Subject: Critical Error: Advanced Translation Editor Crashing on ES/PT after Automatic Translation Failure
Description:
I am experiencing a persistent issue where Automatic Translation failed to process the full content of several posts, leaving them in a "partially translated" state (showing as 100% complete but containing English strings).
Steps Taken:
Forced Update Attempt: I made minor "dummy" edits to the original language pages to trigger a re-translation, but the system flagged them as already completed.
Manual Overwrite: I attempted to manually edit the translations. While this worked for EN, FR, and DE, the PT and ES editors crashed upon opening.
Cache & Job Cleanup: * Canceled all pending Automatic Translation jobs in the Translation Management dashboard.
Current Status: The PT page appears resolved after the cache clear, but the ES (Spanish) page consistently triggers a critical error/crash when attempting to open the translation editor.
Error Message Received:
WPML tried to translate this page three times and failed. To get it fixed, contact WPML support.
Environment:
Theme: Avada
Hosting: WP Engine
Editor: Advanced Translation Editor (ATE)
Requested Action:
Please check if there is a stuck job ID or a database synchronization error preventing the Spanish Advanced Translation Editor from loading correctly.
Workflow Context:
My standard workflow involves triggering Automatic Translation and then assigning the result to human translators for final review.
Troubleshooting Steps Taken:
Site Reversion: I reverted the site to a backup state prior to the initial post creation.
Cache/Job Cleanup: Cleared all site and server caches (WP Engine/Avada/WPML) and canceled all pending translation jobs.
Plugin Update: Manually updated all WPML components to the latest versions.
Fresh Post Creation: Re-created the post with a modified headline and new slug to ensure a clean start:
URL: hidden link
The Current Block:
When attempting to run Automatic Translation on this new page, the process fails with the following error:
"WPML cannot send some of the content to translation. Some of the content that you selected for translation includes fields that are encoded. Translators will not be able to work on this kind of content, so we removed it from the job."
Specific Concerns:
The English page is published and functioning correctly, but it will not send for translation.
Hyperlinks: This post contains several links within the text body. In the previous version of this post, these links seemed to cause issues. Is there a known bug regarding nested links or encoded shortcodes within the current version of WPML and Avada?
Request:
Could you please investigate why WPML is flagging these fields as "encoded" and stripping them from the translation job?
Issue Summary:
I am consistently receiving an "Encoded Fields" error when attempting to use Automatic Translation on newly created posts. While I can manually translate the content, the automatic workflow is currently blocked.
Recent Examples:
Latest Test: The Mystery of Passage: Ash Wednesday on the Aventine Hill (This is the one I manually translated) hidden link
Previous Failure: Oriental Orthodox Study Visit (I have not tried to manually translate this) hidden link
The Error Message:
"WPML cannot send some of the content to translation. Some of the content that you selected for translation includes fields that are encoded. Translators will not be able to work on this kind of content, so we removed it from the job."
Crucial Context – Billing Change:
On 16 February, I updated the credit card information associated with my "Pay-as-you-go" Automatic Translation account.
I am wondering if there is a synchronization issue between my billing account and the Translation Management dashboard that is triggering this "encoded fields" error as a false positive. Could you please check if my account status is active and correctly linked to the ATE server?
Observations:
Manual translation works, but is not sustainable for longer posts.
All WPML components are up to date.
Caches have been cleared at the theme, plugin, and server levels (WP Engine).
Request:
Please verify if the billing update has caused a block on my automatic translation quota or if there is a genuine conflict with how Avada/WPML is encoding these new posts.
Regarding the encoded error, this is a known issue and our team is already investigating it. I will get back to you with a possible workaround as soon as possible.
Could you please confirm if the ATE issue — “WPML tried to translate this page three times and failed. To get it fixed, contact WPML support.” — is still happening on your site? This might have been a temporary connectivity issue, as we had some downtime yesterday which has now been resolved.
Thank you for the update. I appreciate you confirming that the "encoded field" error is a known issue under investigation.
To answer your question: Yes, the issue is still persisting on my end. Even after your team resolved yesterday’s downtime, I am unable to use Automatic Translation.
Latest Test & Observations:
Billing Update: I have updated my "Pay-as-you-go" account with a standard credit card (replacing a pre-paid card) to ensure there are no payment-related blocks.
Link Removal: I tested the post below by removing all hyperlinks to see if they were causing the encoding conflict, but I received the exact same error message:
Post: hidden link
The Error: I am still blocked by the "fields that are encoded" message, and the Automatic Translation job will not initialize.
Urgency:
I have a critical email newsletter scheduled for this Saturday that relies on these translations. Because of this hard deadline, could you please provide the workaround you mentioned as soon as possible?
If there are any specific database settings or ATE configurations I should check on my side to help speed this up, please let me know.
The ATE error and the encoding error are two different issues.
We resolved the ATE error yesterday, and you should now be able to translate the page by editing it and clicking the plus or pencil icon.
The encoding error is a known issue. It happens when the page contains some base64-encoded data, and WPML blocks it for extra charge reasons.
To move forward, I need to check what data is being encoded. Removing or adjusting that encoded data should fix the issue.
For this, I need to request temporary site access (wp-admin and FTP) so I can investigate this directly. You will find the needed fields in the next reply.
The information you share in next reply will be private.
We have identified the encoding issue, and it has been fixed internally. The fix will be included in the next WPML update.
If you would like, I can apply a temporary patch on your website so you don’t have to wait for the next release.
Also, I tried the login details you provided, but they are not working on my side. Could you please check them and share the correct access details again?
Yes, you can translate. I just checked by editing a page and clicking the pencil button. It opens the ATE and is working fine. Please see the attached screenshot.
Now I am going to test the patch and see if the same works from TM dashboard.
Please note, this will consume some of the credits in testing I will return them to your account after testing.
The issue seems to be resolved. I was able to translate from the TM dashboard. I will remove your access to the admin areas.
Before I go, one suggestion: I do not want my human translators to be notified when I translate the posts using Automatic Translation. I only want them to be notified when I have something specific for them to translate, and to notify only the specific translators of the language I choose. Right now, it notifies everyone of everything every time. It confuses my human translators. Can you pass this issue to your developers? Perhaps they can craft a way around this problem.
Otherwise, I love WPML. My human translators say the translations are phenomenal - even the German translations. So, good job.
Thanks very much. I look forward to the WPML 4.9.1 update.
About the 2nd problem, I think there is some confusion here. In past, we had an issue sending emails to translators who were not assigned at all.
We have improved this in 4.7. Also, WPML never sends automatic translation notifications to any translator; this is not needed at all.
If this issue is bothring to you, would you like to continue this further? I will create a new ticket from this thread, and we can continue checking there?
Thanks, Sumit, for your offer. Your explanation has led me to question now what I'm hearing from my human translators.
Let me research this a bit more with them and determine exactly what notifications they are receiving when I use different methods of translation. This is going to require some experimentation and time.
For now, let's close this thread and I will open a new one if the translator notification issue continues for us.
