Split: Issues with Woocommerce Advance Shipping

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

Problem:
The client is using WooCommerce Advanced Shipping and has been advised to turn off the translation for shipping classes to solve an issue. However, this resulted in a persistent admin notification message.

Solution:
We recommend keeping shipping classes translatable to avoid unexpected issues, as they behave like taxonomies for products. If shipping classes are not translated, they will not apply to orders in secondary languages. The persistent admin notification cannot be removed because it is programmatically generated to warn of potential issues with the current settings.

If the client is experiencing issues with shipping classes and WooCommerce Advanced Shipping, we suggest:
1. Translating shipping classes at WooCommerce > WooCommerce Multilingual & Multi-Currency > Shipping Classes. Guide
2. Alternatively, testing different settings for shipping classes under WPML > Settings > Taxonomy Translation, such as "Translatable - use translation if available or fallback to default language" or "Not translate". However, this should be tested on a WPML test site rather than the live site.

If the issue persists, the plugin author is responsible for compatibility with WPML and WCML and can join our Go Global Program for assistance.

If the provided solution is outdated or not applicable to the client's case, we highly recommend checking related known issues, verifying the version of the permanent fix, and confirming that the latest versions of themes and plugins are installed. If further assistance is needed, the client should open a new support ticket and provide temporary access to the site for further investigation. WPML support forum

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.

This topic is split from https://wpml.org/forums/topic/product-translation-and-shipping-classes/

Tagged: Compatibility, Not WPML issue

This topic contains 9 replies, has 2 voices.

Last updated by Andreas W. 1 year ago.

Assisted by: Andreas W..

Author	Posts
April 20, 2024 at 11:49 pm #15546553
aukev-4	Another piece of information: The developer of Woocommerce Advance Shipping advised me to turn off the translation for shipping classes. That seems to solve the issue of shipping classes, however I now get the attached message. Is there a problem with turning this off? If not, can this message (which is now permanently in my admin screen) be disabled?
April 20, 2024 at 11:54 pm #15546554
Andreas W. WPML Supporter since 12/2018 Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) German (Deutsch ) Timezone: America/Lima (GMT-05:00)	Hello, WooCommerce Advanced Shipping is a custom plugin that is not listed on wordpress.org. I can offer to provide a WPML test site on which you can install the plugin, and recreate the issue and I will have a look into the configuration, but please take note that it is the responsibility of the author to make this plugin compatible with WPML and WCML. Would you like to run such a test with me? The author can join our Go Global Program if he needs assistance with this task: https://wpml.org/documentation/support/go-global-program/ Best regards Andreas
April 22, 2024 at 8:41 pm #15553099
aukev-4	Hi Andreas, Thanks for your reply and I can give you access to our test-site. However, I think the main question is simple, is there a need for shipping classes to be translated? If not, is there a way to turn the message we get off? As shipping classes are not used in the front-end, I see not need to have them translated. The shipping plugin we use can't handle translated classes. I see this as lack of compatibility with WPML, however if there is not need for translation then all I am concerned about is this messge that can't be switched off. Kind regards, Auke
April 23, 2024 at 7:14 pm #15557871
Andreas W. WPML Supporter since 12/2018 Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) German (Deutsch ) Timezone: America/Lima (GMT-05:00)	Hello Auke, Shipping Classes will be translated at WooCommerce > WooCommerce Multilingual & Multi-Currency > Shipping Classes. Guide: https://wpml.org/documentation/related-projects/woocommerce-multilingual/#shipping-classes If you do not translate them, it would be expected that these classes will only be available in the site's default language. You could try to use a different setting for the shipping classes, which is usually not recommended but might be a solution in your case. You could try to go to WPML > Settings > Taxonomy Translation and try a different setting for shipping classes, like "Translatable use translation if available or fallback to default language" or "Not translate". I would not suggest taking that change currently on your live site, but I can offer a WPML test site on which you can install the addon and we run a few tests. Would you agree? Best regards Andreas
April 23, 2024 at 8:33 pm #15558238
aukev-4	Thanks Andreas. My site is a test site so I can try things out. I when I set it to "Translatable use translation if available or fallback to default language", the message disappears but the plugin does not calculate the shipping cost correctly. Setting it back to no translation seems to mess thing up again. I don't understand why shipping classes need translation, as they are not a front-end thing. I read you don't recommend not translating, but it does seem to work. How can we get rid of error message, which takes up half the admin screen? Kind regards, Auke
April 23, 2024 at 10:10 pm #15558392
Andreas W. WPML Supporter since 12/2018 Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) German (Deutsch ) Timezone: America/Lima (GMT-05:00)	It is that shipping classes behave like taxonomies of your products in this case. If they are not translated, then they can not be applied to orders in second languages. Do I understand right, that you translated the shipping classes now, and the orders are calculated as expected? ---- I would like to offer to have a closer look at the problem and request temporary access (wp-admin and FTP) to the website to investigate this issue further. You can find the required fields below the comment section when you log in to leave the next reply. The information you provide is private, which means only you and I can see and access it. IMPORTANT Please be sure to make a backup copy of the website and database before allowing us access. If you can't see the wp-admin / FTP fields, your post and website credentials are set as PUBLIC. DO NOT publish the data unless you see the required wp-admin / FTP fields. The private response form looks like this: hidden link Next time you reply, click "I still need assistance." Video: hidden link Please note that we are obliged to request this information individually on each ticket. We may not access any access information not specifically submitted on this ticket in the private response form.
April 24, 2024 at 9:01 am #15559613
aukev-4	Hi Andreas, Please read the the beginning of this threat again, the plugin works if the shipping classes are set to 'no translation'. They are actually applied to the orders in the other languages it seems (visible in the editor). There is not much you can do on our site, my main question that I have asked here multiple times now, can you remove the huge error message displayed if the shipping class is not translated? Kind regards, Auke
April 24, 2024 at 2:19 pm #15561148
Andreas W. WPML Supporter since 12/2018 Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) German (Deutsch ) Timezone: America/Lima (GMT-05:00)	Shipping classes are by default set to "Translate" and the setting is blocked, which means that it is not supposed to be changed. I am not sure which message you are referring to and where it is coming from. Could you please send me a screenshot of this message? Please recreate the issue on the following test site and I will have a look into it: hidden link Leave me a message on this ticket, once you are done with this task.
April 24, 2024 at 3:06 pm #15561454
aukev-4	I did send the attached screenshot before, it seems that as we progress this conversation you forget the beginning of it. Your software allows me to change the translation of shipping classes, I don't understand that this option is provided if you don't support it. Also my plugin works when the shipping class translation is set to not be translated, and I can't see any use in translating shipping classes as they are not visible on the front end. I looked at your test site but it does not contain Woocommerce and I am not going to invest the time in installing it. I simply the attached error message not to show permanently in the admin screen.
April 24, 2024 at 5:38 pm #15562389
Andreas W. WPML Supporter since 12/2018 Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) German (Deutsch ) Timezone: America/Lima (GMT-05:00)	I can force this notification banner once I set "Product shipping classes (product_shipping_class)" to an unrecommended setting. There is sadly no way to remove this message, as it is created programmatically and not saved as an option value on the database. We display this message on purpose and do not make it dismissable as the current setting will cause unexpected issues on the site. We recommend setting shipping classes to "Translatable" to prevent unexpected issues and this is why the option is locked once our addon "WooCommerce Multilingual & Multicurrency" is enabled. See screenshot. The issue here appears to be that the custom plugin you are using is not yet support WPML and WCML. This is the responsibility of the plugin's author and he can join our Compatilbity Program if he needs assistance with making his plugin compatible: https://wpml.org/documentation/support/go-global-program/