Disable attribute sync

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

Problem:
The client is experiencing an issue where attribute values disappear when editing a WooCommerce product in a secondary language using the WordPress editor. This occurs even if no changes are made to the product and it is simply saved again.
Solution:
We recommend continuing to use the Advanced Translation Editor (ATE) for editing products. The issue arises because the products were initially translated using ATE, and editing them with the WordPress editor can overwrite the ATE translations. To avoid losing translated content, it is best to maintain the use of ATE for all product updates.

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Tagged: Not WPML issue

This topic contains 7 replies, has 0 voices.

Last updated by Carlos Rojas 1 month, 4 weeks ago.

Assisted by: Carlos Rojas.

Author	Posts
March 10, 2025 at 11:29 am #16796105
Niels van der Velden	Background of the issue: I want to disable the attribute sync for WooCommerce products. When I edit a product in a secondary language using the WordPress editor, all attribute values disappear. I have to go to the troubleshoot page of WPML to reconnect them. I was advised to use the Advanced Translation Editor, but it doesn't allow me to edit everything. We need to assign products to different categories in the secondary language using the WordPress editor. Symptoms: Attribute values are gone when editing a product in a secondary language using the WordPress editor. Questions: Is there a way to disable the attributes sync completely?
March 11, 2025 at 1:49 pm #16802080
Carlos Rojas WPML Supporter since 03/2017 Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) Timezone: Europe/Madrid (GMT+02:00)	Hello, Thank you for contacting us The behavior you are experiencing is the correct and expected one. Product variations need to be synced across languages to keep the site working correctly. If a product variation has a different category, price, or attribute in the secondary language, then it is considered a different product and you should create a separate one. Please let me know if you need further assistance with this subject or any other related to WPML. Regards, Carlos
March 12, 2025 at 4:05 pm #16808257
Niels van der Velden	Hi Carlos, Thanks for the quick answer, but i don't have a problem with product variations. I only have simple products in my shop. The problem is that when i make changes to a product in the default WordPress Editor for a secundary language, all the values of my attributes are gone. Even if i don't make any changes to the product and just save it again, the values of the attributes are all gone for that product, see screencast: hidden link
March 13, 2025 at 9:35 am #16810800
Carlos Rojas WPML Supporter since 03/2017 Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) Timezone: Europe/Madrid (GMT+02:00)	Hi there, Thank you for sharing the screencast. Could you tell me how you translated the product in the first place? I suspect that this product was translated using ATE and now you are trying to make modifications to the translated version using the WordPress Editor, which will overwrite the translation made with ATE.
March 13, 2025 at 1:27 pm #16812156
Niels van der Velden	Hi, I'm not 100% sure but it's possible that we first translated with the ATE. I think i disable the ATE later for all products.
March 14, 2025 at 7:24 am #16814665
Carlos Rojas WPML Supporter since 03/2017 Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) Timezone: Europe/Madrid (GMT+02:00)	Hi, Suppose the products were initially translated with ATE. In that case, this behavior is the expected one, because using a different translation method (in this case WordPress Editor) to edit a translation created with ATE will result in the translation being overwritten. Could you activate ATE for a moment and test if updating a product translation causes the same issue?
March 17, 2025 at 10:19 am #16823806
Niels van der Velden	Hi Carlos, I activated the ATE and when i update a product the problem does not occur. So the problem is only there, when i use the default WordPress Editor.
March 17, 2025 at 10:40 am #16823930
Carlos Rojas WPML Supporter since 03/2017 Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) Timezone: Europe/Madrid (GMT+02:00)	Thank you for your message. This behavior is expected when first translating the products using ATE. It is recommended that you keep using ATE to avoid losing translated content.