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

Problem:
The client is trying to use WPML's Advanced Translation Editor and Automatic Translations for translating content from English to French, but not from English to Canadian English. They are concerned that the Advanced Translation Editor might automatically translate English (Canada), which is mapped to the default language of the site and should not be auto-translated according to WPML documentation.
Solution:
We advised the client to manually control the translation process to avoid automatic translation for English (Canada). This can be achieved by:
1. Activating the option in WPML -> Settings to control which content is sent for automatic translation.
2. Using the WPML -> Translation Management to filter content by the original language (English) and manually sending it for automatic translation in French.
For English (Canada), since automatic translation is not supported due to its mapping to the default site language, it is not necessary to map it for automatic translation unless desired by the client.

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This topic contains 3 replies, has 0 voices.

Last updated by tonyB-16 1 day, 14 hours ago.

Assisted by: Carlos Rojas.

Author Posts
February 13, 2025 at 7:37 pm #16704278

tonyB-16

Background of the issue:
I'm trying to adjust the settings in WPML to use the Advanced Translation Editor and potentially Automatic Translations for some translations, like from English to French, but not from English to Canadian English. I have a regional language for English (Canada) that is mapped to the default language of the site.

Symptoms:
I'm concerned that the Advanced Translation Editor will try to auto translate English (Canada) which is not recommended for languages that are mapped to the website default. This is according to this documentation link: https://wpml.org/documentation/automatic-translation/using-automatic-translation-with-custom-languages/

Questions:
What will happen when I publish a new piece of English content and the automatic translation attempts to create the English (Canada) version? Is it possible to turn off automatic translation when generating English (Canada) and not French? Because of the default language mapping am I only able to use the Classic Translation Editor?

February 14, 2025 at 11:56 am #16706146

Carlos Rojas
Supporter

Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español )

Timezone: Europe/Madrid (GMT+01:00)

Hello,
Thank you for contacting us

To avoid this problem you can send the content in the desired languages to automatic translation via WPML -> Translation Management.

Previously you must activate the option in WPML -> Settings -> First section to translate the content you send. That way you will have control over what content is sent to be automatically translated.

Regards,
Carlos

February 14, 2025 at 2:46 pm #16706908

tonyB-16

Based on the item "Do you want to translate drafts automatically?" as shown under Settings > Automatic Translation, it seems like newly published content will be automatically translated.

Contrarily, (and I did not notice these next items previously) under Translation Management there now appears a switch for Translate Everything Automatically. There is also a warning that states: "The following target languages do not support automatic translations: English (Canada) To enable automatic translation map them to known languages."

I assume then that all translation on this site must be manually initiated, but translation to French (in this instance) could be manually sent to automatic translation - but it is not possible to auto translate to English Canadian (due to mapping onto the default site language).

Is this accurate?

Screenshot 2025-02-14 at 8.50.44 AM.png
February 17, 2025 at 10:06 am #16712835

Carlos Rojas
Supporter

Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español )

Timezone: Europe/Madrid (GMT+01:00)

Yes, that is accurate.

You can also map the 'English (Canada)' using the button in the screenshot you shared, but because -as I understand- are not looking to automatically translate to 'English (Canada)' then it is not mandatory.

To automatically translate to French you can:
- Use the option to automatically translate the content in ATE (Advanced Translation Editor) as you described in your message
AND
- You can go to WPML -> Translation Management -> Filter by the original language of the content (EN) -> Select the content and send it for automatic translation in French

February 20, 2025 at 1:55 pm #16729983

tonyB-16

I think the different setting tabs and warnings throughout can make predicting what the plugin will do in certain scenarios somewhat challenging.