Changing non-translated fields in localized components

Question

I have product components which contain a mixture of fields, some of which are translated (by Translation Manager/World Server) and some not (like product SKU). Sometimes, the non-translated fields are changed in the localized components (for example a SKU variant for a particular localization), however if the component is re-sent for translation, these changes are lost - the component ends up with the translated fields, plus the original SKU from the parent component.

Is this "just the way it works" with Translation Manager, or is there some way to protect non-translated fields from being wiped on re-translation?

Answer 1

It is unfortunately "just the way it works".

You can file an enhancement request (which would obviously not do anything for the existing versions).

You can hook into the Tridion save event (TM identifies itself in the session, so you would know it's not a user saving). In this save event it is possible to read the old data and move over the fields that should not be changed.