Update the source text of a registered string

Registered strings use a stable name to identify a setting and a separate source value to hold its current copy. When that source value changes, translations written for the previous wording may no longer be correct.

What POM Translate does

When an integration registers the same stable name with changed source text, POM Translate updates the source record and removes its old locale translations. The refreshed string can then return to the translation workflow. An exact translation may be reused only when the same source text is already known elsewhere.

Until a new locale value is available, the registered-string helper falls back to the new original text. Visitors therefore see current source copy rather than an obsolete translation.

Safe update workflow

1. Note which languages currently have a translation.
2. Change and save the original setting in its owning theme or plugin.
3. Load the feature so its integration registers the new value.
4. Go to Translations → Other translations.
5. Choose each target locale in turn.
6. Search by the stable registered name.
7. Translate the new wording and select Save translations.
8. Verify the public output in every affected language.

Treat punctuation, capitalization, markup, and placeholder changes as source changes too. A small edit can alter meaning or formatting requirements.

Guidance for developers

Keep the registration name stable:

pom_translate_register_string(
    'my-plugin/checkout-note',
    (string) get_option( 'my_plugin_checkout_note', '' )
);

Do not append a version number or hash to the name each time the copy changes. That would create a new registered source instead of updating the existing setting identity.

Do not reuse one name for unrelated settings. A stable name should describe one public value for the lifetime of the integration.

Verify the result

After saving the new translations, confirm that:

• the new source appears in Other translations;
• the old translation is not silently displayed;
• the correct target value appears on the public page;
• any placeholders or allowed markup remain intact.

Gettext catalog updates follow a different process: regenerate or obtain the updated POT/PO source, load the domain again, and export new PO/MO files.