Pods relationships not properly duplicated during Polylang translation or XML import

[benjhoo]

Description

I've discovered an issue with Pods relationship fields not being properly duplicated when content is translated using Polylang or imported via wordpress-import.

When a post containing Pods relationship fields is translated using Polylang (or imported via XML), the metadata in wp_postmeta is correctly duplicated, but the actual relationships in the wp_podsrel table are not completely copied to the new post.

Investigation Results

When examining the database:

1. In wp_postmeta, both the original and translated posts have identical metadata for the relationship field (except hidden field _pods_xxx with serialized data I manually had in my pll_copy_post_metas hook)

2. However, in wp_podsrel, the relationships are not fully duplicated:

   • Original post (ID: 190) has entries for all relationships (e.g., roles 95, 97, 111)
   • Translated post (ID: 195) only has no relationships

Environment

• WordPress version: 6.7.2
• Pods version: 3.2.8.2
• Polylang version: 3.6.7
• PHP version: 8.3

Additional Information

This appears to be related to how Pods stores relationship data across two locations:

1. Serialized metadata in wp_postmeta
2. Relationship records in wp_podsrel

Version

3.2.8.2

Testing Instructions

1. Create a post with a Pods relationship field (in my case, a widget with role relationships)
2. Set multiple related items in the relationship field (for example, selecting multiple roles)
3. Create a translation of this post using Polylang with the option to copy fields
4. Check the translated post in the admin UI - initially no relationships appear (no checkboxes are selected in the translated version, even though all appropriate checkboxes were selected in the original).

Screenshots / Screencast

Possible Workaround

Pods could provide a hook that automatically rebuilds the relationship entries in the wp_podsrel table based on the pods* metadata that is already correctly duplicated during translation or import processes.

Site Health Information

Pods Package

[Brittliff]

I ran into this issue when using Yoast Duplicate Post, needed to find a quick solution so I vibe coded a fix, seems to be working well so far.

Leaving it here in case it helps someone else.

// Hook into Yoast Duplicate Post after duplication
// Fixes issue with PODs relationship fields not being copied correctly
add_action('dp_duplicate_post', function($new_post_id, $post, $status) {
    // Only process if this is a 'products' post type
    if ($post->post_type !== 'products') {
        return;
    }
    
    $api = pods_api();
    
    // Get the pod configuration
    $pod = $api->load_pod('products');
    
    if (!$pod) {
        return;
    }
    
    // Get all fields for this pod
    $fields = $pod->get_fields();
    
    $relationship_data = array();
    
    foreach ($fields as $field_name => $field) {
        // Only process pick and file fields (relationship fields)
        if (!in_array($field['type'], array('pick', 'file'))) {
            continue;
        }
        
        // Get the raw relationship IDs from the original post
        $original_value = null;
        
        // Try different methods to get the relationship data
        if ($field['type'] === 'pick') {
            // For pick fields, get the related IDs
            $original_pod = pods('products', $post->ID);
            if ($original_pod && $original_pod->exists()) {
                $original_value = $original_pod->field($field_name, array('output' => 'ids'));
            }
        } elseif ($field['type'] === 'file') {
            // For file fields, get the attachment IDs
            $original_pod = pods('products', $post->ID);
            if ($original_pod && $original_pod->exists()) {
                $original_value = $original_pod->field($field_name, array('output' => 'ids'));
            }
        }
        
        // Only add to relationship_data if we have a value
        if (!empty($original_value)) {
            $relationship_data[$field_name] = $original_value;
        }
    }
    
    // Save the relationships if we have any
    if (!empty($relationship_data)) {
        // Use save_pod_item with specific parameters for relationship processing
        $result = $api->save_pod_item(array(
            'pod' => 'products',
            'id' => $new_post_id,
            'data' => $relationship_data,
            'bypass_helpers' => true, // Skip helpers to avoid side effects
        ));
        
        // If the above doesn't work, try the direct relationship save approach
        if (!$result) {
            foreach ($relationship_data as $field_name => $field_value) {
                $field_obj = $fields[$field_name];
                
                if (!empty($field_value)) {
                    // Ensure we have an array of IDs
                    if (!is_array($field_value)) {
                        $field_value = array($field_value);
                    }
                    
                    // Save relationships directly
                    $api->save_relationships($new_post_id, $field_value, $pod, $field_obj);
                }
            }
        }
    }
}, 10, 3);