Glossary Update and Retranslation of Existing Taxonomy Terms in WPML 4.7

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

Problem:
You are using WPML 4.7.* with Automatic Translation enabled and have updated your glossary to improve the translation of key terms. After resending posts and custom post types (CPTs) for automatic retranslation, the updates were applied correctly to posts and CPTs, but existing taxonomy terms attached to those posts were not updated with the new glossary rules.
Solution:
If you're experiencing this issue, we recommend you try the following steps:
1. Go to WPML > Settings.
2. Deselect the option 'Don't show translated taxonomies in Translation Editor'.
This change will allow already translated taxonomies to appear in the editor for retranslation, and they will be updated with the new glossary entries. You can then perform a small update to the default language or a bulk update and resend it for automatic translation.

Please note that this solution might be irrelevant if it's outdated or not applicable to your case. We highly 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 the issue persists, please open a new support ticket at WPML support forum.

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Tagged: ATE

This topic contains 4 replies, has 1 voice.

Last updated by Jasper 1 month, 2 weeks ago.

Assisted by: Dražen.

Author	Posts
April 26, 2025 at 10:18 am #16970780
Jasper	Background of the issue: I am trying to run a fully automatically translated site using WPML 4.7.* with Automatic Translation enabled. Recently, I updated our glossary to improve the translation of certain key terms. After uploading the new glossary, I resent our posts and custom post types (CPTs) for automatic retranslation, and the glossary updates were correctly applied there. However, existing taxonomy terms attached to those posts have not been updated with the new glossary rules. Link to a page where the issue can be seen: hidden link Symptoms: Existing taxonomy terms have not been updated with the new glossary rules, even after overwriting post translations. The associated taxonomy translations still use the old versions. Questions: Does an updated glossary not automatically trigger retranslation of already translated taxonomy terms, or must these taxonomy terms be manually modified or re-sent for translation? Is there an official or recommended method to force mass-retranslation of existing taxonomy terms (to apply the glossary changes) without manually editing each term or using SQL queries?
April 26, 2025 at 12:12 pm #16970871
Jasper	To add to this. I looked through the SQL database. And taxonomies don't seem to have a modified date or anything that might be used to trigger a re-translation? I am trying to understand this. Even when I would introduce a new language and would update a taxonomy after this WPML will not update the taxonomy? My whole system (like most WP sites) is solely based on the use of taxonomies.
April 28, 2025 at 4:19 pm #16975798
Bigul WPML Supporter since 01/2013 Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Europe/Vienna (GMT+02:00)	Hello, Welcome to the WPML support forum. Before passing this thread to my colleague, I would like to share some suggestions and possible solutions for the issues you mentioned. To help you faster, I've enabled debug information for this support ticket. Please see this link for how to get this information from your site and give it to us: http://wpml.org/faq/provide-debug-information-faster-support/ Updating the glossary does not automatically retranslate existing taxonomy terms in WPML. To apply the new glossary rules, you need to manually update the taxonomy terms via Taxonomy Translation or String Translation. Alternatively, a small custom script could be used to trigger mass retranslation if you prefer an automated solution. We would like to know if this ticket is related to the following one. This will help us avoid duplicate tickets and provide you with better support. Thank you for your kind understanding. https://wpml.org/forums/topic/i-imported-the-wrong-glossary/ -- Thanks! Bigul
April 29, 2025 at 7:17 am #16977385
Jasper	Hello Bigul, Thank you for the reply. In short. Not the two ticket are not the same issue, just the same project. First ticket is just a need for assistance. This one really a structural problem (for me). A manual adoption is not preferred in this situation. And we were already create SQL commands to change the data base for the eustn_terms.php. But both methods are not preferred. If there is a small custom script to trigger mass retranslation based on the glossary and only for taxonomies that would be great!!! However I hope it is not a complete retranslation of the language. Because what would be the difference between deleting and reinstalling the language then? For me is is strange that this approach is chosen in WPML. WordPress taxonomies are a core and vital feature of WordPress. You would expect that something of a modified cell would trigger a retranslation of the taxonomy. But the database doen not even seem to have this anymore.
May 1, 2025 at 7:17 am #16985679
Dražen Supporter Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Europe/Zagreb (GMT+02:00)	Hello, Thanks for your patience. I just checked on the test site, and I can see it works fine if you deselect the next option from WPML > Settings > Don't show translated taxonomies in Translation Editor. That way, already translated taxonomies will show in the editor for translation, and it will be changed with a glossary entry. I did small update to default language or bulk update and then sent it for automatic translation. Regards, Drazen
May 1, 2025 at 2:11 pm #16986749
Jasper	Thank you very much. I will check this settings and test it. kind regards