Home›Support›English Support›[Resolved] ACF fields not appearing in some languages in Wordpress editor & Frontend
[Resolved] ACF fields not appearing in some languages in Wordpress editor & Frontend
This thread is resolved. Here is a description of the problem and solution.
Problem: The client was experiencing issues with missing blocks of Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) content on the German pages. Although translations were visible in the WPML editor, they were not appearing in the WordPress editor.
Solution: We reviewed the WPML->Settings->Custom XML configuration and found conflicting XML settings. We removed most of the conflicting XML, which should resolve the issue. We also noticed that the Flexible Sections field was set to 'Same fields across languages', which should allow for translation without additional settings. We suggested that the client create a sample test page or duplicate the homepage to see if the problem persists on new pages.
If you're experiencing similar issues, we recommend checking your WPML->Settings->Custom XML configuration for any conflicts and ensuring that your fields are set correctly for translation. If the problem continues, try creating a new test page or duplicating an existing page to check if the issue is resolved.
Please note that this solution might be outdated or not applicable to your case. If the issue persists, we highly recommend checking the related known issues, verifying the version of the permanent fix, and confirming that you have installed the latest versions of themes and plugins. If necessary, please open a new support ticket for further assistance.
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I am trying to: get all the ACF content translated
Link to a page where the issue can be seen: hidden link
I expected to see: Translations in all languages of all blocks used
Instead, I got: Missing blocks of ACF content on the German pages. Backend shows translations in the WPML editor, but in the WP editor the blocks are missing.
A good example is the home-page. On the Dutch and English page there is a block with the titles "Optimum Assesment Platform" and "Services" with lists in it. The English translation is fine. However in the German page these blocks (and more) are missing.
This isn't only happening with this block on this page: several pages have missing blocks, on some languages. The page hidden link
vicios/consultoria/ for example is also missing blocks in French.
Trying to make an exact copy of the pages does not reproduce the issue. However, in making new pages the error sometimes occurs. The system seems thus unrealible.
We tested this in the backend with a neutral theme (twenty sixteen and twenty twentyfour) and all plugins disables except for WPML, string stranslations, ACF Pro and WPML/ACF. The blocks don't reappear, also not after saving the translations that are visible when working in the WPML editor.
Can you send your reply also send to our developer Kees Alders of Klokwerk-Design:: klokwerk@klokwerk-design.nl
Unfortunately, we can't send replies to other mails then the one registered in the account.
What kind of fields are the ones you're having issues with? Which kind of setting do you have (expert, same fields across languages, different fields across languages)
This is OK, our client will send the communication to me then. Thanks for your super quick reply.
The blocks considered are as far as I can see all "flexible content" blocks, so various fields that are grouped in a flexible content block.
The site uses "expert" and the settings used on the fields are various. However, for testing reasons on the home page I set all the individual fields to "translate". On saving, the issue remained. I also tested if the issue still remained if I switched the setting tot same fields accross languages temporarily, go to the home page, saved it again - and it did.
Flexible content needs to bei either set to "copy" (if you want to use the same fields on translated languages) or "copy once" (if you want to use different fields on translated languages). If they're set to translate that's likely the issue.
Thanks for making that clear. It doesn't solve the issue though, but changes it. If I manually tick all the boxes on the homepage on "copy" (there are a lot with many different statuses) and click apply (twice) and save the page and clear the cache, I see that many boxes remain set on copy once or translate.
So it might be the issue, but the issue is than that the boxes cannot be set to the right status.
Is there a way to bulk set all those fields by the way? Maybe for the page, or maybe for the whole website?
Changes are done on the page or WPML->Settings->Custom field configurations are applied globally. You can also go to ACF Field settings and change this, this will be applied for all sites.
If the field settings are reverted, can you go to WPML->Settings->Custom field settings and see if they have a lock icon? If yes, click on the lock icon and change the settings.
If there is no lock icon and the problem exists, To debug this issue further, I would need to check your site settings once, for this I would need temporary access (wp-admin and ftp) to your site.
So could you please provide me with those details, you will find the needed fields for this below the comment area when you log in to leave your next reply. hidden link
Hi Shektar - I'm sorry, indeed, it didn't work: I set a new password and checked it, it should be working now.
The concerned fields are in the ACF field group "flexible sections". Those are used on our examples. The home page, which I use for checking most of the time, is here on the backend:
This conflicted with the settings that you were trying to save, I removed most of it, so can you try to make a change and see if it helps?
Also, I see hidden linkFlexible Sections is set as Same fields across languages, which should allow you to translate the pages without the need of any settings.
I believe the old translated page is somehow affected, so can you try to create a sample test page or duplicate the homepage itself and see if it works there.
Thanks for getting into it again. I could not recreate the issue earlier by making a new page with the same fields as the homepage: the error was inconsistent on this. However, it is consistent on the affected pages. I made a copy of the Home Page (called Home - kopie), and the issue remains: I let it translate and the error remains. I also cannot reset the settings in the bottom of the page editor.
The XML edited, can it be done by a user without being aware? Or should I ask the builder for more information? I don't think there are any users in the organization doing this, but I can also ask around.
Please let me know if you have any ideas. I will be offline the next two days, but back on my desk on sunday.
Hi Shekhar, thank you so much for your help so far. We tested a few pages and the results seem indeed promising. We will test all of our cases and then continue testing to see if the issue reappears of course, but for this conversation the case can be closed indeed - we just come back when one of the future tests fail, but let's assume it will not.
Just some additional questions: the xml that was the culprit, we don't know who could have created it and why. Is that something that only admins can do? And whith what purpuse could anyone do that?
Just some additional questions: the xml that was the culprit, we don't know who could have created it and why. Is that something that only admins can do? And whith what purpuse could anyone do that?
The XML is a configuration file, the changes we do from the admin (WPML->Settings) can be defined on the configuration and it will be set automatically. Most themes and plugins authors use this so while user uses the product, the fields are already set correctly.
This can be added by admins in WPML->Settings->Configurations.
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