[Resolved] ACF image field not copying to Spanish language posts
This thread is resolved. Here is a description of the problem and solution.
Problem: The client is experiencing issues with images in an ACF field only displaying on English posts and not on Spanish posts, despite using the ACF WPML add-on. Solution: We found that the issue was due to the translation settings for the ACF Field Group. It is not recommended to set the translation preference for the 'acf-field-group' post type to Translatable as it creates separate field groups for each language, requiring manual configuration for each. To fix this, we set the ACF Field Group's translation preference to "Not Translatable" and deactivated the translated field group. We then set the translation preference for the `topic_featured_image` and `_topic_featured_image` meta fields to "Copy." After making a minor change and saving it via "Posts > Tag > Quick Edit," the featured image was successfully copied to the translated tag and displayed correctly on the frontend. For more details, please check this Errata.
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Background of the issue:
I am trying to display images in an ACF field that I've added to Tags on both English and Spanish posts on my site hidden link. I've tried using both the old method and the ACF WPML add-on, but the documentation is unclear.
Symptoms:
Images in the ACF field are only displaying on English posts and not on Spanish posts.
Questions:
How can I get my images to show on both English and Spanish posts using ACF and WPML?
I understand the issue you're having and will try my best to assist you in this matter.
From the WPML debug info, I noticed that the ACF Multilingual plugin is currently not active on your site. Since you've mentioned that you have already tried using the ACF Multilingual addon, it is essential to keep the latest version of the ACF Multilingual plugin (Version: 2.1.3) active on the site to ensure that the ACF plugin works properly in the WPML environment.
Please activate the ACF Multilingual plugin on your site first. Once done, please follow these steps:
1. Go to "ACF > Field Group" and open the field group containing the image field.
2. In the top section, you'll see an option to change the Translation Option (Screenshot: hidden link). Click on that and select the "Expert" option, then save the change.
3. Next, go to the image field within the field group and set the translation preference for the image field to "Copy" (Screenshot: hidden link). Save the changes.
4. Now, open the post/page containing the image field and re-add the image to the field.
5. Save the changes and update the translation.
I hope the steps above will help. Please feel free to let me know if you need further assistance in this matter. I will be happy to help.
Thank you Prosenjit,
First, the ACF Multilingual plugin is active. As with the database version in the debug info, the status of this is being reported incorrectly by WPML. I've taken all the steps you indicated but because the ACF field is an image added to a taxonomy (tags) there is no way for me to refresh the translation as there would be on a post or page. How can I force WPML to see these changes and update the translation?
Hi There,
I hope you're doing well. Sorry for the delay in responding due to the weekend.
Thank you for the update. If the custom field is assigned to a particular taxonomy, you can update the translation of the taxonomy from WPML > Taxonomy Translation. From that page, select "Tags" from the dropdown, and all the tags should appear in the list. By clicking the pencil icon, you can update the translation of the tag.
However, if you still don't see the field in the translation after updating the taxonomy translation, please try creating a new term and check if the issue persists. You can also assign the tag to a post, complete the post-translation, and then check if the image field is showing with the translated tag.
If the issue persists, the translation settings for that field might not be configured properly. Please share the name of that ACF field in your next response along with the WPML debug info. You can copy the debug information by following this guide and paste it into the reply box. I'll check and do my best to resolve the issue for you.
My debug info and the images here are publicly available, I just noticed after taking a look in a private browser window. Can you please hide that information?
Thank you for sharing the information. I have marked the reply, containing the images and debug info as private.
I misunderstood one thing here. Since the field is added with taxonomy, we should adjust the translation preference of term meta, not the custom fields. Please follow the steps below to adjust the setting and check if that helps resolve the issue.
- Please go to WPML > Settings and scroll to the 'Custom term meta translation' section.
- Click on 'Show system fields'
- In the 'Custom term meta translation' section, search for topic_featured_image
- You should see two meta fields in the results. Set the translation preference for both to 'Translate'.
- Save the changes, clear the caches, and check if you're still experiencing the same issue.
If the issue persists, a closer inspection will be required to understand the root cause of the issue.
I would like to request temporary access (wp-admin and FTP) to your site to take a better look at the issue. It would be better to have a testing site where the issue is replicated.
You will find the needed fields below the comment area when you log in to leave your next reply. The information you will enter is private which means only you and I can see and have access to it.
Maybe I'll need to replicate your site locally. For this, I’ll need to temporarily install a plugin called “Duplicator” or "All in One WP Migration" on your site. This will allow me to create a copy of your site and your content. Once the problem is resolved I will delete the local site. Let me know if this is ok with you.
IMPORTANT
-Please backup site files and database before providing us access.
-If you do not see the wp-admin/FTP fields this means your post & website login details will be made PUBLIC. DO NOT post your website details unless you see the required wp-admin/FTP fields. If you do not, please ask me to enable the private box. The private box looks like this: hidden link
Great, thanks Prosenjit. I previously had topic_featured_image set to "copy" based on some ACF / WPML documentation I read but have now changed that to "translate". How long should I give the system to complete the translations for this field before concluding it didn't work?
Re a staging site: it would be easier to give you access to the live site and have you copy it to your local environment, because this is a multisite environment.
Do you want to wait for any period of time to see if this most recent settings change works or would you like me to post credentials for you in a private reply before that?
Update: checking WPML > Taxonomy translation now I'm seeing a section that wasn't there before, with the label "This term has additional meta fields:". As you can see from the screenshot I'm attaching, only the topic_featured_image is already being filled in for Spanish, but not the system _topic_featured_image. If I click to copy English to Spanish in some of these, the field_xxx data is copied but the image isn't yet displaying on the Spanish tag page. Should I copy these manually or wait, or do anything else?
Now that the 'topic_feature_image' field in the Spanish section contains the ID of the image, the Spanish version should display the image properly. For the system "_topic_featured_image" field, it's better to set that field to 'Not Translatable' by going to WPML > Settings > Custom Field Translation, as we don't need to translate the Field ID.
Once done, update the default taxonomy by making a small change and then update the translation, ensuring the "topic_featured_image" field in the Spanish section contains the same value as in the English section. The image should appear in the Spanish tag archive.
If the image still doesn't appear, please share the link to the Tag page so that I can check it and suggest the next steps.
Looking forward to your response and I'm always here to help.
I'm only seeing the system field _topc_featured_image in the Custom Term Meta Translation, not in the Custom Fields Translation fields. Are you saying to set that to "Don't Translate"?
I tested setting the Custom Term Meta Translation for _topc_featured_image to Don't Translate and that removed those fields from the taxonomy screen so assuming you didn't mean that and that there's an issue here with _topc_featured_image not displaying in Custom Fields Translation as you expected it to. (I do have Show System Fields set.)
Hi There,
I hope you're doing well. Sorry for the delay in responding due to the weekend.
You're correct. I meant to set the '_topic_featured_image' meta field in "Custom term meta translation" to "Don't Translate" since it contains the ACF field ID, and translating that ID is not required.
However, since the featured image is still not appearing despite these adjustments, a closer inspection is needed to identify the root cause of the issue.
I would like to request temporary access (wp-admin and FTP) to your site to take a better look at the issue. It would be better to have a testing site where the issue is replicated.
You will find the needed fields below the comment area when you log in to leave your next reply. The information you will enter is private which means only you and I can see and have access to it.
Maybe I'll need to replicate your site locally. For this, I’ll need to temporarily install a plugin called “Duplicator” or "All in One WP Migration" on your site. This will allow me to create a copy of your site and your content. Once the problem is resolved I will delete the local site. Let me know if this is ok with you.
IMPORTANT
-Please backup site files and database before providing us access.
-If you do not see the wp-admin/FTP fields this means your post & website login details will be made PUBLIC. DO NOT post your website details unless you see the required wp-admin/FTP fields. If you do not, please ask me to enable the private box. The private box looks like this: hidden link
