This thread is resolved. Here is a description of the problem and solution.
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.
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Could you help me understand a few things regarding WPML automatic translation? Thanks.
1.
If I choose the 3rd option: hidden link Will I still be able to edit the published translations?
2.
Do I have to purchase extra credits in order to enable fully automatic translation? I might have misinterpreted the documentation but isn't automatic translation free? hidden link
3.
Our translators have worked in manual mode for a while and 20% of the content has been translated, is it still a good idea to switch to automatic translation mode? What implications will that bring? Will the manually translated content be lost and re-done by the automatic translation engine?
4.
As I understand, posts/pages/products/custom post types/taxonomies CAN be translated automatically, but not theme headers/menus/footers. Correct?
5.
What about backend content such as email templates? Will they be translated automatically?
6.
How much of the strings will be automatically translated? For example this block of text hidden link is part of Astra theme's header builder widget hidden link My understanding is that anything belongs to the theme will NOT get auto-translated, but it's a widget and in wpml string translation it's in the "block-widget" domain, so I need your clarification whether they'll be auto-translated, we don't want to mess up the markup once we enable the auto mode.
What about WC product attributes? We have tons of them and previously 95% translated by our translators. Will the auto-mode take care of the left 5% or will it re-do them all?
Many of our products are translated independently.
hidden link hidden link
If I turn on automatic translation mode, will WPML remove these translations, override them with automated translation or leave them as is? When the original content get updated will WPML update their translation as automatic translation should work on content translated in ATE?
Hi Shawn,
Thank you for reaching out with your queries regarding WPML's automatic translation. Let me address each of your questions to clarify and provide you with the best guidance:
1. Editing Published Translations: Absolutely, you can edit the translations after they are published. WPML allows you to review and manually adjust the translations at any time, ensuring that you maintain control over the final output.
2. Cost of Automatic Translation: While WPML provides some initial free credits for automatic translation, additional credits need to be purchased once these are used up. For more details on how credits work and the associated costs, please refer to our: https://wpml.org/documentation/automatic-translation/automatic-translation-pricing/
3. Switching to Automatic Translation: If you switch to automatic translation, any existing manually translated content will remain as it is; it won’t be automatically re-translated. Automatic translation will only be applied to new content or content that hasn’t been translated yet. It's generally a good idea if you have a lot of content left to translate and need to expedite the process.
4. Scope of Automatic Translation: YWPML can translate posts, pages, products, custom post types, and taxonomies automatically. However, if theme elements such as headers and footers are stored in a post type, you should be able to translate them just like the way you translate posts/pages. For example, if you have created the Header/footer template using Elementor, please check this guide(https://wpml.org/documentation/plugins-compatibility/elementor/#translating-elementor-templates) to understand how you can translate them.
But if you're using the theme's default Header/footer or they are not stored in any post type, you need to manually translate them via the WPML String Translation module.
6. Translation of Theme Strings: Widgets embedded within themes can be translated automatically if recognized within the WPML String Translation interface. Since your Astra theme's header builder widget appears under the "block-widget" domain, you should be able to translate them automatically. Please check the guide mentioned in the point 5.
7. Product Attributes: The already translated 95% of your WC product attributes will not be re-translated. WPML will focus on translating only the remaining untranslated attributes, maintaining the integrity of previously translated content.
8. Language-Specific Automatic Translation: WPML allows you to enable automatic translation for specific language pairs, letting you focus translation efforts on the languages that are most critical for your site. To configure this, navigate to WPML > Languages > Edit Languages in your dashboard. Here, you can set the language mapping for any language whose content you wish to exclude from automatic translation to "Don't map this language."
9. Handling of Existing Translations: Existing manual translations of your products will be preserved. WPML will not overwrite these with automatic translations. If the original content is updated, WPML can automatically update the translations, depending on your configuration settings. But, please note that the manual changes that you made will be overwritten by the automatic translation.
10. Storage of Auto-Translated Content: Like manually entered translations, auto-translated content is stored directly in your site’s database, seamlessly integrating with your existing content management setup.
For any further details or specific procedures, I recommend checking our comprehensive WPML documentation: https://wpml.org/documentation/. If you have any more questions or need assistance setting things up, please don't hesitate to contact us.
9. Handling of Existing Translations: Existing manual translations of your products will be preserved. WPML will not overwrite these with automatic translations. If the original content is updated, WPML can automatically update the translations, depending on your configuration settings. But, please note that the manual changes that you made will be overwritten by the automatic translation.
Even to content translated **independently** which were NOT translated in ATE? To show you what I mean, please refer to the following screenshots:
hidden link hidden link
Does WPML automatic translation apply to them? Especially when the content in the original language got updated.
Is a un-translated page translated immediately I switch on automatic translation or is it translated first time it's visited after I switch on automatic translation?
For content that has been manually translated independently, WPML respects these translations and does not automatically overwrite them when you enable automatic translation. However, if the Translation mode for the particular page is changed to "WPML Translation Editor" and the original content in the source language is updated, then the Automatic Translation will translate these contents.
In response to Question 11: When you activate Automatic translation, any untranslated pages or posts will automatically be placed in the Automatic translation queue and begin translating immediately, without the need for you to visit each page.
I hope it helps. Let me know if you have any other queries or need clarification on any specific point. I will be happy to help.
Thanks for the clarification. I am thinking in order to take advantage of the automatic translation for all products, I can simply delete all product translations and then switch on auto mode. But you mentioned there is a way to change a product page's translation mode back to ATE, how? Could you share a screenshot or recording?
Hello There,
I hope you're doing well. Sorry for the delay in responding due to the holiday.
You can indeed switch from the WordPress Editor to the Advanced Translation Editor, as shown in this screenshot: hidden link
However, switching the editor won't transfer translations made using the WordPress Editor to the Advanced Translation Editor. This is because translation memories are not shared between the different editors, meaning that content translated in one editor will not be accessible in another after switching.
