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This thread is resolved. Here is a description of the problem and solution.

Problem:
The client wants to delete WPML strings that are not used on the frontend, specifically aiming to remove around 15000 backend strings without affecting frontend translations. Additionally, the client is facing an issue where some strings that appear on the frontend are mistakenly categorized as 'Unknown' in WPML.

Solution:
1. To manage strings that only appear on the frontend, navigate to WPML -> Translation Management -> Strings section. Here, select the option to register only strings that appear in the frontend.
2. To delete unused strings, go to WPML -> String Translations. You can search for strings or filter them by domains, select them, and then delete them using the button at the end of the results table.
3. If you find strings that are on the frontend but categorized incorrectly as 'Unknown', it's important to note that there is no direct option in WPML to re-categorize these strings. These strings might be incorrectly marked due to their creation in the backend.

Please note that this solution might be outdated or not applicable to your specific case. If these steps do not resolve your issue, we highly recommend checking related known issues at https://wpml.org/known-issues/, verifying the version of the permanent fix, and confirming that you have installed the latest versions of themes and plugins. If the problem persists, please open a new support ticket.

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This topic contains 5 replies, has 0 voices.

Last updated by Carlos Rojas 1 month ago.

Assisted by: Carlos Rojas.

Author Posts
July 14, 2025 at 11:17 pm #17235764

pumpkin-yazilim-hizmetleri-lim

Background of the issue:
I want to delete all WPML strings that are not used on the frontend. I have around 15000 strings and I don't want to include these in auto translation because I don't need any translation for the admin Dashboard or any backend page.

Symptoms:
Removing one by one these 15000 strings will take time.

Questions:
How can I remove only the backend strings?

July 15, 2025 at 9:37 am #17237015

Carlos Rojas
WPML Supporter since 03/2017

Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español )

Timezone: Europe/Madrid (GMT+02:00)

Hello,
Thank you for contacting us

In WPML -> Translation Management -> Strings section (at the bottom), you can select the option to register only strings that appear in the frontend.

To delete unused strings, you can go to WPML -> String Translations -> Search the strings or filter them by domains -> Select them and delete them using the button that appears at the end of the results table.

Regards,
Carlos

July 16, 2025 at 12:44 am #17239898

pumpkin-yazilim-hizmetleri-lim

Hello,

Thanks for the respond.

Many Unknow strings are actually fronted strings. How can I convert or save them as fronted strings?

Regards

July 16, 2025 at 8:25 am #17240606

Carlos Rojas
WPML Supporter since 03/2017

Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español )

Timezone: Europe/Madrid (GMT+02:00)

Good morning!

I'm sorry, I don't understand what you mean in your previous message. Can you share a screenshot or a link to a video describing the problem with the strings? This will help me identify the problem and find a solution.

July 16, 2025 at 9:41 pm #17243723

pumpkin-yazilim-hizmetleri-lim

Hello,

WPML has designated some "Frontend" strings as "Unknown" strings.

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These words are on the front end of the site. Therefore, they should have been included in the "Frontend" strings section of the WPML Translate Management section. But these are on the ''Unknown'' section:

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I only want to translate the words in the "Frontend" section, meaning the words on the front end of the site.

How can I designate these strings, which are located on the front end of the site but in the "Unknown" category, as "Frontend" strings?

Regards

July 17, 2025 at 8:06 am #17244370

Carlos Rojas
WPML Supporter since 03/2017

Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español )

Timezone: Europe/Madrid (GMT+02:00)

Hi there,

There is no option in WPML to change the registration of the strings, unless you can apply a custom solution directly on the database (keep in mind that custom solutions fall outside the scope of our support service).

Another important thing to keep in mind is that the string you showed in the screenshots is not a frontend string because it is created in the backend. That is the reason why WPML shows 'Others', but also that the string belongs to a menu.