We are losing 'String Translation' translations regularly

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

Problem:
When changes are made to a page, some translated links and texts in String Translation are reset. This issue is particularly noted with button links and HTML code blocks that are not picked up by the Advanced Translation Editor (ATE) and require manual translation in String Translation. This problem is recurring and time-consuming, especially on multiple sites using the Divi theme.
Solution:
If you're experiencing this issue, we recommend translating URLs directly in the Advanced Translation Editor instead of using String Translation for these elements. When a button is deleted and a new one is added, it is recognized as a new piece of content with a new ID, which is why previously translated links might reset. To find and translate URLs in the ATE, you can follow our guide on how to translate URLs, shortcodes, and HTML attributes using the Advanced Translation Editor.

Please try this method and see if it improves the situation. If this solution does not apply to your case, or if it seems outdated, we highly recommend checking related known issues at https://wpml.org/known-issues/, verifying the version of the permanent fix, and confirming that you have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.

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Tagged: Documentation request

This topic contains 3 replies, has 2 voices.

Last updated by bennyG 2 years, 2 months ago.

Assisted by: Osama Mersal.

Author	Posts
September 29, 2022 at 8:25 am #12147013
bennyG	Our site uses the ATE for all pages, but some texts must be translated in String Translation. Typically, these are the links behind buttons and code blocks (containing HTML). The ATE doesn't pick these up, so we go to String Translation to translate these. This is fine. What we are regularly experiencing (and more and more, it seems) is that we make any change (small or big) somewhere on a page, and this resets some of the translated links and texts in String Translation. It doesn't seem to be constantly happening, but it's happening a lot. Enough to be annoying for the client and us. We have to evaluate and monitor the content of entire pages + all links for all languages after any change. An example is shown in the screenshot. The link to hidden link was translated before, but there is some change, and now the "domain" of the 2nd row changes to page-builder-shortcode-string-61 for some reason. Instead of being smart and using a previously translated version (there are two!), it acts like it's a brand new translation, basically removing the translation of that link. It would help if WPML was a bit smarter here. We also see that it sometimes just takes the FR text and uses that for the EN/DE translation, which is even worse. We are not sure how that happens. If we're unlucky, the translation is also removed from the front end, and then we have to go back to our translation documents to recover the translations. This is annoying and time-consuming. We are seeing these problems on multiple sites. All Divi sites, which may be related to this problem. Hopefully you can help.
October 2, 2022 at 7:39 am #12163541
Osama Mersal Supporter Languages: English (English ) Arabic (العربية ) Timezone: Africa/Cairo (GMT+02:00)	Hi, Thanks for contacting WPML forums support. I'll be glad to help you today. First of all, sorry for the late reply due to a higher workload. Would you please make sure you use the latest WPML plugins? You can find them here. (https://wpml.org/account/downloads/) If that didn't help, please let me know the steps to reproduce the issue. Also, I need to look closely at your site (WP-Admin and FTP) – preferably to a test site where the problem has been replicated if possible – to be of better help and check if some configurations might need to be changed. Your following answer will be private, which means only you and I can access it. ❌ Please backup your database and website ❌ ✙ I would need your permission to de-activate and re-activate the Plugins and the Theme and change configurations on the site. This is also a reason the backup is critical. ✙ I also need your permission to take a local copy of your site to debug the issue without affecting your live site. Thanks for your cooperation and patience Regards, Osama
October 4, 2022 at 3:44 pm #12179133
Osama Mersal Supporter Languages: English (English ) Arabic (العربية ) Timezone: Africa/Cairo (GMT+02:00)	Hi, Thanks for the access details and the explanation. When deleting the button and adding another one, it's a new button with a new ID, so String Translation sees it as a new piece of content. That's why you would see new links to translate. However, another way to translate the URLs is by searching for them in the Advanced Translation Editor. (Kindly check the attached screenshot) Kindly check our guide about translating URLs. (https://wpml.org/faq/how-to-translate-urls-shortcodes-and-html-attributes-using-the-advanced-translation-editor/) Would you please try this method and let me know if it's better to use? Best regards, Osama
October 4, 2022 at 7:15 pm #12180531
bennyG	Thanks for your help. Searching in the Advanced Translation Editor does seem to work and retain the translation. However, I still believe it's rather dumb of WPML to completely ignore previous translations of an item with a new ID is found. Either it should use the previous translation or force it to be filled in in the ATE. The current setup (where it's not visible by default in the ATE and it uses the original language as translation) feels wrong and has caused a lot of frustration for us. I hope you can consider this improvement.