Background of the issue:
I am trying to work normally with WPML. I expected to see a working WPML, keeping done translations and not deleting or replacing them.
Symptoms:
Translations are disappearing or being replaced with automatic translations. Some fields are empty even though no changes were made, and other fields are replaced with automatic translations even though they had been corrected manually. Another issue: After saving a block, the pointer goes to the last block at the end of the document, requiring scrolling back up. These issues appear randomly and for some users more often and are difficult to recreate on demand.
Questions:
Why are translations disappearing or being replaced with automatic translations?
How can I prevent fields from becoming empty or replaced with automatic translations?
Why does the pointer move to the last block after saving?
How can I ensure WPML works reliably without losing translations?
Welcome to the WPML support forum. Before passing this thread to my colleague, I would like to share some suggestions and possible solutions for the issues you mentioned.
Does it happen with multiple posts/pages? It would be great if you could share a screencast for a better understanding of the bug. It will help us a lot in our internal communication. You can share it via Google Drive or Dropbox.
Please increase the *MaxInputVars* of PHP settings to *10000*. Refer to the following article for more details or contact your system admin/hosting provider for this purpose.
Hi Bigul,
I have increased the *MaxInputVars* of PHP settings to *10000* on the dev site I created: dev.stay-grounded.org.
The problem is I rarely have these issues and its tricky to replicate them, but we keep getting reports from translators that they keep on happening and it is taking a lot of their time and nerve.
So for example a translation is done, one sentence is changed in the original, but when I open the ATE, quite a few fields are now emtpy even though the original text was not touched. This makes it feel quite unstable. We had to optimize our database tables quite a lot due to large data bases. Could we have broken the WPML data bases? Any way to restore them?
I apologize for the delay in responding. I will take care of this ticket; the reply time will be shorter now.
1. Why Are Translations Disappearing or Being Replaced with Automatic Translations?
This issue can arise due to several factors:
• Automatic Translation Settings: If “Translate Everything Automatically” is enabled, WPML may overwrite manual translations when the original content changes. 
• Switching Translation Editors: Mixing different translation editors (e.g., Classic Translation Editor and Advanced Translation Editor) can lead to inconsistencies, causing translations to disappear or not display correctly. 
• Custom Field Settings: Fields set to “Copy” may behave unexpectedly, especially if the translated field is empty. In such cases, WPML might overwrite the field with the original language content upon updates. 
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2. How Can I Prevent Fields from Becoming Empty or Being Replaced with Automatic Translations?
To mitigate these issues:
• Disable Automatic Translation: Navigate to WPML → Settings and select “Translate What You Choose” to prevent WPML from automatically translating content without your input. 
• Consistent Use of Translation Editor: Stick to one translation editor (preferably the Advanced Translation Editor) to maintain consistency and avoid conflicts. 
• Go to WPML → Support → Troubleshooting and perform the following actions: 
- Synchronize local job IDs with ATE jobs 
- Synchronize translators and translation managers with ATE 
- Clear the cache in WPML 
- Remove ghost entries from the translation tables 
• Review Custom Field Translation Settings: Ensure that custom fields are set appropriately. For instance, fields that should not be overwritten should be set to “Translate” instead of “Copy Once” or “Copy”.
