Home›Support›English Support›[Resolved] Problem | dynamic internal URLs and dynamic category queries in Elementor
[Resolved] Problem | dynamic internal URLs and dynamic category queries in Elementor
This thread is resolved. Here is a description of the problem and solution.
Problem: If you're creating websites locally and then uploading them to a client's server, you might encounter an issue where dynamic links created with Elementor's 'Internal URL' feature do not redirect to the correct language translations when using WPML. This problem also affects dynamic categories in elements like Loop Carousel, where the content from selected categories remains untranslated.
Solution: To address this issue, we recommend the following steps: 1. Navigate to WPML -> Languages -> Make themes work multilingual. 2. Select the 'Adjust IDs for multilingual functionality' option. 3. Click the Save button. 4. Check if the problem is resolved. 5. If not, make a minor edit to the original post (even a dot or a space will suffice) and click the Update button to trigger a change in the translation. 6. Edit the translation of the post, ensuring the translation progress reaches 100%. 7. Verify if the issue is now resolved.
Please note that this solution might be irrelevant if it's outdated or not applicable to your case. If the problem persists, we highly recommend checking the related known issues, verifying the version of the permanent fix, and confirming that you have installed the latest versions of themes and plugins. Should you need further assistance, please open a new support ticket.
This is the technical support forum for WPML - the multilingual WordPress plugin.
Everyone can read, but only WPML clients can post here. WPML team is replying on the forum 6 days per week, 22 hours per day.
I understand you have issues with our plugin and you need help. But we have some policies that we have to follow including myself and Itamar. Also, I kindly request you to please take a look at our support policy for customers https://wpml.org/purchase/support-policy/
It will help you to understand what is included in support and what is not. And I hope you will respect them.
Now, coming to the issue, it is possible that you have encountered a bug. This is normal for any software, but what is not normal that if there is no support or fix for that bug. We are committed to fixing the bug in our code and for compatibility issues, we try our best to provide workarounds.
The first step to fix the bug is to replicate it. To replicate it we need any of these things
- Steps to replicate it on clean site or recreate it on the Sandbox site
- Provide access to the site with steps to see the problem on your site, if you are not technical enough and don't know what is happening.
- Provide a duplicator package with steps to see the problem if you don't want to us to check the live site.
You have not provided any of these so far thus we have no solution.
I kindly request you to please help us to provide anything mentioned above. Without the key information about issues Itmar or I or anyone from our team will be unable to make this forward.
PS:-
I expect second-tier support to contact me directly, so they can get information how to replicate the problem from me, not from you.
Anything written here can be read by devs, 2nd tier, and managers so whatever you are writing is not just for supporter assigned to the ticket it helps our whole team.
What I have encountered is a bug and incompetence of a member of your team. I sent the information you wanted. I half-set up the sandbox site and then one of your guys decided he knows better and destroyed my work.
As to access to my sites, I never provide it to anyone. This is my security policy. People I create websites for are as you said it "not technical enough". They trust e to build websites for them and never share access to them to anyone.
Since I purchased WPML there have been plenty of issues with it. No other plugin has ever had so many. Every week I send at least one ticket, not because I like it, but because WPML is buggy and has bad UX and UI. Most of the problems have been resolved and I have never given access to the site. Furthermore, the issues were resolved the moment your team realised you need to listen istead of assuming you are talking to someone tho is "not technical enough".
So I am not going to waste my time any longer. Now I expect you to recreate the problem.
At no point you use the option of "translating everything automatically". You translate manually. So you go through each post or category advanced translation view and field by field you press the flash button to let a real engine translate each line from first to second language. You also make sure the translations are published only when you review them and actually review them.
In this specific situation you need:
1. A clean copy of WordPress with Elementor Pro fully activated.
2. A header with a language switcher.
3. A real WPML translation engine, not a dummy one. Text, categories, fields actually need to be translated to the second language.
4. Two posts and one category.
5. Main language English, second language you will be translating into should be Polish. The English version of the site should have its original address. The polish should be /pl/.
6. In one of the posts you need to create some kind of button and set its link to Internal URL > content > second post by name.
7. Then you manually, translate the header first.
8. Then you manually translate the category.
9. Then you manually translate the target post.
10. If at this point you believe there is something else that needs to be manually translated before the post with the button, then do it and me know what it was.
11. Only at the end you manually translate the post with the button and internal URL.
When you have translated the post with the button, you check where the button points to. In my case it still points to the English version of the post, athough the Polish version exists and is reviewed and live.
If you end up with the same result, then you know what you need to fix. If you, however end up with everthing working properly and dynamic links in Polish, then you tell me why. Why in some situations it works and in some it may not work.
It has nothing to do with my other plugins. There is something different in the way Elementor Pro handles dynamic links. They do not seem to simply be saved as normal strings showing a path to another post. They point at a specific target post by its database id or something else. So they differ from normal links and in my case these are the only links that do not get translated. I end up with Polish versions of posts that are all in Polish, but their dynamic internal URLs still point to English versions of other posts. But all other types of links in the same posts point to Polish versions of other posts. So normal links do get properly translated, only dynamic ones don't.
One more thing... After I wrote all of the above I thought to google for some specific information how Elementor actually saves the Internal URLs and how they differ from normal URLs saved as strings. I haven't found the answer yeyt, because what brought my attention is this:
It looks like over two years ago one of your customers had a very similar or identical problem, and your first-tier support did not even check the solution, just asked me to waste my time... So perhaps you can now start looking for answers there by asking to unarchive it.
Thanks for the detailed steps to replicate the issue.
Our second-tier supporter has noticed that a certain option on WPML settings is not selected. This may have effect on the problem you have. Please try the following.
1. Go to WPML -> Languages -> Make themes work multilingual.
2. Select the option 'Adjust IDs for multilingual functionality'.
3. Press the Save button.
4. Check if at this point the problem is solved.
5. If not, then make a small change to the original post where the problem is and press the Update button. (The change can be even a dot or a space. It is just to trigger a change also for the the translation.)
6. Edit the translation of the post (you should see the circled arrow indicating an update to translation is needed) and complete it to 100%.
Selecting the option 'Adjust IDs for multilingual functionality' fixed the problem. Now the question is why someone would normally want to switch it on? It is not well described and elsewhere you advise to switch it off, so the site does not slow down.
Since you know now it causes problems with Elementor dynamic links, I suggest for the new WPML update the following changes:
1. If WPML detects Elementor is in use this should be on by default.
2. There should be a clear explanation next to this option that switching it off will cause problems with Elementor PRO dynamic links, so you suggest keep it on.
3. Similarily, for all other options there should be a clear explanation what switching them on or off can cause and you know that, because a nubmer of issues reported by users is related to setting specific options.
4. Another idea is to have presets. All Elementor users can be asked whether to apply a default preset of multilingual site for elementor, where the right working settings would be applied.
Apart from that. Again, you solved the problem by finally reading the initial information I sent you once I reported the problem a long time ago.
Also, it was me, who pointed you to a similar problem someone had over 2 years ago.
I could have received this solution on day one. The whole long process could have been avioded if:
1. You actually read the information I sent in the beginning instead of blaming other plugins, asking me to recreate the problem in the sandbox or asking for access to my client's site to look around without a clue what to do.
2. You checked a database of solved (an unsolved) problems putting a few keywords like "elementor", "dynamic", "internal url". Again, these keywords appeared in my first report, they are even in the topic.
It would have been so much easier for me and for you.
