Background of the issue:
I want to disable the Side-by-side editing screen on my website and use the same layout for all languages in WPML. Currently, the Advanced Translation Editor opens by default when I translate any page or post via WPML.
Symptoms:
I am frustrated by having to use two different layouts for the same page. I expected to disable the Advanced Translation Editor and Side-by-side editing screen when translating content, but I am still getting the Advanced Translation Editor by default.
Questions:
How can I disable the Advanced Translation Editor in WPML?
How can I disable the Side-by-side editing screen in WPML?
Languages: English (English )Spanish (Español )Italian (Italiano )
Timezone: Europe/Rome (GMT+02:00)
Hello,
I'll help you get started while a supporter takes your case.
I'm not sure what you want to achieve but it seems you want to use the native WordPress editor instead of any of our editors (Classic or Advanced one). If that's the case, then please:
- Edit a page where you do not want to have the "side by side" translation
- Find the "Languages" section
- Notice there's a black-highlighted section "use WPML Translation editor". click the one next to it which should read "Use WordPress Native Editor".
- A popup will appear with 3 options. you can select to either make this change for this page alone, for the pages of the same kind (so to all the pages, or to all the posts, etc), lastly for all the site. select the option you want and then click the save button.
That should do it.
If that's not what you want then please let us know so we can understand better what to do.
Yes, we want to use the native WordPress editor for translating content on our site.
We’ve found the solution you mentioned and have already applied it — and it works well.
However, we want to be 100% sure that this setting won't be reset by anything, such as a plugin update or any other change.
That’s why we’re looking for a way to permanently disable the Side-by-Side Translation Editor on the website — to avoid any potential issues in the future.
Once you set that option, it won't be reverted back to the ATE editor. Additionally, if I'm correct, when you select this option, it will prompt you to choose whether you want to apply this change to just the current page or to all new pages you create. Please note that you may not be able to automatically update this setting for the existing pages with translations, so you might need to change those manually.
We would like to disable the Advanced Translation Editor (ATE) across our entire WordPress site and use the native WordPress editor for all translations — both for existing and future posts/pages.
We understand that currently, when switching editors from the UI, WPML prompts whether to apply the change only to the current page or all future ones. However, we’re looking for a programmatic solution or hook that would allow us to:
Force the native editor (not ATE) as the default.
Apply this setting globally, including to existing translated content (if possible).
Prevent users/editors from switching back to ATE or being prompted to choose an editor.
However, we’re specifically looking to allow the native editor, but not ATE, and ideally apply this across all translations.
Is there any hook, constant, or internal API you can suggest for this purpose?
I will consult with a developer, and as soon as I have an update, I will reach out to you. I am not sure if this can be accomplished with code, but if it can, please note that custom coding is outside the scope of our Support Policy.
For now, I will keep this ticket assigned to myself until I have a response for you.
You should be able to use the pop-up option that appears when you are in the "edit page" and choose to use the WP Editor instead of our translation editor. This should switch everything (including translations) to the WP editor if you select the option to apply it to the entire site.
I also took some time to run a few custom tests regarding user permissions.
A WordPress user with "Editor" level access will have the ability to reactivate the Translation Editor if they choose to do so. There is currently no method to deactivate that option.
I'm also attaching two screenshots of the pop-up that appears.
My recommendation, given that you're working with a live site and real content, is to test things in a testing environment first.
