Translating an English page into an existing 'empty' German page

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

Problem:
The client wanted to know if it's possible to automatically translate content from English pages into pre-existing German pages while retaining the title, permalink, and SEO metadata.
Solution:
We informed the client that WPML does not support the automatic translation of content into pre-existing pages by default. However, we provided a guide on how to link imported German pages with English pages: https://wpml.org/faq/how-to-link-already-translated-pages/. We noted that the content on these German pages would need to be entered manually and that the SEO metadata would remain unchanged. We also mentioned that while WPML does not support inserting translated content into existing pages automatically, the client could consider translating English content into new German pages.

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Tagged: Exception

This topic contains 3 replies, has 2 voices.

Last updated by Prosenjit Barman 1 year, 1 month ago.

Assisted by: Prosenjit Barman.

Author	Posts
April 15, 2024 at 8:05 pm #15521771
tonyaL	Hello, We have imported around 200 pages from an old German site (not set-up with WPML), and all we have is the Title, Permalink and SEO meta data, which is what was important to bring over. Now, what we'd like to do is automatically translate existing English pages into these existing old German pages, so for example Page X in English, we would then set it to translate to German via WPML, we then select the target page in the existing empty German pages, and then it translates the English content into this German page (retaining the existing title, seo meta data etc.). Please can I check is this even possible? Thanks so much for your help, Tonya
April 16, 2024 at 7:03 am #15522763
Prosenjit Barman WPML Supporter since 03/2023 Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Asia/Dhaka (GMT+06:00)	Hello Tonya, Thanks for contacting WPML Support. I understand what you're looking for, and while your use case is indeed interesting and unique, unfortunately, WPML does not currently support automatically translating content into pre-existing pages in the manner you've described by default. You can, however, link the imported German pages with the English pages by following this guide: https://wpml.org/faq/how-to-link-already-translated-pages/. Please note, though, that the content on these German pages will need to be entered manually. The SEO metadata on these German pages will remain as it is. As for automatically translating English content into German and inserting it into these existing German pages, this functionality is not available at the moment. If suitable, you might consider automatically translating the English content into new German pages, rather than using the pre-existing imported ones. I hope you can understand. If you have any more questions or need further assistance, feel free to reach out! Best regards, Prosenjit
April 18, 2024 at 9:58 am #15537129
tonyaL	Hi Prosenjit, Thanks so much for your reply, that makes sense and I totally understand. I now just have another query for you if that's ok, so we have the site set-up as 'Same fields across languages' but we are now porting an English page direct to German, then editing the content, which is mostly fine apart from an ACF Link field just won't let us update it, it just keeps reverting back the English content, see screenshot below: hidden link Many thanks for your help, Tonya New threads created by Prosenjit Barman and linked to this one are listed below: https://wpml.org/forums/topic/split-acf-link-field-contents-reverting-to-the-default-language/
April 19, 2024 at 3:23 am #15541625
Prosenjit Barman WPML Supporter since 03/2023 Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Asia/Dhaka (GMT+06:00)	Hello Tonnya, Thank you for understanding the matter. Regarding your next query, please note that our policy allows us to discuss one issue or topic per thread to ensure clarity and organization. Since the query in your last response differs from the one initially reported in this ticket, I have created a new ticket to address the other query. You will receive a response to that ticket shortly. Please let me know if you need any further assistance or clarification on the query initially reported in this ticket. I’m here to help. If everything is clear, feel free to mark this ticket as resolved. 🙂 Best regards, Prosenjit
April 21, 2024 at 11:04 am #15547055
tonyaL	Thanks Prosenjit - now closing this one 🙂