DF Translate Pro — Complete guide
Install and operate DF Translate Pro: license activation, unlimited languages, bulk translation with cost estimation, autopilot with smart diff, translation memory, brand glossary, WooCommerce Pro, XLIFF export/import and WP-CLI.
DF Translate Pro is the paid add-on that industrializes translation for your WordPress and WooCommerce site. It installs on top of the free DF Translate plugin (required) and unlocks languages (unlimited instead of 2), adds whole-site bulk translation with cost estimation, the autopilot with smart diff, translation memory, a brand glossary, WooCommerce variable products, order emails in the customer’s language, translated URL bases, XLIFF export/import and WP-CLI commands. This guide covers installation, license activation, each of these features and troubleshooting.
DF Translate Pro is an add-on: the free DF Translate plugin must be installed and active. Pro reuses the AI engine and API key you’ve already configured in the free version — nothing to reconfigure on the translation side.
Installation
- Make sure DF Translate (free) is installed and active, with at least one translation engine configured.
- Download the
dftranslate-pro.ziparchive from your DataFirefly account. - WordPress admin → Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin → send the ZIP, then Activate.
- On activation, the plugin adds its tables (translation memory, glossary, queue) and unlocks the Pro features in the DF Translate menu.
Activating your license
Open DF Translate → License, paste your license key and click Activate. Activation unlocks hosted automatic updates and confirms the number of sites allowed by your tier (1 site on the standard license, 5 on Business, 25 on Agency).
One license per active site. To move a license from one site to another (for example from staging to production), deactivate it first from the License screen on the first site, then activate it on the second.
Without an active license, Pro features you’ve already configured keep working, but you no longer receive automatic updates. Reactivate the license to restore updates and support.
Unlimited languages
As soon as Pro is active, the free version’s 2-language limit is gone. In DF Translate → Settings → Languages, add as many languages as you need from the preset list or as custom. Everything else (default language, order, switcher) works exactly as in the free version, but with no ceiling.
Whole-site bulk translation
Bulk translation translates a large set of content in one go. Open DF Translate → Bulk translation.
- Choose the content types (posts, pages, products, categories, tags) and the target languages.
- Filter if needed (for example only content not yet translated).
- DF Translate Pro shows an estimate: number of items, number of characters to translate and the matching cost for the configured engine.
- Review the estimate, then click Launch. Translations are created and placed in the queue.
Nothing is sent to the engine until you confirm after the estimate. On a very large catalog, start with a single content type or a single language to validate the output before launching everything.
Progress is shown live. Translations produced by bulk are flagged ⚑ MT (“needs review”): review them in the side-by-side editor whenever you like.
The autopilot
Autopilot automatically translates your new and modified content, with no manual action. Enable it in DF Translate → Settings → Autopilot and choose the content types and languages involved.
The smart diff
When an already-translated source is modified, autopilot only re-translates the fields that actually changed. If you only edit a product’s title, only the title is re-translated; the rest of the page is not sent back to the engine. That’s what makes autopilot token-efficient.
Excluding content
Every piece of content has an “Exclude from autopilot” checkbox in the translation box. Tick it to keep control of a specific item (for example a page you translate yourself): autopilot will ignore it.
Autopilot relies on the queue: translations are processed in the background (Action Scheduler, with a WP-Cron fallback), without blocking the saving of your content.
Translation memory
Translation memory records every translated segment (a sentence, a title) and reuses it automatically when it reappears. The result: the same sentence is never sent to the engine twice, which lowers cost and guarantees consistency across your content. It works in the background as soon as Pro is active; you can view and purge the memory from DF Translate → Translation memory.
Brand glossary
The glossary guarantees your key terms — product names, brand name, industry expressions — are always rendered exactly as you decide, in every language. Open DF Translate → Glossary.
- Add an entry: the source term and its enforced translation for each language.
- Indicate whether the match is case-sensitive and whether it must apply to the whole word.
- Import / export the glossary as CSV to share it, reuse it on another site or have it filled in by a third party.
At a minimum, fill in your brand name and your product names: these are the terms a translation engine is most likely to “translate” when they should stay as-is.
WooCommerce Pro
Variable products
Pro translates variable products and their variations (beyond the simple products covered by the free version): attribute names, values and variation descriptions.
Order emails in the customer’s language
WooCommerce order emails (confirmation, invoice, etc.) go out in the customer’s language saved on the order: subjects and headings included. Enable this option in the Pro’s WooCommerce settings.
Translated URL bases
You can translate the WooCommerce URL bases (shop, product category, tag) per language, with 301 redirects from the old addresses, for perfectly localized URLs.
Stock and price sync across languages, and saving the customer’s language on the order, already come from the free version: Pro only adds variations, localized emails and URL bases.
XLIFF export / import (professional translators)
To work with a human translator or an agency, open DF Translate → XLIFF.
- Export the chosen content in the standard XLIFF 1.2 format (title, content, excerpt, SEO metadata). One file per target language.
- Hand the file to your translator or their CAT tool (Trados, memoQ, Smartcat, etc.).
- Re-import the translated file: translations are created or updated, their diff hashes refreshed, and the “needs review” flag cleared (content translated by a human is reviewed by definition).
WP-CLI commands
For large volumes and continuous integration, Pro provides command-line commands:
wp dft translate— launches translation of a set of content (type, language, filter options).wp dft process— processes the pending queue.wp dft status— shows the state of coverage and the queue.wp dft orphans— lists or repairs content without a language.
On a server with SSH access, wp dft translate then wp dft process let you translate a very large catalog without going through the browser, ideal as a scheduled task or in a deployment pipeline.
The translation queue
Bulk translation and autopilot go through a queue processed in the background (Action Scheduler, with a WP-Cron fallback). On a temporary API failure, the task is retried automatically. You track the queue’s state in the dashboard and can relaunch it manually (or via wp dft process).
Updates
As long as your license is active, DF Translate Pro receives its automatic updates directly from DataFirefly, like any WordPress plugin. The free version updates independently. Keep both up to date to guarantee their compatibility.
FAQ and troubleshooting
The Pro features don’t appear. Check that DF Translate (free) is active and that Pro is active on top. Both plugins must be active.
My license is rejected. Check the key (copy/paste with no spaces), the tier (number of sites) and that the site hasn’t already used all its activations. Deactivate the license on an unused site to free a slot.
The cost estimate looks high. Narrow the scope (one content type, one language), or let translation memory fill up: already-translated segments aren’t re-charged. The glossary doesn’t affect cost but guarantees consistency.
Autopilot isn’t translating a piece of content. Check that it’s enabled for that content type and language, and that the content isn’t ticked “Exclude from autopilot”. Also check that the queue is running (WP-Cron active or wp dft process).
An XLIFF import doesn’t update the translations. Check that the file matches the exported content (translation-unit identifiers must not be changed) and that it remained valid XLIFF 1.2 after passing through the CAT tool.
Bulk translation stops before the end. This is usually the queue waiting for the next WP-Cron run. Relaunch with wp dft process, or set up a real system cron for very large volumes.