Partially update translated pages

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

Problem:
The client is seeking a way to automatically translate updated content on their English page without overwriting previous manual edits made to automatic translations.

Solution:
1. We recommend reviewing the documentation on Translation Memory to understand how WPML tracks translations. Content edited in the Advanced Translation Editor (ATE) can be saved to Translation Memory, ensuring it won't be translated again unless the original content changes. However, changes made using the WordPress Editor instead of the WPML editor will not be stored in Translation Memory and will be overwritten by automatic translation. Translation Memory documentation.

2. If the client has manually corrected the content in the ATE and clicked "Complete", the edits are saved to the Translation Memory. There is no need to click "Save to translation memory" separately.

3. To avoid overwriting manual edits, it's best to make changes or edits to the automatic translation directly in the ATE, as these will then be saved in the Translation Memory for future use.

Please note that this solution might be irrelevant if it's outdated or not applicable to your case. If so, we encourage you to open a new support ticket. We also highly recommend checking related known issues at https://wpml.org/known-issues/, verifying the version of the permanent fix, and confirming that you have installed the latest versions of themes and plugins. If you need further assistance, please contact us in the WPML support forum.

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Tagged: Exception

This topic contains 5 replies, has 3 voices.

Last updated by Bobby 1 year, 4 months ago.

Assisted by: Bobby.

Author	Posts
February 8, 2024 at 12:41 pm #15281286
danM-2	Tell us what you are trying to do? We have a site that was translated using the WPML Automatic Translation editor. Subsequently all pages have been changed back to use the WordPress editor. In some cases the client team have subsequently edited the automatically translated content to reflect their organisation better. Now, when the client edits the content on the original English page, they would like to able to automatically translate the changed content, without overwriting any of the edits they made to the previous automatic translations. Can you suggest a process that would work for this? Thanks, Dan.
February 8, 2024 at 6:07 pm #15282736
Lauren WPML Supporter since 10/2015 Languages: English (English ) Timezone: America/New_York (GMT-04:00)	Thank you for contacting WPML support. While you are waiting for one of my colleagues to take this ticket and work on it, let me provide you with first debugging steps or if I can perhaps help with the issue quickly. Please take a look at this documentation regarding Translation Memory. If I understand your process correctly, any content edited in the Advanced Translation Editor can be saved in Translation Memory and won't be translated again unless the original content is changed. Please keep in mind that if you are changing content using the WordPress Editor instead of the WPML editor, these changes will NOT be stored in translation memory and will be overwritten when automatic translation takes place. https://wpml.org/documentation/translating-your-contents/how-wpml-keeps-track-of-your-translations/
February 21, 2024 at 6:45 pm #15330034
danM-2	Hi - if the editor reviewing the automatic translation did NOT click the "Save to translation memory" button before clicking "Complete", is there a way to store the corrected content to translation memory after the event?
February 21, 2024 at 10:24 pm #15330619
Bobby WPML Supporter since 04/2015 Languages: English (English ) Timezone: America/Los_Angeles (GMT-07:00)	Hi Dan, If I understand correctly, the automatic translation was done then they switched to the standard WP Editor and added their translation, correct? Now they want to update specific content only but use the Automatic Translation again. The problem is that the standard WP Editor and the AUtomatic Translation are 2 different systems that do not communicate. This means that if you switch to the Automatic Translation (ATE) the translation will change to the one added through the ATE editor. It is best to make the changes or edits to the automatic translation directly in the ATE as then they would be saved in the translation memory moving forward.
February 22, 2024 at 10:55 am #15332850
danM-2	Hi Bobby, Not quite. They did manually correct the automatically translated content in the Automatic Translation Editor, but did not hit "Save to translation memory" button before hitting "Complete". Does that mean that their manual edits were NOT saved in the translation memory? (They then subsequently changed from using the Automatic Translation Editor to using the WordPress Editor.) Thanks, Dan.
February 22, 2024 at 10:50 pm #15335779
Bobby WPML Supporter since 04/2015 Languages: English (English ) Timezone: America/Los_Angeles (GMT-07:00)	Hi Dan, Thank you for clarifying this for me. As long as they clicked "complete" it was saved to the translation memory. There is no need to manually also click the save to translation memory button when clicking complete.
February 23, 2024 at 9:59 am #15336842
danM-2	Thanks - good to know.