Issue with Automatic Translation Consuming Credits on Category Change

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

Problem:
You are experiencing an issue where updating the categories of a post triggers the automatic translation feature in WPML, causing already translated text to be re-translated and consuming additional credits unnecessarily.
Solution:
1. Ensure that the translation memory in WPML's Advanced Translation Editor (ATE) is functioning correctly, as it should prevent re-translation of unchanged content.
2. Monitor your credit usage by navigating to WPML > Translation Management > Tools tab > Automatic translation usage reports. For more details, visit how WPML keeps track of your translations.
3. Conduct a test case:
- Create a post with sample content and translate it automatically.
- Capture the current used credits in WPML > Translation Management > Tools tab.
- Edit the post, assign a translated category, and update the post to trigger the translation update.
- Check the used credits again in WPML > Translation Management > Tools tab.
4. If the issue persists, it may be due to changes in the HTML structure of the post, which requires re-translation in ATE.

If this solution does not resolve your issue or seems irrelevant due to being outdated or not applicable to your specific case, we highly recommend checking related known issues at https://wpml.org/known-issues/, verifying the version of the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. Additionally, please feel free to open a new support ticket for further assistance at WPML support forum.

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Tagged: ATE

This topic contains 8 replies, has 2 voices.

Last updated by Long Nguyen 1 year, 9 months ago.

Assisted by: Long Nguyen.

Author	Posts
July 24, 2024 at 2:07 pm #15998853
Masaki Nagashima	Background of the issue: I am experiencing an issue with the automatic translation feature in WPML. Whenever I update the categories of a post, the translation gets reprocessed, even though the content of the post has not changed. This results in already translated text being re-translated, which consumes additional credits unnecessarily. Symptoms: Automatic translation reprocesses and consumes credits when post categories are updated, even if the content remains unchanged. Questions: Could you please advise on how to prevent the automatic translation system from re-translating unchanged content? Is there a setting or configuration that I might have overlooked that would allow for more precise control over when translations are updated?
July 25, 2024 at 2:56 am #16000972
Long Nguyen WPML Supporter since 02/2022 Languages: English (English ) Vietnamese (Vietnamese ) Timezone: Asia/Ho_Chi_Minh (GMT+07:00)	Hi Masaki, Thank you for contacting WPML support, I’m happy to help you with this issue. After updating the category for a post, the automatic translation is triggered to translate to update the category for the translation post. If the translation sentence was translated in Advanced Translation Editor (automatic translation), it wouldn't be translated again and consume credits. The translation will be matched from the translation memory. You can also check the used credits from WPML > Translation Management > Tools tab > Automatic translation usage reports. Refer documentation https://wpml.org/documentation/translating-your-contents/how-wpml-keeps-track-of-your-translations/ Looking forward to your reply. Thanks
July 25, 2024 at 1:34 pm #16003782
Masaki Nagashima	Thank you for your prompt response and assistance. However, I am still encountering the issue where credits are consumed even when only the post categories are updated. Although you mentioned that the translation memory should prevent re-translation and credit consumption, this does not seem to be happening in my case. The credits are being used up even when there are no changes to the actual content, only to the post categories. Could you please investigate this further or provide any additional steps I can take to ensure that credits are not consumed unnecessarily when only metadata, such as categories, is updated? Thank you for your continued support. Best regards,
July 26, 2024 at 3:48 am #16006298
Long Nguyen WPML Supporter since 02/2022 Languages: English (English ) Vietnamese (Vietnamese ) Timezone: Asia/Ho_Chi_Minh (GMT+07:00)	Hi, Please try to make a test case and let me know how it goes: 1. Create a post with sample content > Translate it automatically. 2. Go to WPML > Translation Management > Tools tab > Capture the current used credits. 3. Edit the post > Assign a category that is translated > Update the post to trigger the update translation. 4. Go to WPML > Translation Management > Tools tab and check the used credits again. If it persists, please let me know the post URL, I will check this on our server. Looking forward to your reply. Thanks
July 26, 2024 at 4:45 am #16006460
Masaki Nagashima	Thank you for your guidance. I tested with a new post, translated it, and then changed the category. In this case, the credits were not consumed, which was good. However, when I update older posts that were previously translated using automatic translation, credits are still being consumed. All these posts were originally translated using the automatic translation feature, so I’m not sure why credits are being deducted again. Could you please assist me in resolving this issue? Thank you for your continued support.
July 26, 2024 at 7:37 am #16007145
Long Nguyen WPML Supporter since 02/2022 Languages: English (English ) Vietnamese (Vietnamese ) Timezone: Asia/Ho_Chi_Minh (GMT+07:00)	Hi, If that post was translated automatically in ATE, it shouldn't be translated again. On our server, I check a post that is translated recently hidden link in the attached screenshot, you can see that the content is translated automatically but the custom field SEO status. That means the field is translated before and matched from the translation memory. Please let me know another post URL that you haven't updated the category. I will check it on our server. Looking forward to your reply. Thanks
July 26, 2024 at 9:28 am #16007736
Masaki Nagashima	Thank you for your response. Recently, I performed the following tasks: 1. Changed the category of all existing news articles (all previously translated automatically) from "Uncategorized" to "Press Release." 2.Imported new articles from another site and translated them automatically (all categorized under "Media Coverage"). 3.When attempting to update the translations of articles categorized under "Press Release," the credits were consumed. Could you please check the translation data for the articles under the "Press Release" category on your server? I believe this might help us identify the cause of the issue. Thank you for your assistance, and I look forward to your response. Best regards,
July 26, 2024 at 10:20 am #16008039
Long Nguyen WPML Supporter since 02/2022 Languages: English (English ) Vietnamese (Vietnamese ) Timezone: Asia/Ho_Chi_Minh (GMT+07:00)	Hi, I would like to request temporary access (wp-admin and FTP) to your site to take a better look at the issue. Your next reply is set to private to share the info. ❌ IMPORTANT: Please backup your database and website before proceeding ❌ You can use this plugin to create the backup: https://wordpress.org/plugins/duplicator/ ✙ I would need your permission to de-activate and re-activate Plugins and the Theme to change configurations on the site if needed. This is also a reason the backup is critical. Looking forward to your reply. Thanks
July 29, 2024 at 1:52 am #16012867
Long Nguyen WPML Supporter since 02/2022 Languages: English (English ) Vietnamese (Vietnamese ) Timezone: Asia/Ho_Chi_Minh (GMT+07:00)	Hi, I check a post in the category "Press Release" and see that the translation status is Need Update (circle arrows icon), click on the translation icon and go to the Advanced Translation Editor (ATE), I see some sentences were translated and matched by the translation memory, some are not and translated automatically. Here is the screen record hidden link and post URL hidden link This post was translated automatically before in ATE. Please check two attached screenshots. Checking the original XLIFF file that was sent to ATE, I see the content is the same but the HTML structure was changed. For example: Old: <strong>中国・台湾などの海外プロモーション・インバウンド支援を行うインタセクト・コミュニケーションズ株式会社（本社：東京都千代田区、代表取締役社長：譚玉峰、以下インタセクト）は、9月5日（火）に開催される一般財団法人日本情報経済社会推進協会（JIPDEC）主催の「JIPDECセミナー　個人情報のクラウド保管実務における対応ポイント」に当社社員が登壇します。「CBPR認証とクラウド利用でデータ越境移転に省力対応」をテーマに講演します。</strong> New: <p class="article-p"><strong>中国・台湾などの海外プロモーション・インバウンド支援を行うインタセクト・コミュニケーションズ株式会社（本社：東京都千代田区、代表取締役社長：譚玉峰、以下インタセクト）は、9月5日（火）に開催される一般財団法人日本情報経済社会推進協会（JIPDEC）主催の「JIPDECセミナー　個人情報のクラウド保管実務における対応ポイント」に当社社員が登壇します。「CBPR認証とクラウド利用でデータ越境移転に省力対応」をテーマに講演します。</strong></p> So, if you recently changed the HTML structure, you also need to re-translate the content in ATE. Related ticket https://wpml.org/forums/topic/strange-behaviour-and-translated-text-missing/ I hope that makes sense.