DON’T download if you use a translation file

Ouch!

The way this plugin works is that it overrides the default Woo email templates with versions that are marked with strings for translation, adds a field to set the string, and then pulls that string into the template. So the fact that it utilises translation strings looks like it’s doing something unexpected on your site. I’ve not seen that issue you’ve mentioned before, but I’d be happy to help you troubleshoot. Most immediately, you should be able to fix the issue you’re experiencing by deactivating the plugin, then checking the /emails folder of Woocommerce and ensuring your own templates (or the original Woo ones) are being pulled.

If you’d like help getting this plugin working alongside whatever translation method you’re using I’d be happy to work with you on that. Let me know.

PS. I care about my plugin work and you should give me a chance to help you before writing it off as ‘poor’ just because you encountered an error. WordPress is a very complex ecosystem – it’s unrealistic to expect a plugin that works in 100% of all possible scenarios.

Thank you for your reply.

The issue I have with your plugin is not that it didn’t work (defaulted our translations to English), but that after deactivating and even DELETING the plugin, our translation files are no longer working! I am an ex-front end developer and have been using wordpress for over 15 years, and am not a newbie at this. The translation files are all in the correct locations, but are not being accessed since we installed and deleted your plugin. We spent hours working on it into the night, but had to directly translate the strings in the original templates to get things back to normal. We do not have time to try and find what has happened, and so would appreciate if you could take a look. We don’t have time to go through your (now deleted) plugin to see what changes it must be making to core woocommerce files. Please let me know how you can be contacted.

As I said,

Most immediately, you should be able to fix the issue you’re experiencing by deactivating the plugin, then checking the /emails folder of Woocommerce and ensuring your own templates (or the original Woo ones) are being pulled.

Step by step
1. Use FTP to access your webspace
2. Navigate to your active theme directory
3. Find the WooCommerce template folder /emails
4. Rename that folder to something else temporarily such as /emails_OLD

These steps will revert your emails to the default ones from Woo.

In case you want to see those, you can find the current default Woo email templates at https://github.com/woocommerce/woocommerce/tree/master/templates/emails

The templates are fine! The translations are no longer working. You may be able to guess why as your coded the plugin.

The templates have not been customized. And the translations are in the correct place. An have been for many years.

If there was a simple fix, we would have done it!

This is why we spent hours trying to fix the problem and are extremely frustrated with your plugin as it seems to have made changes elsewhere. Heaven forbid it has made changes to core files.

I can understand your frustration – it’s never fun when something on your website breaks. Please keep in mind that I am trying to help you, and to do that we need to work calmly and logically through a series of questions.

1.) What method of translation are you using?

2.) What is the URL of your website?

3.) What do you mean by “the translations are no longer working”? Specifically what are you seeing? Reverting to the original language? Gobledegook? A blank screen? An error message? Something else?

4.) You’ve said you tried to fix it… what steps did you try please? The more info I have, the more likely it is that I will see something that explains what may have happened and be able to offer a solution.

Heaven forbid it has made changes to core files.

^ Don’t worry, the plugin definitely does not do that. ??

Thank you for your response.

Your plug in is overwriting the translation file priority. This is why it is breaking emails that use translation. If we can fix your plugin, it may help to find why it has still affected the file priority after being removed. I used to write plugins, so will take a look when I have time. But too busy now.

1. uploaded PO/MO files to the correct location for translations. Starting at the first location that Woocommerce uses. I’ve run Japanese sites for 15 years on wordpress, so am very aware of the location and priority.

2. lease let me know how to contact you.

3. The woocommerce translation priority order is no longer being respected. This the original English is being shown. Even after your plugin was removed.

4. Re-compiled and re-uploaded all PO/MO files. And also re-uploaded templates just in case. Custom templates were never used though. This particular site was live and working for 2 years before I installed your plugin, and so everything was correct before.

I really need to go through your code to find what it is doing wrong with translation file priority. I was hoping that you would know to save me the time.

I urge you to test your plugin with a translation file, and you will see what it is doing.

Thanks for the more detailed report. I’m logging this as an issue on the plugin’s GitHub repository. Either myself, or another plugin contributor will take a closer look at this as time permits. In the meantime, if you do dig into it further and come up with a solution please feel free to submit a Pull request.

https://github.com/maevelander/email-text-customizer-for-woocommerce/issues/8

• This reply was modified 7 years ago by Maeve Lander.

OK. Will do. Although this will be unlikely until I have time.

What about this ? Solved?

Unfortunately no. I uninstalled and had to clean up the mess.

Good to know. You have find another solution? I’using a diffirent language than english.

I am trying to create a multilingual shop (using “PolyLang” and “Loco Translate”). Since there seems to be no way to translate the text, which can be edited using this plugin, I removed the plugin and ran into the same problem as mentioned above.

However I was able so solve it by doing the following steps:
1) Change to another theme (for that I was using a theme which comes with the woocommerce package).
2) Delete the “/woocommerce/emails” folder and all of its content, which is located inside the original theme.
3) Change back to the original theme.