Lock in front of custom fields

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

Problem:
If you're experiencing issues on your production site where custom fields like 'downloads_*_url_pardot' show a lock icon in WPML > Settings > Custom Fields Translation, preventing you from setting their translation behavior to "Copy", while on your staging environment these fields do not have this lock and can be set to Copy normally.
Solution:
First, ensure that the 'acf-field-group' post type is set to not translatable in WordPress Dashboard > WPML > Settings > Post Types Translation. If it's already set, no changes are needed there. Next, make a minor edit to the original page (like adding an extra space) and save it. This should prompt an update across translations. If the issue persists, check for any XML code under WordPress Dashboard > WPML > Settings > XML Custom Code tab that might be forcing the lock icon. Also, verify if such XML files exist in your theme or plugin files. If you find the settings are correct but the problem remains, it might be due to the field group settings in ACF > Field Groups > Knowledge Base group field translation option, which should be set to Expert mode to allow changes in custom field translation options. After adjusting these settings, make a small change on the page using the field in the original language and complete the translation to see the results.

For further guidance on setting translation preferences for ACF fields with WPML, visit https://wpml.org/documentation/related-projects/translate-sites-built-with-acf/recommended-custom-fields-translation-preferences-for-acf-and-wpml/.

If this solution does not resolve your issue, or if it seems outdated or irrelevant to your specific case, we highly recommend checking related known issues at https://wpml.org/known-issues/, verifying the version of the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

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Tagged: Documentation request

This topic contains 12 replies, has 0 voices.

Last updated by Andreas 2 days, 4 hours ago.

Assisted by: Christopher Amirian.

Author	Posts
April 23, 2026 at 12:29 pm #17990190
Andreas	Hi, We have a WordPress site running WPML with ACF PRO. We have a repeater field called downloads with a sub-field called url_pardot that we need to set to Copy so it syncs automatically across all language translations when the English source post is updated. On our staging environment the fields appear normally in WPML > Settings > Custom Fields Translation and we were able to set them to Copy without issues. However on our production site, the same fields (downloads_0_url_pardot, downloads_1_url_pardot, etc.) show a lock icon next to them and the radio buttons are greyed out. Clicking the lock icon redirects us to the ACF field group itself, where there is no WPML translation option visible at the field level. Could you advise: Why the lock icon appears on production but not on staging? How we can override or unlock this so we can set these fields to Copy? The post type is knowledge-center and we have 6 active languages. We are currently syncing the field manually via a WP-CLI script as a workaround, but we would prefer the automatic Copy behaviour going forward.
April 23, 2026 at 1:25 pm #17990341
Christopher Amirian WPML Supporter since 07/2020 Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Asia/Yerevan (GMT+04:00)	Hello and welcome to WPML support. Would you please provide the debug information? https://wpml.org/faq/provide-debug-information-faster-support/ For now, what I can suggest: Please go to WordPress Dashboard > WPML > Settings > Post Types Translation and find the acf-field-group row and set it as not translatable and save the settings. (if it is already set then all is good) https://wpml.org/documentation/getting-started-guide/translating-custom-posts/ After that, please do as follows: - Go to your Dashboard > Pages. - Open the edit screen of the original page. You should see a pencil/circle/gear icon in the sidebar options under the "Languages" section. - Make a small change, for example, add an extra blank space at the end of a sentence/paragraph. - Save it. - You should now see that a circular arrow appears beside the 2nd languages links, this means that an update is required. - Edit the translation again and save it up to 100% translated. Thanks.
April 23, 2026 at 1:46 pm #17990455
Andreas	Hi! The acf-field-group post type is already set to not translatable, so that is fine. However our issue is specifically that the downloads_*_url_pardot custom fields show a lock icon in WPML > Settings > Custom Fields Translation on production, preventing us from changing their translation behaviour to "Copy". On our staging environment the same fields do not have this lock and we were able to set them to Copy normally. We have already synced the field data across languages manually via WP-CLI as a workaround, but we would like to understand why the lock appears on production and how to set these fields to Copy so future updates sync automatically.
April 23, 2026 at 2:45 pm #17990644
Christopher Amirian WPML Supporter since 07/2020 Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Asia/Yerevan (GMT+04:00)	Thank you, I'd appreciate it if you could give me the URL/User/Pass of your WordPress dashboard after you make sure that you have a backup of your website. It is absolutely important that you give us a guarantee that you have a backup so if something happens you will have a point of restore. Make sure you set the next reply as private. One more thing to check is if you have any sort of XML code in WordPress Dashboard > WPML > Settings > XML Custom Code (tab) Usually, it forces the lock icon. Also double check if you have such XML file on your theme or plugins files. Thanks.
April 23, 2026 at 4:41 pm #17990943
Andreas	Hi Christopher, I ve sent the credentials. Thanks for the quick support
April 26, 2026 at 9:45 am #17995207
Christopher Amirian WPML Supporter since 07/2020 Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Asia/Yerevan (GMT+04:00)	Hello, Thank you for the login information. I tried to check the fields but you have many groups, so I am not sure where to check. Please give me the ACF > Field Group that you talk about. Also, give me the link to the edit screen of the page that the group is used so I can check. Thanks.
April 27, 2026 at 6:39 pm #17997818
Andreas	Hi Christopher. Yes sorry. Here is a direct link to the post itself hidden link The group itself is a repeater. The repeater name is downloads. The field itself is url_pardot. This is the one we are unable to add as a copy and the one that shows the lock in front. I will upload a picture of the production site and one of the staging site so you can see the difference.
April 28, 2026 at 1:06 pm #17999852
Christopher Amirian WPML Supporter since 07/2020 Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Asia/Yerevan (GMT+04:00)	Hello, Thank you for the login information. The problem was ACF > Field Groups > Knowledge Base group field translation option at the top. It was set as the same languages that prevent the individual from making custom field changes. I checked that to Expert mode and now you can change the custom field translation options. I would suggest that you do it directly from the Knowledgebase group. Please check the screenshot. Please skim over all the fields there to make sure you use the correct method as you wish. Also, to see the result, you will need to do a small change on the page that you used the field on the original langauge and then complete the translation to see the result. Finally, please check the recommended translation options for the field types: https://wpml.org/documentation/related-projects/translate-sites-built-with-acf/recommended-custom-fields-translation-preferences-for-acf-and-wpml/ Thanks.
April 28, 2026 at 9:06 pm #18001111
Andreas	Hi Christopher, That sounds great! It’s a bit strange that in the staging environment the field is also set the same across languages, yet WPML still allows changing that option. But it’s good to hear that the expert option resolves the issue, and that it’s now also possible to make the desired change directly from the ACF group. Regarding your last point: “To see the result, you will need to make a small change on the page where the field is used in the original language, and then complete the translation.” Could you clarify what kind of change needs to be made?
April 29, 2026 at 10:20 am #18002338
Christopher Amirian WPML Supporter since 07/2020 Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Asia/Yerevan (GMT+04:00)	Hello, I'm glad that it is giving you the ability to change the translation option. Any change in the description or title or anything that forces WPML to change the status of the item from translated to needs translation update, The process will be this: - Go to your Dashboard > Pages. - Open the edit screen of the original page. You should see a pencil/circle/gear icon in the sidebar options under the "Languages" section. - Make a small change, for example, add an extra blank space at the end of a sentence/paragraph. - Save it. - You should now see that a circular arrow appears beside the 2nd languages links, this means that an update is required. - Edit the translation again and save it up to 100% translated. The steps above is for Pages, but it is the same for other post types. Thanks.
April 29, 2026 at 12:43 pm #18002851
Andreas	Hi Christopher, I’ve just tested it and everything is working great — thanks for that! We’ve come across another issue related to field groups. Please let me know if you’d prefer that we create a new support ticket, but since you already have access to the site, I thought you might be able to guide me here. It seems that some field groups were duplicated when we added the new languages. We’ve disabled the duplicates for now, and everything works as expected. Is this a known behavior, and do you have any guidance on how to handle it? Also, would it be safe to delete the duplicated groups to keep things clean, or is there a recommended approach? Finally, is there a way to prevent this from happening again on future projects? Thanks in advance! New threads created by Christopher Amirian and linked to this one are listed below: https://wpml.org/forums/topic/split-field-groups-are-duplicated/
April 29, 2026 at 1:20 pm #18002958
Christopher Amirian WPML Supporter since 07/2020 Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Asia/Yerevan (GMT+04:00)	Hi. I'm glad that the initial issue is fixed. I created a new ticket to follow up on the duplication issue. I will ask for more information to understand the situation there. https://wpml.org/forums/topic/split-field-groups-are-duplicated/ We can set this ticket as resolved.
April 29, 2026 at 2:12 pm #18003226
Andreas	Thanks for the great support!
April 29, 2026 at 2:12 pm #18003227
Andreas	Thanks for the great support!