WPML Support Ticket - Media Settings Issue for 27 Languages

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Supporter timezone: Asia/Jerusalem (GMT+03:00)

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Last updated by Itamar 2 weeks, 1 day ago.

Assisted by: Itamar.

Author	Posts
June 8, 2025 at 9:37 am
katarzynaT-5	# WPML Support Ticket - Media Settings Issue for 27 Languages ## Issue Summary I need assistance with proper WPML media settings for a multilingual WooCommerce store with 27 languages. I'm experiencing unexpected media duplication issues. ⚠️ URGENT: Please implement any simple fixes directly if possible - you have full admin access! ## Environment Details - Website URL: hidden link - WordPress Version: 6.8.1 - WooCommerce Version: 9.8.5 - WPML Multilingual CMS: 4.7.6 - WooCommerce Multilingual & Multicurrency: 5.4.5 - WPML String Translation: 3.3.3 - WPML SEO: 2.1.1 - WPML All Import: 2.3.1 - WPML Media Translation: NOT installed (as intended) - PHP Version: 8.3.21 (64bit) - Server: LiteSpeed - Memory Limit: 1536M - Number of Languages: 27 - Total Products: 5,000 (test products) ## Problem Description I'm not using the WPML Media Translation add-on as I don't need different images per language. However, I'm experiencing a significant issue: - Each product has only 1 image assigned - Expected media files: ~5,000 - Actual media files showing: 24,000+ I cannot determine: - Why these duplications occurred - How these extra files were created - How to safely remove the duplicates ## Expected Behavior I want to achieve the following configuration: 1. Same image used across all 27 language versions of each product 2. No media duplication in the WordPress Media Library 3. No translation needed for image alt text or meta (handled by Rank Math SEO) 4. Efficient media handling without unnecessary database entries ## Current Configuration - WPML Media Translation add-on: NOT installed/activated - Media duplication setting: [Please advise on correct setting] - Current WPML media handling configuration: [Unknown - need guidance] ## Questions 1. What are the correct WPML settings to prevent media duplication across 27 languages? 2. How can I safely clean up the existing 19,000+ duplicate media files? 3. What's the recommended configuration for sharing the same media file across all language versions? 4. Are there any database queries I should run to clean up orphaned media references? ## Additional Information This is a test environment with 5,000 products. Once we resolve this issue, we plan to scale to production with potentially more products. Efficient media handling is crucial for our multilingual setup. IMPORTANT REQUEST: If there are any simple fixes or configuration changes that can be implemented immediately, please go ahead and make those changes directly. You have full administrator access to resolve this issue as quickly as possible. Please provide step-by-step instructions for: 1. Correct WPML media settings for our use case 2. Safe cleanup procedure for duplicate media 3. Prevention measures for future media duplication Thank you for your assistance!
June 8, 2025 at 9:55 am
June 8, 2025 at 11:12 am #17116175
Itamar WPML Supporter since 02/2016 Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Asia/Jerusalem (GMT+03:00)	Hi, WPML does not actually duplicate media files. It creates a DB entry to display the images from the /wp-content/uploads/ folder. You can read more about it in our guide here: https://wpml.org/documentation/getting-started-guide/media-translation/#frequently-asked-questions The link is to the 'Frequently Asked Questions' section of this guide. Please see the answer under the first question: 'Does duplicated media in other languages use storage?'. I assume you want and need to display product images in all languages. In this case, WPML must be able to duplicate the images' database entries to all the languages of your site. Again, please remember it is not an actual duplication of the files themselves. If otherwise, please let me know. Please note that you have 23,399 media files in the Media library, which is the default language of your site, English. Please see the attached screenshot en-media-library.jpg. Many themes and possible media plugins duplicate the images into different sizes. This enables the display of images as thumbnails and accommodates different screen sizes. I can see it when I inspect an image on your site. Please see the attached screenshot different-image-sizes.jpg. You can also view these settings in Appearance -> Customize WooCommerce -> Product Images. Please see the attached screenshot thumbnails-settings.jpg. You asked the following questions, and I'm providing answers under each question. 1. What are the correct WPML settings to prevent media duplication across 27 languages? Answer: You can prevent this in WPML -> Settings -> Media Translation. It is explained in the link to the Media translation guide I attached above. However, if you want to display images (of posts, pages, and products) in other languages, you must leave all the media options to duplicate the images as selected. 2. How can I safely clean up the existing 19,000+ duplicate media files? Answer: As I explained, WPML does not duplicate the media files. So in this case, please consult a WordPress developer on how to achieve this. 3. What's the recommended configuration for sharing the same media file across all language versions? Answer: Ensure all settings in WPML -> Settings -> Media Translation are selected. If some of the media files are not showing in other languages, then you can click the Start button. 4. Are there any database queries I should run to clean up orphaned media references? Answer: Do my answers above also answer this question? If not, can you please explain what you mean by "orphaned media"? Please note that we have a known issue if you don't want to display media files in other languages, which I believe is not your case. The known issue is when adding new languages. Then the images will still be displayed in the other languages even though you unselected the options in WPML -> Settings -> Media Translation. You can read about this known issue here: https://wpml.org/errata/all-media-is-duplicated-when-a-new-language-is-added/ Please note: The suggested workaround will not delete the duplicated images; it will just prevent the duplication process when creating a new language. Please let me know if you have any further questions about Media translation. Regards, Itamar.
June 11, 2025 at 8:38 am #17124527
katarzynaT-5	Hi Itamar, Thank you for your response. I need to clarify something important that I believe is the root cause of my issue. The additional thumbnails were generated AFTER clicking the "Start" button in WPML → Settings → Media Translation (see my screenshot with the red arrow). BEFORE clicking this button: I had ~4,680 original images (one per product) My media library was clean and minimal This is all I need - just the original images AFTER clicking the "Start" button: WPML triggered WordPress to generate ALL registered thumbnail sizes My media library exploded from ~4,680 files to 23,399 files 23,399 / 5 ≈ 4,680 products × 5 sizes each The math proves this: Before: ~4,680 files (originals only) After: 23,399 files That's exactly 5 versions per image! My questions: How can I REVERT this action? I want to go back to having only the original images. Is there a way to undo what the "Start" button triggered? What exactly does the "Start" button do? It clearly triggered WordPress to generate ALL registered image sizes for EVERY image. This was NOT explained in the documentation. Are my current settings correct for my use case? I want: The SAME image file to be used across all 27 languages NO different images per language NO additional thumbnail generation Just the original image shared across all languages How can I clean up the mess created by clicking "Start"? I now have ~18,719 unnecessary thumbnail files (23,399 - 4,680 = 18,719) that were generated after clicking this button. To be absolutely clear: Before clicking "Start" = ~4,680 files (originals only) After clicking "Start" = 23,399 files (originals + 4 additional sizes each) I do NOT need these thumbnails I only need the original images Please provide specific steps to: Revert what the "Start" button did Delete the ~18,719 unnecessary thumbnail files Configure WPML to simply share the original image across all languages without triggering thumbnail generation Prevent this from happening again IMPORTANT: This button caused WordPress to generate ~18,719 unnecessary files. This behavior MUST be documented clearly as it can cause serious storage and performance issues. Thank you for your help.
June 11, 2025 at 7:08 pm #17127680
Itamar WPML Supporter since 02/2016 Languages: English (English ) Timezone: Asia/Jerusalem (GMT+03:00)	Hi, WPML does not duplicate the media files when the Start button is clicked. However, we would like to investigate what went wrong in your case. For this, please let us know if you have a backup of your site before this problem happened, which you can share with us. If you have, you can upload it to a service like Google Drive or Dropbox and share the link with me. For this, I'll enable a private message for the following reply. Regards, Itamar.

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