My WPML is set to manual translations. The main reason why we do this is because there are a lot of mistakes when translating from English to French.
So when I create the translations, I use the WPML advanced editor, I complete the translation, and then set the translation back to WordPress Editor. Then, I go to the French page and apply the corrections that I need to apply.
I've spent a couple of hours translating and applying corrections and then out of nowhere everything went back to the original translation which is incorrect. So I've basically just lost hours of work.
I tried finding the issue and found out that in the strings, every translated thing appears there. I found the strings from English to French related to all the texts that were translated, and they show the previous translations there (which are incorrect). So I think that maybe it's because of the string translations that all my edits just automatically go back to the original translation because those still appear in the strings.
For example:
In this page hidden link, the original translation from english to french created the title ''Défendre Vos Droits Depuis 2014''. I manually edited the title in the french page to ''En Défense De Vos Droits Depuis 2014''. Then, out of nowhere, the title and everything else I edited on the site went back to the original translation which is incorrect. When I look at that particular string, I can indeed see the original translation. It's like the edits are not kept because the string translation overwrite them.
Thank you for detailing the issue you've encountered with WPML during your translation process.
From your description, I understood that you Translated the contents first using WPML Translation Editor and later manually edited the Translation using WordPress Editor. Kindly be informed that the mix of translation methods you're using is not typically recommended, as it can lead to such conflicts. To avoid this issue, it's advisable to stick to one method of translation.
If you have started translating content using the WPML Translation Editor, please don't manually alter the translation using the WordPress Editor. Since the translation memory isn't shared between the WPML Translation Editor and the WordPress Editor, any manual changes you make will be overridden when you update the translation again using the WPML Translation Editor. I hope you can understand.
Since you prefer manual translations due to accuracy concerns, once you start the translation using WordPress Editor, please try to complete the translation within this editor.
I hope it will help you avoid losing your translation work in the future. If you have any more questions or need further assistance, please feel free to reach out.
Hello! Thanks for the reply, that is not what I expected to hear but I understand. I've read the guide you linked and also the one on ''How WPML’s Translation Memory Works''.
I just want to make sure that if there are edits I need to do, I can do them in the Advanced Translation Editor and those will be remembered.
Also, there are some edits that I simply cannot make in the Editor, such as the external links (we get the links in the second language when they are available), the file name of the images (we normally upload a second image with the translated file name), and also icon lists appear broken and when I ''attempt block recovery'' the text is back to English, and I need to do this step to change the external links in my icon lists. Maybe other things are not translatable but I can't think of any right now.
Please note that any translation you add in the Advanced Translation Editor will be saved both in the Editor and in the Translation memory. There is no possibility for the translation to be removed from the Translation editor unless it is manually deleted by a user. You can always open the Translation editor and make adjustments to the translation as per your needs. I hope you can understand.
If you're looking to update the translation of links, this can be easily accomplished from the Advanced Translation Editor. For guidance on how to do this, please refer to the instructions in the following guide:
From your response, I also understood that you are trying to translate the image file name, aiming to display a different image in the translation. It's crucial to understand that translating the image file name is not possible through the Translation Editor. The Advanced Translation Editor will allow you to translate only the metadata associated with an image, such as alt info, description, and caption.
To display a different image in each language version, you should use the Media Translation plugin. By translating the image there, the image on the translated version of your page will be automatically updated. This process eliminates the need to manually add the image to each translation or through the Advanced Translation Editor. For more detailed information on using the Media Translation plugin, please check this guide: https://wpml.org/documentation/getting-started-guide/media-translation/
Since you also mentioned that one of the page Elements appears broken, this could be due to a conflict, malformed data, or some other issue. However, by attempting to recover the block, you are essentially trying to restore the page to its prior, functional state. That's why, all the changes reverted.
Please examine the block to confirm that it does not contain any malformed or serialized data. Additionally, you might want to consult with the support team or author of the plugin associated with the Element for further assistance
I hope this explanation has clarified things for you. If you need any more help or if there's anything else I can assist you with, please let me know. I'm here to help.
Hi, thank you very much for all your information. You've clarified important points and it works almost perfectly now.
I'm still having an issue for a few things that were not translatable such a overlay links, they simply don't appear in the Advanced Editor. I was wondering if I can translate those manually in the translated page, since they are not translatable the memory for those probably does not exist, so it should not go back to like it was before, right?
Also, I'm having another issue. I was using 2 methods in the beginning as I told you. I followed the instructions, permanently deleted all the pages from that translation, and did it again, using only the WPML translation method.
A few translations still went back to what they were before. I made sure to click on ''save to memory'' before completing the translation, and still, I can see the initial translation errors reappear in my pages. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that I should have deleted all the Gutenberg strings before doing the translation on the second try since permanently deleting all the pages was not enough to clear the memory. Or do you have another solution to this? On a few pages when I open the translation editor to make a correction it's like it was the initial translation I was back to 0, and I have to do all corrections again just because of one small correction. This is really annoying. Let me know your thoughts on this and thank you very much for your time!
About the translation reverting to its previous state: Since you mentioned that the old translation still appears in the String Translation section, could you please try deleting them from the String translation and try the process again? If you can find the package containing these strings, you have the option to delete the entire package by navigating to "WPML > Packages."
After deleting the packages, make a minor modification to the page using the WordPress Editor and save your changes. Following this, you can proceed with updating the translation. In the translation editor, make sure to 100% complete the translation and then save the translation.
Please let me know how it goes. I will be happy to help if you need further assistance in this matter.
Hi, I understand your steps regarding the strings. I will try that if ever I see any other problems. After 1-2 times reupdating the translation, it seems like the memory was kept and probably ended up overriding the previous strings.
Also, I've already read that guide, and I can see URLs and Shortcodes that don't appear by default when using the search bar, but unfortunately, I still can't find these specific links that I mentioned. I ended up adding them manually in the WordPress editor, and even if they switched back 1 or 2 times, now they seem to be saved permanently.
Happy to know that things are sorted now. Should you require any additional help with this issue, don't hesitate to reach out. I'm always here and eager to provide any assistance you might need.
