Problem: If you're experiencing issues where translations imported via an XLIFF file only appear on the frontend and not in the Advanced Translation Editor (ATE), and changes made in ATE overwrite the imported translations, here's what you need to know.
Solution: This behavior occurs because translations made with the Classic Translation Editor (CTE) are saved on your site, while ATE translations are stored on our server's Translation Memory. When you complete a translation in ATE, it overrides any manual translations on your site. To avoid this: 1. Choose one translation editor for the page and stick with it. 2. If you switch from ATE to CTE, your translations won't be lost as they are saved in the Translation Memory. However, switching back to ATE later will result in the loss of translations made with CTE. 3. Consider creating a user for the translation company on your site as a local translator, allowing them to review translations directly without exporting/importing XLIFF files. Alternatively, after receiving proofread files, update the text manually in ATE.
For more information, please refer to our documentation:
Problem: The client is experiencing an issue where images on a list are not displaying on the translated pages after initiating automatic translation.
Solution: 1. Verify if the translation for the affected languages is 100% completed, ensuring there are no gear or circular arrows icons indicating incomplete translations.
2. Also update the translations of the client entries that may still need translation (or incomplete). Once updated, the images should start appearing on the translated pages.
3. It is also strongly recommended to update WordPress, plugins, and themes to the latest versions. Ensure to take a fresh full backup of the site and database before updating.
Problem: The client wants to know if it is possible to avoid deleting translations when updates are made in the main language. They find the current process of copying text to a txt file, updating the main language, and pasting the original strings back into the translated languages frustrating.
Solution: We explained that with the Advanced Translation Editor, if any changes are made to the text in the original language, including altering a single word or punctuation mark, the sentence will need to be translated a new because the translation memory cannot recognize the modified sentences. To avoid re-translating for minor edits, you can use the WPML Classic Translation Editor. We provided documentation links for further assistance:
Problem: The client is using Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) and has issues with batch-selecting fields for translation using the
acf_add_local_field_group
function. They have successfully implemented the
wpml_cf_preferences
attribute in their local environment as per our documentation, but are facing problems in the development environment where fields are not consistently available for translation, especially with multi-level arrays. They also inquired about reindexing fields to include new fields and troubleshooting the scanning of fields created with PHP.
Solution: 1. We asked the client to check if the fields are now appearing correctly in the Advanced Translation Editor (ATE) by providing a link to a specific post in their development environment. 2. We advised the client to: - Open ATE and complete the translation for fields that were present. - Make a slight change to the original content (e.g., changing the Logo size value). - Resave the original content. This process should make the fields appear if they were added after some translations had already started, as the ACF configuration files would not take effect until the original content is resaved.
If this solution does not seem relevant or if the problem persists, we recommend opening a new support ticket with us for further assistance. You can do so by visiting the WPML support forum.
Problem: The client is using Elementor and Custom Permalinks plugins and is encountering issues with translating URLs. Some pages display the original URL in the Dutch language instead of the translated version, and there are no fields to add link translation. Updating Elementor templates causes the links to revert to Dutch.
Solution: 1. We recommend changing the slug of the problematic page or registering the buttons as a workaround. 2. Use the "Yoast Duplicate Page" plugin to duplicate the page. After duplicating, change the slug of the existing page to include '-old' and let the new cloned page have the current slug. This should allow the URL to work correctly after translation. 3. If the issue is related to an image name that matches the page URL, change the slug using "Quick edit" and update the image title to ensure it has a different URL.
Problem: The client was experiencing an issue where translated taxonomy slugs for a WooCommerce taxonomy were not being updated on the frontend. For example, the slug 'a-b-c' was changed to 'a-b', but the link on a product page still showed 'a-b-c', even though the correct URL should be 'a-b'. The client had already cleared the WPML cache, saved permalinks, and cleared all other caches, but the issue persisted. Solution: We recommend checking for any third-party plugins that might affect the behavior of the translated links, as they can sometimes cause unexpected issues. Additionally, try translating the taxonomy using the native WordPress screen by navigating to Product → Categories. It is also advisable to update the WPML plugin to the latest version, currently 4.6.8, along with any add-ons, to take advantage of the latest bug fixes and improvements. You can find the latest releases under My Account -> Downloads on our site. Follow the provided instructions to update your WPML installation. Please ensure you back up your database before proceeding with the update.
If this solution does not seem relevant to your situation, please open a new support ticket with us, and we'll be happy to assist you further.
Problem: There is an issue with the String Translation table on the client's site, which could potentially become a critical issue in the future. Solution: If you're experiencing a similar issue, we recommend checking if this is the first time WPML has been installed on the website and if there are any existing translations. It's important to determine if resetting WPML is safe for your specific case. Before proceeding with any changes, ensure to create a backup of your database. If this solution doesn't seem relevant to your situation, please open a new support ticket with us, and we'll assist you further.
Problem: If you're experiencing issues with 'Variation Swatches for WooCommerce' by CartFlows and 'Variation Images Gallery for WooCommerce' by RadiusTheme not working in your English translations, despite following our guide and inserting the code.
Solution: Firstly, ensure you have a backup of your site. Then, for the product gallery media issue: 1. Navigate to WPML > Settings. 2. Scroll to 'Custom Fields Translation' and click on 'show System fields'. 3. Locate the required fields and set their translation settings to 'Copy'. 4. Save the changes. 5. Edit the product, select the option to copy media to translations, and resend the product for translation. 6. If this resolves the issue for one product, you can apply the same settings to all products using the option under WPML settings.
We were able to resolve the swatches issue by: 1. Changing WPML custom fields configuration to 'Copy'. 2. Switching the translation editor to the Advanced Translation Editor. 3. Retranslating the product. 4. Clearing both Object cache and WP Rocket cache.
To apply these changes to the rest of your products, resend all products for translation and clear your cache.
Problem: The client needs to enable a language selector in the Salient theme using WPML. Solution: We recommend following the steps in our documentation to add the language switcher. Here is the step-by-step guide: 1. Visit the WPML documentation on language switcher options: Language Switcher Options documentation. 2. Follow the instructions provided in the guide to add the language switcher to your site. 3. If you have already tried these steps and it did not work, please let us know for further assistance.
If this solution doesn't look relevant, please open a new support ticket in our support forum.
Problem: The client's site language is set to Japanese, but when installing a new plugin, it defaults to English. Solution: We recommend checking and setting the user profile language to Japanese by navigating to Users > Profile and selecting Japanese for the Language field. Remember to save the changes. Afterwards, clear your site's caches to see if the issue persists.
Additionally, follow these steps after ensuring you have a full site backup: 1) Update WPML to the latest version, which is 4.6.8. 2) Increase the WP Memory Limit to at least 256 MB, as the minimum required memory limit for WPML is 128 MB. For more details, please refer to the following documentation:
Problem: The client needed to translate a link on a button to English, but encountered a message indicating that the string could not be translated automatically because it was not in the site's default language. Solution: We recommended the following steps: 1. Go to WPML String translations and scroll to the bottom, then click on "Translate texts in admin screens »". 2. Search for the ID of the theme option button URL, which in this case is
"btn_link_v1"
. 3. Click on "Add to String Translation" button to add it to the string translation list. 4. Return to WPML String Translation and switch the default language as previously indicated. For more detailed instructions, please refer to our documentation on Finding strings that don’t appear on the String Translation page. We have added the string for the client, and the website should now display the translation correctly.
If this solution doesn't look relevant, please open a new support ticket in our support forum.
Problem: The client wants to delete the WPML plugin but keep the translated pages, as the website is not very active and seldom has new content. Solution: We recommend against deleting WPML if you want to keep your translations. Instead, you can: 1. Deactivate WPML to ensure it doesn't consume any resources from your website. 2. Create a backup of your website, delete WPML, reinstall it, and check if the translations are still there. Additionally, we provided links to resources that might be helpful:
For a complete reset of WPML, you can refer to our documentation: WPML Reset Documentation Always ensure to have a full website backup before making any changes to avoid accidental data loss.
Problem: The client manually translated English menus into traditional Chinese and is seeking guidance on how to proceed with WP Menu Sync, especially for menus that are not fully translated or have content available only in certain languages. The client also encountered issues with deleting menus and synchronizing them across different languages.
This page includes support tickets that are resolved and documented. Looking for tickets that are “in progress”? Visit the complete support tickets archive
