[Решено] WPML Advanced Translation Editor requires translating all images and duplicates media items
Эта тема решена. Вот описание проблемы и ее решения.
Problem: You are using WordPress with WooCommerce and WPML, and you encounter issues in the Advanced Translation Editor where all images are treated as translatable content. This causes the page to be marked as "not fully translated" until every image item is manually confirmed. You face challenges with no option to bulk copy or confirm images, unnecessary consumption of translation credits, and duplicated image entries in the editor, leading to a slow translation workflow. Solution: Currently, it is not possible to exclude product images from appearing in the Advanced Translation Editor; this is the intended behavior to facilitate the translation of image-related content such as titles, alt text, and captions.
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In the Advanced Translation Editor, all images (Media / Image / Product Image) are treated as translatable content.
Because of this, the page is marked as "not fully translated" until every image item is manually confirmed.
I have several issues:
1) There is no option to bulk copy or bulk confirm images from the original language (like the "Copy all content" button that existed in the Classic Translation Editor).
2) Using "Translate automatically" consumes translation credits, but I do not need AI translation for images. I only want to reuse the original images without translating their titles or alt texts.
3) The same images appear multiple times in the editor:
- once as Media
- once as Image
- sometimes again as WooCommerce Product Image
This results in duplicated work and a very slow translation workflow.
My goal:
- Use the same images for all languages
- Avoid translating image titles / media fields
- Prevent duplicated image items in the translation editor
- Mark pages as fully translated without manually confirming each image
Questions:
- Is there a way to disable image/media translation in the Advanced Translation Editor?
- Is there a way to bulk copy or auto-approve images without using translation credits?
- Is this duplication (Media vs Image) expected behavior, or can it be reduced?
Screenshots attached showing duplicated Media and Image entries in ATE.
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Hello,
- Is there a way to disable image/media translation in the Advanced Translation Editor?
Go to WPML > Settings > Media Translation and disable the option to automatically detect media for translation. Now, click the option to set up media translation manually, and at the bottom of this section, disable the option to translate media with the WPML Translation Editor.
- Is there a way to bulk copy or auto-approve images without using translation credits?
By default, WPML should automatically create media entries for each uploaded media file in all languages inside the media library, if the autodetect media for translation feature is disabled. You can translate the information of those media files directly inside the media library by switching the language inside the top admin bar.
As an alternative, you can also use the plugin "WPML Media Translation" which allows you to translate media information and also allows you to upload alternative media in second languages.
- Is this duplication (Media vs Image) expected behavior, or can it be reduced?
The duplication of media is required for WPML to be able to display the same media file in all languages. Without duplication, the media will not be displayed in second languages.
I would like to clarify my situation, because I believe there is a misunderstanding.
I have already:
- Disabled “Automatically detect best options for translating image texts (alt, caption, title)”
- Disabled “Translate Media Library texts when translating content”
- Checked the manual Media Translation settings
There are no other options available in my WPML settings related to “translate media with the WPML Translation Editor”.
After disabling automatic detection, I tested the following:
- Created a NEW WooCommerce product
- Uploaded NEW images
- Opened the product in the Advanced Translation Editor
Result:
Nothing changed.
Images are still included in the Advanced Translation Editor and must be manually confirmed to complete the translation.
Previously, I had to click the “+” icon for each image to copy the image title.
After disabling the option, the behavior remains exactly the same.
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Regarding image duplication:
By “duplication” I do NOT mean duplication in the Media Library.
I mean duplication inside the Advanced Translation Editor itself.
In the editor, the same images appear twice:
- First as “Media”
- Then again as “Image” (and sometimes also as WooCommerce Product Image)
These are the same image files.
As a result, I must confirm or copy image titles multiple times for the same images.
From a user and workflow perspective, this feels like a design issue or limitation of the editor.
It significantly slows down translation work.
----
My actual goal is very simple:
- I want to COMPLETELY remove images from the Advanced Translation Editor
- Images should NOT appear as translatable items
- Image titles / alt / captions should be automatically copied for all languages
- Images should not affect the “translation completed” status
Images are not content that needs translation in my case.
The editor already splits text into many small blocks, and adding images at the bottom creates unnecessary extra work.
So my questions are:
1) Is it currently possible to fully exclude images from the Advanced Translation Editor?
2) If not, can you confirm that this is a known limitation of ATE?
3) Is there any roadmap or recommended workaround to avoid images appearing multiple times in the editor?
I want to be sure that I am not missing a hidden or undocumented setting, but based on my tests, it seems this behavior cannot be changed.
Thank you for your feedback. This is Andrey, and I’ll be assisting you further.
1) Is it currently possible to fully exclude images from the Advanced Translation Editor?
It’s not possible to exclude product images from appearing in the Advanced Translation Editor (ATE).
2) If not, can you confirm that this is a known limitation of ATE?
This is not a limitation or a bug. It is the intended behavior, designed to make it easier to translate image-related content in your store (such as image titles, alt text, and captions) as part of the translation workflow.
3) Is there any roadmap or recommended workaround to avoid images appearing multiple times in the editor?
To better understand this behavior, I’ll need a bit more information. Could you please share the exact steps to reproduce this on a fresh installation?
For example, am I correct in assuming that the same image is being added in multiple places, such as:
- once inside the product description, and
- once again in the product gallery?
This would explain why the image appears multiple times in the translation editor.
I found a product where the duplication issue is clearly reproducible.
Product setup:
- The product has 12 images total
- 1 image is the featured image
- 11 images are in the product gallery
- There are NO images inserted inside the product description/content (no image blocks, no Elementor images, etc.)
Product URL: скрытая ссылка
Issue in Advanced Translation Editor (ATE):
- The editor shows the 12 images once as “Media”
- Then the same 12 images appear again as “Image”
So I see 24 image-related items in total, even though the product only has 12 images and they are not used anywhere else.
This creates duplicated work because WPML requires confirming/translating every image item to complete the translation.
Question:
If the same image appears in ATE twice (as “Media” and as “Image”), and the image titles/alt/captions are translated differently in each section, which version will WPML actually use on the front-end? This looks like a duplication bug or at least a workflow issue.
Additional info:
- Theme: Shoptimizer
- All plugins are updated
- The site is new and still under development
Please let me know:
1) Why are the same gallery/featured images listed twice in ATE when they are not present in the content?
2) Is there a recommended way to avoid this duplication or reduce it?
I have done some tests according to the provided steps.
Could you try the following steps?
1. Go to WPML → Settings → Media Translation
2. Disable "Automatically detect best options for translating image texts (alt, caption, title)"
3. Click on Setup manually and make sure the option "How to handle Media Library texts (alt, caption, title)" is disabled. Even if you see the option is disabled, please follow the steps further.
4. Edit your product "Dreamy Gingerbread Christmas Baby Dress" in the original language, make some slight changes to the description, and update the product.
5. You can revert the changes if needed.
6. Go to the translation editor. I suspect you should see the images only under the WooCommerce section.
I followed your recommendations and reviewed all the Media Translation settings once again.
The option “Automatically detect best options for translating image texts (alt, caption, title)” was already disabled before.
After that, I edited the product, saved the changes, and reopened the translation.
However, the issue remains the same.
In the Advanced Translation Editor, there are still duplicated images:
- two groups of the same images
- the same images appear twice and need to be translated/confirmed again
So nothing has changed after disabling this option.
The duplicate image groups are still present in the translation editor.
Please let me know if there is anything else that can be checked or adjusted.
I need to request temporary access (wp-admin and FTP) to your site—preferably to a test site where the problem has been replicated if possible—in order to be of better help. When you log in to leave your next reply, you will find the needed fields below the comment area. The information you will enter is private, meaning only you and I can see and access it.
After doing this, the images now appear only under the WooCommerce section. Previously, they were showing in both places.
What I did specifically was:
- Changed the product title slightly
- Updated the product
- Reverted the title back to the original value
- Updated the product again
This forced the translation status to change to “needs review” (round icon), triggering a new translation job.
I suspect that in your previous attempts, the changes you made did not trigger a translation status change, so the Advanced Translation Editor continued using the existing translation data.
Yes, if I save the product with changes and then restore everything as it was, the translations are updated. Before that, I made changes to the text and saved it immediately. Although the global settings were already correct.
There is currently no repeat image group. Unfortunately, it is not possible to remove images from the translation. This is inconvenient and adds unnecessary work.
