Title: A curiosity with wp_update_post() function
Last modified: November 10, 2020

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# A curiosity with wp_update_post() function

 *  [alexborras](https://wordpress.org/support/users/alexborras/)
 * (@alexborras)
 * [5 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/a-curiosity-with-wp_update_post-function/)
 * When “Update” is pressed in a post, does wp_update_post run? It seems not. On
   a web page I use Polylang. I change the language of a post using pll_set_post_language
   and then call wp_update_post.
 * The post assumes the category in the correct language but does not update the
   tags in the new language.
 * However, if afterwards I only press “Update” from the list of posts or editing
   the post, then the tags are updated correctly and automatically.
 * So something more than wp_update_post has to be done after pressing “Update” 
   right?

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

 *  Moderator [bcworkz](https://wordpress.org/support/users/bcworkz/)
 * (@bcworkz)
 * [5 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/a-curiosity-with-wp_update_post-function/#post-13647094)
 * If using the block editor, the update is done through the API. It possibly could
   go directly to wp_insert_post(), which despite its name, also does updates. If
   you look at the source code for wp_update_post(), it does some minor data juggling
   before calling wp_insert_post() itself.
 * If you want to set taxonomy terms for a post, you could use wp_set_post_terms().
 *  Thread Starter [alexborras](https://wordpress.org/support/users/alexborras/)
 * (@alexborras)
 * [5 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/a-curiosity-with-wp_update_post-function/#post-13647625)
 * Thanks, but still not working. I have tried:
    - wp_insert_post( $my_post )
    - wp_insert_post( $my_post ) AND wp_set_post_terms ($row->ID);
    - wp_insert_post( $my_post ) AND wp_set_post_terms( $row->ID,”, ‘post_tag’, 
      true );
    - and neither update the tags.
    - The category continues to update but the post tags remain those of the previous
      language. So we still don’t know what exactly the “Update” button does.
 *  Moderator [bcworkz](https://wordpress.org/support/users/bcworkz/)
 * (@bcworkz)
 * [5 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/a-curiosity-with-wp_update_post-function/#post-13650858)
 * On submit using the block editor, edit form data is POSTed to the /posts API 
   endpoint as JSON data. Assigned tag IDs are sent under the key “tags”. The WP_REST_Posts_Controller’s`
   update_item()` method is called. It in fact does call `wp_update_post()` after
   decoding the JSON data and constructing a PHP data array. As I mentioned earlier,
   after a bit more data juggling, `wp_insert_post()` is called. After updating 
   the posts table, the function then calls `wp_set_post_tags()` to assign any tag
   terms to the post.
 * Assuming your tags are the default “post_tag” taxonomy and not some similar custom
   taxonomy, the usual reason for failure to update is your theme or some plugin
   is interfering. If you switch to twentytwenty theme and deactivate all plugins,
   you’ll likely find that assigned tags are properly updated. Restore your normal
   configuration, one module at a time. When tags again fail to update, the last
   activated module is the cause.
 *  Thread Starter [alexborras](https://wordpress.org/support/users/alexborras/)
 * (@alexborras)
 * [5 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/a-curiosity-with-wp_update_post-function/#post-13661921)
 * It’s not very clean, but it works
 *     ```
       wp_update_post( $my_post );
        $tags = wp_get_post_tags($row->ID);
        foreach ( $tags as $tag ){
              wp_delete_object_term_relationships( $row->ID, $tag->name );
              $tag_id_lang = pll_get_term( $tag->term_id , "es" );
              $tags_lang = array( $tag_id_lang );
              wp_set_post_terms($row->ID, $tags_lang, 'post_tag', true );                 
       }
       ```
   

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

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## Tags

 * [posts](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/posts/)

 * In: [Developing with WordPress](https://wordpress.org/support/forum/wp-advanced/)
 * 4 replies
 * 2 participants
 * Last reply from: [alexborras](https://wordpress.org/support/users/alexborras/)
 * Last activity: [5 years, 7 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/a-curiosity-with-wp_update_post-function/#post-13661921)
 * Status: not resolved

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