[Resolved] How to exclude '_et_pb_old_content' from translation?
This thread is resolved. Here is a description of the problem and solution.
Problem:
When translating a page, it includes content that doesn't exist on the page. Upon investigation, I found that this is content that was added to the native WordPress editor. Upon switching the editor to Divi Builder, it saves it in the background, so it can be restored when you disable the Divi Builder again.
The problem is that WPML also sends this old content to the translator, who will then translate and charge for it. I can't find a way to get rid of it from within WordPress/Divi, so was hoping there is a way to exclude it from being send to the translator.
Solution:
The field that you're looking for is _et_pb_old_content.
I'm not sure if this field is needed by the Divi builder or not, but I went to WPML → Settings → Custom field translation, searched for this field, pressed the lock icon to be able to change its settings, and set it to copy (just to be safe).
Now, I went back to the page I created (in the original language), just hit the Update button (without opening the page in Divi builder), then updated the translation. This time, the field-_et_pb_old_content didn't appear anymore.
It includes content that doesn't exist on the page. Upon investigation, I found that this is content that was added to the native WordPress editor. Upon switching the editor to Divi Builder, it saves it in the background, so it can be restored when you disable the Divi Builder again.
The problem is that WPML also sends this old content to the translator, who will then translate and charge for it. I can't find a way to get rid of it from within WordPress/Divi, so was hoping there is a way to exclude it from being send to the translator.
Here is an exported xliff file that contains the issue. Search for '_et_pb_old_content' to find it. hidden link
Thanks
JP
PS: question about the support chat, last week I had a support chat with Laura. I can't find it back in my support tickets. Are chats not stored as tickets?
I found a way to get rid of the old content in WP, but for future projects, still would like to know how to exclude it from translations.
When I edit a page that was build with Divi (edit in the backend, not the visual builder), and then use the browsers 'view page source' option, the old content is there between these tags:
This _et_pb_old_content should be a custom field that can be set to be translatable or not through WPML → Settings → Custom fields translation area. Can you click the Show system fields then search for this custom field here, please?
For the existing content, you should be able to find this field at the bottom side, when editing the original page. Can you look for it, please?
Regarding the chat tickets, we are working on making these available after they've been closed. However, at least for now, they cannot be accessed like normal tickets.
No it's not listed in the WPML custom field translation settings. It's also not a custom field that can be edited at the bottom of the page (the area that you can enable/disable in the screen options) at the top.
It looks like it is saved in the background as a part of the Divi page layout. I tried to save the layout in the library, disabled the builder, removed the old content, saved the empty page and then add the layout from the library again. After that the old content is back when you view the page source, but it is not visible anywhere else on the page.
I created a new page on my testing website (using Divi builder), added some text on it, and then create the translation. A field called field-_et_pb_old_content appeared. However, I was able to find it on the custom fields area of the page (please see the attached screenshot).
I'm not sure if this field is needed by the Divi builder or not, but I went to WPML → Settings → Custom field traslation, searched for this field, pressed the lock icon to be able to change its settings, and set it to copy (just to be safe).
Now, I went back to the page I created (in the original language), just hit the Update button (without opening the page in Divi builder), then updated the translation. This time, the field-_et_pb_old_content didn't appear anymore.
Can you try to do the same change on your website and tell me how things work, please?
You referred to a custom field, but it isn't in the custom fields area (see screen shot wpml-custom-fields.jpg).
In stead, it's in the multi lingual content area under system fields (see screen shot wpml-system-fields.jpg).
And then, in the wpml settings under custom field I forgot to click the show custom fields option, so I didn't see it.
So ok, I can click the lock icon to change it's setting and tell it to not translate that field. That's fine, however, it says that setting is regulated by a wpml_config.xml file. That's fine, but I'd see that the default for that setting should be to not translate that field. It's only old content that is not used on the actual page as it is 'superceded' by the content in the Divi builder. Hence it's useless to translate.
I'm glad to hear that you managed to find this field and change it to make it go away from the translation editor. I will check this out a bit closer and see if we can do something about this in a future update, to make it be copied by default.
I will mark this ticket as resolved now. If you have any other questions or issues, feel free to open a new ticket and we'll take care of it in no time.
