Free and Pro media workflow guide
Turn inconsistent media names into useful WordPress metadata.
SEO Media Manager Free keeps new-upload titles consistent. Pro adds more sources and cleanup rules, protected words, extra metadata fields, and durable background processing for existing media. This guide covers version 1.3.0.
Quick start
Format a new upload safely
- Back up the WordPress database before changing existing media; a new-upload test is the safest first step.
- Open SEO Media Manager → Settings and stay on Formatting rules.
- Free starts with the WordPress attachment title. Pro can instead use the original filename or a fixed title.
- Edit the example filename in the live preview and check the result as you adjust the available cleanup, case, capitalisation, and protected-word rules.
- Choose which available metadata fields should receive the formatted title, then save the rules.
- Upload one representative image and inspect its attachment title and enabled metadata fields in the Media Library.
Checkpoint: the saved attachment title should be readable, the original file should remain unchanged, and only the metadata fields you enabled should receive the formatted result.
Understand the processing order
SEO Media Manager applies rules in a fixed order so a saved configuration gives repeatable results: optional fixed-title replacement; selected character and number removal; custom phrase removal; capital and numeric boundary parsing; whitespace cleanup; letter case; capitalization; protected uppercase words; and a final whitespace cleanup.
Order matters: protected uppercase words run after the main case and capitalization rules. A saved entry such as SEO can therefore restore the exact abbreviation in an otherwise title-cased result.
Choose the correct source
Free
Use the existing WordPress attachment title for new uploads, then apply the available character, case, and capitalisation rules.
Pro
Choose the WordPress title, original filename, or a fixed title for new uploads. Existing-media jobs use the stored original filename, so repeated jobs do not transform an already formatted title again.
A non-empty Fixed title replaces either source before the other rules run. It is intended for deliberate repeated metadata, not for preserving each item’s original identity.
Build the formatting rule
Cleanup and parsing
Replace selected punctuation and bracket characters with spaces; the historical ampersand key controls the at sign.
Remove every Unicode numeric character, or keep numbers and insert spaces before numeric groups.
Remove non-empty comma-separated phrases with case-sensitive matching.
Insert spaces before uppercase Unicode letters to split compact names such as a camel-cased source.
Protected words: up to 50 unique comma-separated entries are retained. Each must be 1–30 characters and may contain letters, numbers, and internal hyphens. Matching is whole-word and case-insensitive; the stored result is uppercase.
Choose the metadata fields to update
| Field | WordPress storage | Behaviour |
|---|---|---|
| Title | post_title | Always receives a non-empty formatted title. |
| Alternative text | _wp_attachment_image_alt | Optional; saved only after the attachment post update succeeds and after the public alternative-text filter runs. |
| Caption | post_excerpt | Optional; receives the formatted title in the same post update. |
| Description | post_content | Optional; receives the formatted title in the same post update. |
The plugin also adds a title attribute when generating supported editor image or gallery-link HTML only when that output does not already contain one. It does not rename or rewrite the original media file.
Process existing media as a durable Pro job
Open Batch processing in Pro to process a custom selection or the complete Media Library. You can limit the job to images, SVG files, PDFs, video, audio, or other media types before it starts. Complete-library jobs read attachments in ascending ID order.
SEO Media Manager uses Action Scheduler to divide the work into saved groups of no more than 20 attachments. Each worker commits its progress before the next worker is queued, so the page can be closed without losing the job summary. Locking prevents two workers from processing the same group; cancellation takes effect after the current worker; and an interrupted queue can be recovered without duplicating completed work.
Before running: back up the database, verify the rules with one new upload, and start with a small custom selection. Existing titles and enabled metadata fields will be overwritten when a batch succeeds.
If the rules produce an empty title, the item is skipped and no metadata is changed. If the attachment post update fails, alternative text is not updated separately.
Update from Format Media Titles without losing settings
Format Media Titles becomes SEO Media Manager Free through the normal WordPress.org update. The listing URL and update channel remain format-media-titles, but Free and Pro now come from the same codebase and use the same settings. No separate Pro plugin is needed.
In-place update: version 1.3.0 migrates compatible legacy fmt_options once, then keeps the saved SEO Media Manager settings and attachment metadata when a Pro licence is activated, deactivated, or expires.
Use the public developer filters
SEO Media Manager retains three filters: seo_media_manager_defaults for the complete default option array, seo_media_manager_title for the formatted media title immediately before saving, and seo_media_manager_alt for the proposed alternative text. Return the same value type passed to the filter.
The complete reference lists the verified value, parameters, and return contract for each filter.
Troubleshoot predictable failure modes
The formatted title is empty and nothing changes
Reduce the removal rules or clear the Fixed title. SEO Media Manager deliberately skips the complete write when the resulting title is empty.
A batch result differs from a new-upload result
Check the source. A new upload may use its WordPress title, while an existing-media batch always starts from the original filename.
An abbreviation is no longer uppercase
Add the whole word to Keep words uppercase. The protected-word step runs after case and capitalization, and matching does not include a word embedded inside a longer alphanumeric string.
The background job appears to be stalled
Check that WP-Cron is running, or that the server cron calls it regularly. Then return to Batch processing and use the recovery action if a queued worker was interrupted. Completed items are not processed twice.
What happens when the subscription expires?
The plugin remains active with the Free feature set, and saved settings and media metadata remain in place. Renew the licence to restore Pro processing, future updates, and support.
Include this context with a support request
- SEO Media Manager version and WordPress/PHP versions.
- Whether the site is using the Free or Pro feature set.
- Whether the issue affects a new upload, complete-library job, or custom selection.
- The selected source, formatting rules, metadata targets, and file-type filter.
- An anonymised original filename or WordPress title, the result you expected, and the relevant saved job status.
Still stuck?
Bring the exact media workflow with you.
Sign in for private support connected to your purchase, licence, and download history.