'WP Menus Sync' items worded different from live site, in some languges. Why?

This thread is resolved. Here is a description of the problem and solution.

Problem:
You are trying to create a new menu item in a multilingual menu using WPML and synchronize it across different languages. However, you notice that the wording of the menu items in the English and Spanish versions differs from what appears on the live site, unlike in the main language.
Solution:
First, ensure that the default language settings are correctly configured, as WPML will display the navigation labels based on the default language of your site. When using the WP Menus Sync function, WPML either adds newly translated menu items or indicates that these items have not yet been translated, hence lacking a navigation label. For existing translated menu items with a navigation label, WPML will continue to use the page's title as the navigation label. After synchronizing, you can manually add custom navigation labels for the translated menu items. This behavior is expected and is not indicative of an error.

If this solution does not resolve your issue or seems outdated, we recommend checking related known issues at https://wpml.org/known-issues/, verifying the version of the permanent fix, and confirming that you have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 problems persist, please open a new support ticket.

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Tagged: Not WPML issue

This topic contains 7 replies, has 0 voices.

Last updated by henrikR-17 6 days, 16 hours ago.

Assisted by: Osama Mersal.

Author	Posts
January 5, 2025 at 8:51 pm #16564758
henrikR-17	Background of the issue: I was trying to create a new menu item on a menu in two languages using WPML. I attempted to synchronize the new menu item from the main language to other languages. Symptoms: When using 'WP Menus Sync', the English and Spanish versions of menu items are worded differently from the live site, but not in the main language. Questions: Why does 'WP Menus Sync' show different wordings for items than the live site, but only in some languages? How can I ensure that the menu items are synchronized correctly across all languages?
January 6, 2025 at 11:17 am #16566090
Osama Mersal Supporter Languages: English (English ) Arabic (العربية ) Timezone: Africa/Cairo (GMT+02:00)	Hi, Thanks for contacting WPML forums support. I'll be glad to help you today. Please explain what you mean by different wording from the live site so that I can better understand the issue. Best regards, Osama
January 7, 2025 at 11:31 am #16569229
henrikR-17	I explained that quite clearly in my original message. Here is a copy of it: " I was trying to create a new menu-item, on a menu, in 2 languages. That failed. When I tried to synchronize the new menu item from the main language to other languages, I accidentally discovered that "WP Menus Sync" shows different wordings for items than the live site, but not in the main language... That's NOT very logical! On the live site I have a menu item "EMF som våben" in Danish, and "EMF as a weapon" in English and "CEM como un arma" in Spanish. But on "WP Menus Sync" the English and Spanish versions are worded differently. That's not logical. " I don't know why you have not read my original message? Your system seems to have deleted part of my message. That is VERY weird!
January 7, 2025 at 11:43 am #16569303
Osama Mersal Supporter Languages: English (English ) Arabic (العربية ) Timezone: Africa/Cairo (GMT+02:00)	Hi, 1) Thanks for your reply. Your initial message didn't contain the following example, which I needed to understand the issue. On the live site I have a menu item "EMF som våben" in Danish, and "EMF as a weapon" in English and "CEM como un arma" in Spanish. But on "WP Menus Sync" the English and Spanish versions are worded differently. 2) The menu on the front end shows the correct strings in all languages. Please use the WordPress editor to edit the "hidden link">EMF as a weapon" page and check its title. If the title in the page's edit screen is "EMF as a complex secret weapon", the WP Menu Sync page shows the correct title. It shows the page's title, not the "Navigation Label". (Kindly check the attached screenshot) Best regards, Osama
January 7, 2025 at 12:46 pm #16569513
henrikR-17	1) YES, my original message DID contain that information!!!!! But YOUR system deleted it!!!!! 2) But why does the 'WP Menus Sync' show the Navigation Label for the Danish version and the title of the page for the other languages? THAT is what I do not find logical.
January 7, 2025 at 1:22 pm #16569624
Osama Mersal Supporter Languages: English (English ) Arabic (العربية ) Timezone: Africa/Cairo (GMT+02:00)	Hi, Danish is the default language on your site. Please check the screenshot in my previous reply; you will see the English menu item navigation label because it's the default language in my sandbox site. Best regards, Osama
January 7, 2025 at 3:08 pm #16570423
henrikR-17	In other words: What is the logic of showing the Navigation Label in Danish (the default language) and the title of the page in the other languages - in the "WP Menus Sync" (see my screenshot)?
January 7, 2025 at 4:50 pm #16570828
Osama Mersal Supporter Languages: English (English ) Arabic (العربية ) Timezone: Africa/Cairo (GMT+02:00)	Hi, When you use the WP menu sync function, WPML adds newly translated menu items or tells you that these items have not been translated yet, so these items don't have a navigation label. In other cases, when you have an old translated menu item with a navigation label, WPML still fetches the page's title as in the previous cases because it uses the same function. After the sync, you can add custom navigation labels for the translated menu items. However, this is the expected behavior, not an error. I hope my explanation helps you understand how the function works. Best regards, Osama
January 8, 2025 at 10:10 am #16572740
henrikR-17	OK... Thank you for your reply. I accept that WP and WPML is not very logical...