Background of the issue:
We are trying to remove WPML and all its data from our website hidden link. We have reset the WPML plugin and removed all related databases, but not everything was removed.
Symptoms:
Our media images have tripled with duplicate entries. Removing 'unattached' images also removes the original image as they share the same file path.
Questions:
How can we remove duplicate image entries created by WPML without affecting the original images?
Hi, we already have followed the guideline by resetting the WPML and even we have removed database of WPML as well but then we went to see the media files and found out that the amount of files has tripled by duplicates and what is scary is the duplicate images doesn't has different url's instead it holds the exact file path or url as the original image so even if we identify the duplicates and try to delete them it also deletes the original file which is bothering us the most and we tried to delete the duplicate images by using some plugin as well but it didn't worked as it was deleting the original image as well. and FYI these duplicate images which you guys call as entries was created by WPML . please help me to remove this duplicate image entries from the website
If you have already reseted the WPML database, all the media languages files will be lost and it appears as default language, in this case, it is only possible to manually remove the images.
Being so, I would like to ask if you have a backup available before you reset the WPML plugin?
yes i have made an reset on WPML also i have removed the database tables of WPML as well but nothing removed the image entries created by WPML. we used to make our products translated into Chianese version once we create a product on English, and i guess you know that how WPML functions with product images on translated version of default language versions. and as you are saying removing images they are not even duplicate images, they are just entries which holds the original image url so even if we delete the duplicate image entries manually it will automatically delete the original image as well. we tried to delete the images manually but it deletes the original image as well. and we don't have any backup unfortunately. so yeah we are seeking help from you guys to help us removing this duplicate image entries which is leftover or junk created by WPML.
I apologize, but once WPML is reset, the removal process becomes quite challenging as entries are deleted. Additionally, all images will revert to their original language, making it impossible to filter them effectively.
You may consider using custom plugins to remove duplicates, but this approach requires careful verification to avoid accidentally deleting original images.
Hi, i don't understand why the duplicate image entries added by wpml are still there even after doing the reset on WPML plugin. when i do a reset to any plugin it shouldn't keep any data of it's or throw junk to the database. these duplicate image entries we have on our website now is created by WPML and now you guys are saying you can't help? it's a shame. and we tried other plugins as well to delete the entries and we couldn't delete them as the duplicate image entries holds the same exact file path as the original so if you delete any duplicate image entries by wpml it would delete the original image as well. and i don't understand why would you guys design a plugin where even after doing a reset there will still be junk data left, most scary thing is it made the image number 2 times then the original. please help us to get rid of this issue.
We use the WordPress structure to create post types and manage them through our custom database setup. When a post or media item is translated, it is first created in the original language, and a corresponding database entry is created for it. These are then linked using our database tables.
If WPML tables are deleted, the system treats the content as if it were in the original language. This makes it impossible for us to determine which posts belonged to which language since the related information is removed.
This behavior is clearly stated in the WPML plugin under WPML → Support → Troubleshooting → Reset:
The 'Reset' action will deactivate the WPML plugin after deleting the WPML tables (tables with the 'icl_' prefix) from the database. The action will NOT delete any content (posts, taxonomy terms, etc.). It only affects translation and language information that WPML associates with each content type.
Unfortunately, the only suggestion I can offer is to delete database entries for post types that do not have a `post_parent`. However, this must be done directly in the database, as using WordPress functions to delete these entries may also remove the associated files, which can lead to further issues.
You can use the following SQL query, but please ensure you create a backup before proceeding, as this has not been tested. We won’t be able to provide support for any issues that arise from this action. Proceed at your own risk:
DELETE FROM `wp_posts`
WHERE `post_type` = 'attachment'
AND `post_status` = 'inherit'
AND `post_parent` = 0;
