This thread is resolved. Here is a description of the problem and solution.
Problem: If you're trying to translate the menu on your site and find that no translation options appear in Appearance > Menus, even after deleting all menus and creating new ones, this might be due to a database collation issue. Solution: We recommend checking your database collation settings. This issue can arise if the collation settings are not compatible with WPML. Adjusting these settings to a WPML-compatible collation might resolve the problem. If you're unsure how to check or modify database collation, please consult your hosting provider or a database administrator.
If this solution does not apply because it might be outdated or not relevant to your case, we highly recommend checking related known issues at https://wpml.org/known-issues/, verifying the version of the permanent fix,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 issues persist, please open a new support ticket at WPML support forum for further assistance.
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Background of the issue:
I'm trying to translate the menu on my site hidden link. I have been following the documentation about translating menu items with custom links ("Easy and Customizable – Use WPML’s WP Menus Sync Feature"). The new menus for each language have been created with different links and translated menu elements.
Symptoms:
The translated menus aren't applied, and all of the pages in different languages are still displaying the Spanish (main language) menu. In Appearances -> Menus, the name and language of the translated menus are correct, but 'Translation of' is empty. Selecting the correct menu in 'Translation of' and saving changes doesn't apply it, and the value stays empty.
Questions:
Why aren't the translated menus being applied?
How can I fix the issue where 'Translation of' stays empty after saving changes?
Using multiple plugins for the same purpose will always create plugin conflicts (as they have the same functionalities for the same scope but with changes depending on the plugin/s). That said, I would suggest disabling the GTranslate plugin so I can check the issue with the menu further. As for now when I go to WP-Admin -> Appearance -> Menus, it doesn't seem that the menus are being managed from WPML.
Let me know when you've disabled GTranslate or if it's ok for me to do it and check further your issue.
I would like to assist you on this matter, and I realized that on WPML > WP Menus Sync not all menus have been synced yet.
This option will automatically create the menus in each language, based on the pages that already have been translated to 100% and published.
Please go to WPML > WP Menus Sync and click "Sync" at the bottom of the page. Then mark all the entries and click "Apply changes".
Take note, that this will not automatically translate custom menu items, as such items will need to be additionally translated at WPML > String Translation or direclty inside the translated menus at Appearance > Menus.
Please let me know if further assistance is required.
Thank you for the support, but that's where the problem is. As I mentioned before:
"I have been following the documentation about translating menu items with custom links ("Easy and Customizable – Use WPML’s WP Menus Sync Feature"). The new menus for each language have been created with different links and translated menu elements."
The problem is that after Syncing and String translation the translated menus are still not attached and not working, despite their existence.
In Appearances -> Menus, the name and language of each one of translated menus is correct, but 'Translation of' is empty. Selecting the correct menu in 'Translation of' and saving changes doesn't apply it, and the value stays empty.
The only reason that I'm using custom links in the menu, is because when I try to add page link and save, it simply disappears.
It seems to me like the problem could be with cache, but I have cleaned everything wordpress related with no results.
Please let me know what you think, and I really appreciate your help.
Best,
I am having a local copy running now and I can confirm that the issue persists when running the site only with WPML on the Twenty Twenty One Theme.
This is a very uncommon issue, as even if I delete all menus and create complete new ones, there will not appear any translation option on Appearance > Menus.
I need some more time to investgiate this issue.
If you can provide me some more background, about:
- when this issue occured for the first time
- which changes were taken right before the issue occured
- or if the site default language of the site was changed sometime
