"Link" ACF Field, it adds like a ghost

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This topic is split from https://wpml.org/forums/topic/staging-site-is-extremely-slow-due-to-acfml-and-flexible-layouts/

Tagged: Not WPML issue

This topic contains 7 replies, has 0 voices.

Last updated by Bobby 1 week, 3 days ago.

Assisted by: Otto.

Author	Posts
December 5, 2025 at 6:31 pm #17639553
Alex	Also, it's the second time this scenario happens to me when translating the site, when using the "Link" ACF Field, it adds like a ghost entry even though this field is not populated in the other langage. Do you know how to fix this? in my example it's a CTA button that is present when it shouldn't
December 5, 2025 at 6:41 pm #17639566
Otto WPML Supporter since 09/2015 Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) Timezone: America/Argentina/Buenos_Aires (GMT-03:00)	Hello, Can you please elaborate a bit more on the steps to reproduce the problem? Which post type do you create? Which field group contains the ACF Link Field? Is it configured to use "Same fields across languages" or "Different fields across languages"? https://wpml.org/documentation/related-projects/translate-sites-built-with-acf/ Best Regards, Otto
December 5, 2025 at 8:10 pm #17639681
Alex	Hello Otto, I am not the one who translated the site but the person translated the page from the original langage, then most of the flexible layout fields (ACF) were already populated. This field had no value in the original langage but when duplicated, is present even though there's is nothing inside that field. It is not a post type, it's a regular page. Since you already have access to this site you can verify. You can see an example of the problem here: hidden link = The block is #2 (Avantages) and it's the CTA field at the very end of this block. UPDATE: I tried saving the problematic page (English) and the CTA dissapeared but we don't want to go through doing this for all pages. Is there a better way?
December 8, 2025 at 11:04 pm #17645522
Bobby WPML Supporter since 04/2015 Languages: English (English ) Timezone: America/Los_Angeles (GMT-07:00)	Hi there, Otto is away and I am helping to cover his queue. I have reviewed the update you shared with us -- if updating resolves this issue, it might be the best solution as it would not require complex intervention (database queries, etc. ) one "quick" solution would be to bulk quick edit the pages in questions. Go to pages and select in bulk any pages with this issue -> Quick edit -> update. This should resolve this issue without you having to do this step one by one. Let us know your results, please.
December 12, 2025 at 12:48 am #17657783
Alex	Hey Bobby, how are you? I've had the same problem on another site that I was using flexible layout (ACF). I might not be the only one encountering this issue. Would you like WP credentials to take a look around? Thanks
December 12, 2025 at 2:44 pm #17659671
Otto WPML Supporter since 09/2015 Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) Timezone: America/Argentina/Buenos_Aires (GMT-03:00)	Hello, Thanks for reporting it. If it's a bug, to be able to investigate the problem we need to replicate the issue on a clean installation. I created a clean installation of WordPress, ACF PRO, WPML, and all necessary WPML add-ons. You can access the WordPress dashboard using the link below: hidden link Kindly follow the steps below: - Don't restore your site there. - Setup the ACF fields - Try to replicate the issue with minimal steps. - Then let me know the steps to see the problem and reproduce it. Thanks for your cooperation. Best Regards, Otto
December 15, 2025 at 7:32 pm #17665630
Alex	Hi Otto, I reproduced what I could on your environment but the bug doesn't occur (that's frustrating). So I don't know what can be the issue. Well, thanks!
December 18, 2025 at 9:26 am #17673730
Bobby WPML Supporter since 04/2015 Languages: English (English ) Timezone: America/Los_Angeles (GMT-07:00)	Hello again, I have enabled the private field reply so you can share access to your environment with us so we can take a closer look. Please make sure you share an environment where the issue can be reproduced.