Change default language of existing products in bulk.

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

Problem:
How can I change the default language of existing products, from English to Ukrainian?

Solution:
- Backup database
- Go to the edit screen of the product (original language)
- Change the language using the Language switcher at the top admin bar to Ukrainian
- On the right sidebar, select "none" at "This is a translation of" and save
- Now, on the right sidebar, "This is a translation of" select back original language page.
- Popup will appear asking you if you wish to change the default language of the product.
- Confirm by selecting checkbox and Assing.

Relevant Documentation:
- https://wpml.org/faq/how-to-link-already-translated-pages/

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This topic contains 6 replies, has 3 voices.

Last updated by dmytroZ 4 years, 3 months ago.

Assisted by: Dražen.

Author	Posts
February 10, 2021 at 5:19 pm #8054985
dmytroZ	I have products in 3 languages. English, Ukrainian, Russian. Most of the products have their original language - English. As a result, I have blocked fields when editing an item in Ukrainian (price, discounted price, ...). How to make the original language for all products in Ukrainian. (so I can edit any fields in Ukrainian) I was unable to use the copy method described here. https://wpml.org/forums/topic/change-default-language-of-existing-posts-in-bulk/ I ask for help.
February 10, 2021 at 5:44 pm #8055171
Diego Pereira Supporter Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) Portuguese (Brazil) (Português ) Timezone: America/Sao_Paulo (GMT-03:00)	Hello, welcome to the WPML support Forum! Before your ticket is assigned to one of my colleagues, please allow me to walk you through some initial debugging steps. This will help speed up the support process. To create a product in the Ukrainian lanuage: - Backup database - Go to Products > All Products - Change the language using the Language switcher at the top admin bar to Ukrainian - Create YOur product - Translate it to other lagnuages To edit a existing product: - Backup database - Go to the edit screen of the product (original language) - Change the language using the Language switcher at the top admin bar to Ukrainian - On the right sidebar, select "none" at "This is a translation of" and save - Go back to the original product - On the "This is a translation of" field, select the Ukrainian product Note that probably these fields will be blocked on english language now. We need more details to know what is the best approach in this case. Please let us know if it worked for you. To ensure the quickest and most accurate support, please provide your debug information so that I can get a look at some of your configurations. We have an excellent article on how to located here: https://wpml.org/faq/provide-debug-information-faster-support/. NOTE: Please be sure to check the box to indicate you can provide debug info and paste your debug info in the debug field provided, and NOT in the general response field.
February 11, 2021 at 5:51 am #8058025
dmytroZ	Hello, I made one for existing products. But I didn’t receive one product in 3 languages, with Ukrainian as the main language. Instead, I received 2 items and I don't know what to do with them. (moreover, the product in Ukrainian again needs to be translated into 2 other languages)
February 11, 2021 at 7:53 am #8058435
Dražen Supporter Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Europe/Zagreb (GMT+02:00)	Hello, thanks for getting back. I can see why this happened, please check my video and image, and follow the next steps in order to change the default language of the product: - Backup database - Go to the edit screen of the product (original language) - Change the language using the Language switcher at the top admin bar to Ukrainian - On the right sidebar, select "none" at "This is a translation of" and save - Now, on the right sidebar, "This is a translation of" select back original language page. - Popup will appear asking you if you wish to change the default language of the product. Select checkbox and Assing. Video: hidden link I hope I was helpful. Don't hesitate to ask if you find any problem along the way, I'll gladly help you. Regards, Drazen
February 11, 2021 at 8:46 am #8058841
dmytroZ	Thanks, the video helped. I managed to change the main language in one product. 1) I have about 200 products, is there a way to change the main language for all products at once? 2) will this method work for products with variations? thanks Dmytro
February 11, 2021 at 8:56 am #8058935
Dražen Supporter Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Europe/Zagreb (GMT+02:00)	Hello Dmytro, 1) We do not currently an option for this in a bulk, since it is not really recommended to change the default language in which post/product is created. You can try the next method, that seems to work for some clients, please note I have not tested this method nor sure if it works correctly. Or you can contact our WPML contractors to help you out achieve this with some custom coding: - https://wpml.org/contractors/ - https://wpml.org/forums/topic/how-to-change-menu-and-pages-original-language-after-changing-default-language/#post-3438303 2) Yes it should work with variable products also. Kind regards, Drazen