Missing vs outdated Shopify translations — two statuses

French looks “done.” New products still fall back to English. Older products show French from a title you retired in April. Shoppers see two failures. You file both as “needs translation.”

Shopify missing vs outdated translations are separate field statuses in OO - Ultimate AI Translations. Missing: the target is empty. Outdated: a target exists, the source is newer. Jobs then keep to unlocked, customer-facing fields. Handles and SKUs never join the run.

The schedule article is the clock, and why Outdated-only is the first cadence. Locks are the save that jobs skip. This post is the badge in the editor.

0 reviews. Launched 14 October 2026. Do not invent a rating.

Status is per field, not per language

What is OO Translations?: side-by-side editor, jobs for missing or outdated, locks on manual saves, glossary, brand voice, backups, switcher, metaobjects.

A Translate action aimed at Missing fills targets that never had copy. Outdated rewrites targets that did, because you changed the source. You can run both. You should not treat them as one backlog.

Shopify languages and markets publish a locale. They do not refresh translations when you edit the default title. Fallback is the source language. Missing on the storefront is often “never translated.” Outdated still shows *something* in French — which is why it hides.

Customer-facing: titles, descriptions, SEO title/description, option labels, image alt. Jobs skip: handles, URLs, IDs, SKUs, barcodes, size codes (S/M/L), JSON, empty source, locked fields. `/products/linen-curtain` stays that handle. A locked line stays the sentence you wrote.

Plans, live: Free $0 — own AI, unlimited languages/markets/translations, switcher; no backups, no schedule, no App AI. Professional $10 + usage — monthly jobs, glossary, 1+1 backups, App AI at ~$0.01/unit. Plus $20 — daily, 5+5 backups. Own AI on every plan.

Mix-ups that waste tokens

Nightly Missing on the whole shop. New products fill — and so do untouched theme strings. Yesterday’s outdated titles sit still if the job is Missing-only.

Outdated on a language that was never filled. Outdated needs a previous target. A blank French title is Missing. First pass = small Missing set. Clock = Outdated.

One “do everything” job. Allowed, expensive. The docs’ habit: Outdated only on the schedule.

Unlocking fields so the job can “refresh” them. Unlock is permission. Locked means skip.

Expecting S/M/L or a SKU to become French. The job will skip those. That skip is success.

Editor first, job second

1. Open a product (or page, theme, metaobject). Source left, target right.

2. Empty target = Missing. Target present, source newer = Outdated. Locked = skipped until you unlock.

3. Translate Missing on one collection. Open Jobs: translated / skipped / failed. Skipped handles are healthy.

4. Marketing saves twelve French titles → locked. They drop out of the next Outdated run.

5. Source edits on 300 other titles → Outdated. A Professional monthly or Plus daily job picks those up.

Settings → product states: active only, or drafts/archived/unlisted too. Unpublished locales can still be in a job; publish later. Preview the switcher after the locale is live.

Timezone and content type belong to the job. Status belongs to the field.

Quick start: one language, small type, before daily. Daily is Plus. Monthly is Professional. Free still has statuses; you press Run.

Glossary (Professional+) and brand voice travel with the AI request. They do not change Missing into Outdated. A glossary term in a blank target is still Missing until a job or editor fill writes it. Brand voice on an outdated title rewrites that title in your tone — if the field is unlocked.

Backups are Professional (1 manual + 1 automatic) or Plus (5+5). Free has none. A large first Missing run on theme + products is the moment to snapshot, then read Jobs before you schedule Outdated. Restore is not a status filter; it rolls copy back.

Example: new drop Missing, rename wave Outdated

Home textiles. EN source. FR live. 35 new cushions: titles Missing. 180 existing titles Outdated after a rename. Eight campaign titles locked.

1. Connect own AI, or App AI on Professional/Plus.

2. Editor: new-cushion collection, Translate Missing, titles + SEO. Jobs skip SKUs.

3. Leave the eight locked.

4. Job or schedule: FR, products, Outdated only. The 180 renamed titles move. The 35 new ones do not belong on that run once step 2 filled them.

5. Theme strings: a separate Missing pass. Not the same night as 180 titles.

Draft themes use the same statuses. The listing includes draft themes on scheduled runs.

Do this

1. Install OO - Ultimate AI Translations.

2. Open one product. Find an empty target and a stale one. That is the split.

3. Missing on a small set. Read skipped.

4. Lock human copy.

5. Default the clock to Outdated. Use Missing as a catch-up, not a nightly habit.

No schedule on Free. No handle translation. No locked field on a job.

Close

Shopify missing vs outdated translations are two badges: never filled versus source moved. Jobs add a second filter: unlocked, customer-facing only. Handles, SKUs, JSON, and the sentence you saved stay put.

Set the status in OO - Ultimate AI Translations before you start the clock. Missing fills holes. Outdated keeps the catalog honest. Together every night is just an expensive invoice.