Translate Link Targets

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

Problem:
The client is experiencing issues when clicking the 'Translate Link Targets' feature on their website, which seems to create a mess in the content.
Solution:
We explained that the 'Translate Link Targets' feature is designed to synchronize translated links with their translations if they exist. It was introduced to replace the 'Sticky Links' addon and is intended to be used once, typically after an import, migration, or a bug fix in the feature.

We also clarified the difference between 'Translate Link Targets' and 'Sticky Links':

'Sticky Links' converts all links to a default format when saving a post (e.g.,
```
?p=123
```
) and then converts them back to normal links (e.g.,
```
/hello-world/
```
) when displayed on the frontend.
'Translate Link Targets' is a newer feature that is always enabled and is used by everyone, unlike 'Sticky Links' which is an older plugin and not widely used.

We recommended that if the client is using page builders and experiencing problems with 'Translate Link Targets', they should avoid using it completely.

If this solution doesn't look relevant, please open a new support ticket.

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Tagged: Feature request

This topic contains 4 replies, has 2 voices.

Last updated by Ilyes 4 months, 3 weeks ago.

Assisted by: Ilyes.

Author	Posts
November 20, 2023 at 3:41 pm #14879063
jean-baptisteJ-3	Hey, Can you tell me exactly what happens when I click here? hidden link It seems it creates a bit of mess in my website every time I use it. Please be specific Best, JB.
November 21, 2023 at 6:44 pm #14890183
Ilyes Supporter Languages: English (English ) French (Français ) Arabic (العربية ) Timezone: Pacific/Easter (GMT-06:00)	Hello, Thank you for contacting WPML support team, This feature replaced our addon Sticky Links in a way, when we first added it, users had to use the button to translate link targets in existing content. But once it has run you should not need to run it again. However, there could be cases when its still needed: maybe after an import, migration or after we fix a bug in the feature. It simply synchronizes the translated link with its translations if it exists. To give you a better idea on it, you should understand how sticky links worked. How is it different from Sticky Links? Sticky Links has a completely different approach. It will convert all links to default format when saving a post (ie: ?p=123) And when posts are displayed in the frontend, they are converted to normal links (ie: /hello-world/) In other words, we keep what we could call an unformatted link in the DB, and format it on-the-go when displaying using Sticky links. This allows us to change the permalink structure without having to update any links in the content. Translate Link Targets VS Sticky Links? I believe Sticky Links isn't used that much by our users, Translate Link Targets, on the other hand, is always enabled and everyone uses it. Its worth considering that Sticky Links is an old plugin and Translate Link Target is a newish feature in Core plugin that does mostly the same thing. By the way, based on my experience, it looks like translating link targets doesn't work in all situation. It works great in classic content but I often read about problems when using page builders for example. If that's the case for you, avoid using it completely. Best regards,
November 22, 2023 at 7:06 am #14892993
jean-baptisteJ-3	Hey Ilyes, Thanks for your reply. I've taken a look and it seems that WPML creates 404 errors on my website after I run this because it creates "?p=123" pages when no translation exist for the content. That would be great if you can fix that. But noted I will only use it in the uses cases you described I should by fine with day to day operations without that. Best, JB
November 22, 2023 at 5:03 pm #14901345
Ilyes Supporter Languages: English (English ) French (Français ) Arabic (العربية ) Timezone: Pacific/Easter (GMT-06:00)	Hello, You are absolutely right, I will notify our development team as there were a couple of similar tickets before regarding this button, Thank you for your feedback!
November 22, 2023 at 5:03 pm #14901347
Ilyes Supporter Languages: English (English ) French (Français ) Arabic (العربية ) Timezone: Pacific/Easter (GMT-06:00)	Hello, You are absolutely right, I will notify our development team as there were a couple of similar tickets before regarding this button, Thank you for your feedback!

This ticket is now closed. If you're a WPML client and need related help, please open a new support ticket.