Background of the issue:
I use the Bulk Sheet Editor plugin and have had a lot of contact with them already. We have about 2000 sneaker products available in English only, without translation. They are all connected to categories: brand, model, size. We have a standard set of categories. When we save products in bulk by adding existing categories, some products don't connect to the existing category, leading to new categories in the wrong language.
Symptoms:
When saving products in bulk, some products randomly connect to a newly generated category in the wrong language, such as '43-sneakers' with a Dutch parent instead of English. This issue is caused through bulk edits and is WPML related.
Questions:
Have you had any similar issues before? We really have no idea what's going on. Please help us out.
Languages: English (English )German (Deutsch )French (Français )
Timezone: Europe/Zagreb (GMT+01:00)
Hello,
To better understand what goes on in here, could you provide:
1. A short video showing the steps you’re taking in Bulk Sheet Editor when adding categories. You can use tool such as hidden link
2. Are you aware of any specifics on the affected categories and products—especially any patterns with the categories that don’t connect correctly, compared to those that work properly?
Hi Bruno, just checking, but is it possible to have a really short video call? I tried to capture it in a video, but it takes over 10 mins and really doesn't make it easier to understand... 🙂
Languages: English (English )German (Deutsch )French (Français )
Timezone: Europe/Zagreb (GMT+01:00)
We don’t offer support via video calls, but even if we did, we would need clear steps to reproduce the issue. Additionally, it may not be easier to identify the problem through a call, as there’s a chance we might miss something important.
Are there clear steps to reproduce the issue? If so, you could pause the video during data processing, allowing us to focus on the end result.
Languages: English (English )German (Deutsch )French (Français )
Timezone: Europe/Zagreb (GMT+01:00)
Thank you for sharing the detailed video. I’ve reviewed it but I didn’t notice anything obvious that might be causing the issue. Since the problem seems to occur randomly, it’s possible that the underlying cause is tied to a specific set of conditions that aren't immediately visible.
While it might seem random, there could still be hidden patterns. For example:
- Are certain categories or product types more prone to the issue?
- Does it happen when specific parent categories are involved?
- Do the affected products have incomplete or missing translations?
Furthermore, testing in a sandbox environment with a smaller set of products and categories (e.g., 10-20) might help us replicate the issue under controlled conditions.
Could you check the translation states of the affected products and categories? Are these categories or products consistently untranslated, partially translated, or using fallback translations when the issue occurs?
If you’re open to it, we could proceed with some sandbox testing. This will help us dig deeper and potentially identify the trigger for this behavior.
Thanks for your reply. We've done a lot of testing the past 4 weeks to find any patterns. I'm sure there is one, but haven't found it yet. Happens on all categories, all products, etc. All sneakers are English only and use the fallback option. We've created 50 dummy products to test and it's the same on these. All sneaker products are English and don't have a translation status. We don't have a staging area at this moment. Are you able to check our regular back-end?
Languages: English (English )German (Deutsch )French (Français )
Timezone: Europe/Zagreb (GMT+01:00)
I’ve marked your next reply as private so you can securely share any necessary credentials.
However, I’m not entirely sure what steps I need to take or which products require updating to reproduce the error.
I’m also hesitant to make any changes myself, as it could disrupt the product catalog. Could you please provide clear guidance on what actions I should attempt? Additionally, if the issue does occur, where should I look to identify what went wrong?
Thank you for getting back to me. I’ve put a lot of hours yesterday to make sure all products are finally attached to the products. Now it looks fine. I have no idea what happens next time when we make adjustments, but honestly I’m a bit tired of this issue, haha! It’s too time consuming. For now I’m going to put this issue on hold. If it happens again, I’ll get back to it.
