
For cleaning up the database entries, we suggested using the WPML Troubleshooter with the following steps: - Go to WPML > Support > Troubleshooting - Click on the buttons: -- Clear the cache in WPML -- Remove ghost entries from the translation tables -- Set language information -- Fix post type assignment for translations -- Cleanup and optimize string tables
Regarding the Media Translation options appearing even when the addon is deactivated, we clarified that these options are part of the core functionality of WPML and are designed to appear regardless of the Media Translation plugin's status.
If the provided solution is not relevant due to being outdated or not applicable to the client's case, we recommend opening 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 the latest versions of themes and plugins are installed. If further assistance is needed, please contact us through the WPML support forum.
Problem: The client is experiencing slow taxonomy synchronization in WPML when product attributes are changed, possibly due to a high number of plugins and a custom theme. Solution: We recommend deactivating unnecessary plugins and switching to a default theme to test if the performance improves. Since WPML's configuration options are not causing the slowdown, optimizing the website by reducing the number of plugins and following WordPress best practices could help speed up the process.
If this solution does not apply to your situation because it might be outdated or not relevant to your case, we suggest opening a new support ticket. We also highly recommend checking related known issues, verifying the version of the permanent fix, and confirming that you have installed the latest versions of themes and plugins. If further assistance is needed, please contact us through the WPML support forum.
Problem: The client needed to fix an issue with the sitemap generated by RankMath, where URLs to the Spanish and Italian sites, which are translated in WPML, were incorrectly included. Solution: We provided a custom code snippet to filter out sitemap entries from different languages. The client should add the following code to their site's functions.php file or a custom plugin:
After implementing this code, the sitemap should correctly exclude entries from languages other than the current one. We confirmed that the solution works by checking the sitemap at https://staging.newtimeshair.com/product_cat-sitemap1.xml. If this solution doesn't seem relevant to your issue, please open a new support ticket with us.
