ShapedGallery

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FAQ ​

Short answers to the questions that come up most.

Getting started ​

Do I need both plugins? ​

Yes. Shaped Gallery (free, from WordPress.org) and Shaped Gallery Pro must both be installed and active. They're the same plugin at two feature levels, sharing one post type, one block and one settings store — which is what makes upgrading a zero-migration operation. More →

Do I have to use the block editor? ​

To build a gallery, yes — the editor is WordPress's own, on a hidden gallery post type. To place one, no: every saved gallery has a permanent shortcode you can use in any editor, page builder or template. More →

Almost always one of two things: your license isn't active, or the gallery's Visibility is set to Private. Both show administrators the gallery and visitors nothing.

Galleries ​

Yes. A page embeds a reference to a saved gallery, never a copy, so there's no re-sync step. Deleting a gallery removes it everywhere too — the confirmation warns you.

Can I use the same image in two galleries with different captions? ​

Yes. Per-item text — alt, title, caption, description, custom URL — is stored with the gallery, not on the attachment. Your Media Library is untouched. More →

Any time. Change Layout on the block toolbar. Your images, order, categories, captions and every shared setting come with you. More →

How do I reorder images? ​

Drag tiles in the Edit Gallery modal, or use each tile's Move left / Move right buttons. Reverse Order flips the whole list.

Are categories site-wide? ​

No, and deliberately. Categories belong to one gallery. The same image can be Wedding in one gallery and Landscape in another, and deleting a category in one doesn't touch any other. Why →

Media ​

Can I use images that aren't in my Media Library? ​

Yes — External Images and External Video take URLs. They work in every layout and in the lightbox, but they can't be watermarked or served at a different resolution, because there's no attachment behind them. More →

Which video services are supported? ​

YouTube, Vimeo, TikTok and Wistia, plus self-hosted and external video files. Videos play in the tile or in the lightbox. More →

Why does one video tile look different in the editor? ​

A video with no featured image can't be shown as an editable image block, so the editor draws its first frame instead. That one tile can't be dragged on the canvas — reorder it from the Edit Gallery modal. Give the video a featured image and it becomes a normal tile.

Features ​

Where do the watermark settings live? ​

Under Shaped Gallery → Settings → Modules → Watermark. The gallery block decides whether its images are watermarked; the module decides what the mark is and where it sits — so a site configures its watermark once. More →

Does the lightbox load on every page? ​

No. The viewer is a separate bundle, requested only by a page with a gallery whose click action actually opens it. The same is true of the Thumbnails slider runtime and the entrance-animation keyframes. More →

Why doesn't the lightbox work on the Thumbnails layout? ​

That layout renders its main slides with no click action, so there's nothing for the viewer to bind to — which is why the Image Click Action panel isn't shown there at all. More →

Can I stop people downloading my photos? ​

You can make it harder, not impossible. Combine Image Protection (blocks right-click and dragging), Watermark (so a copy carries your mark), turning off the lightbox's Download button, and serving a smaller Resolution. Anything a browser displays has already been downloaded.

Why did a control disappear from my inspector? ​

You almost certainly switched off the module behind it. When a module is off, the per-gallery controls it governs are hidden rather than greyed out — a control for a feature that doesn't exist is a wrong control, not a disabled one. Your stored values are untouched and return with the module.

Performance ​

Image & Video Settings → Resolution. If it's Full, you're serving original camera files into small tiles. Set it to Medium or Large. Then switch on Ajax Pagination if the gallery has more than about 30 images. Full checklist →

What's the difference between Lazy Load and Ajax Pagination? ​

Lazy Load defers images that are on the page until they're needed. Ajax Pagination means they aren't on the page at all until requested. Pagination is the bigger win; do both.

Customisation ​

Where do I write custom CSS? ​

Appearance → Customize → Additional CSS. Use the gallery's Advanced Settings → Additional CSS Class(es) / Additional CSS ID as hooks to target one gallery. The plugin deliberately ships no CSS box of its own. Why →

Is it translation-ready? ​

Yes, for both the PHP and the JavaScript. The Pro text domain is shaped-gallery-pro; the free build's is shaped-gallery.

Can I add my own media source? ​

Yes — a media source is one provider class plus one registration call, with no change to the renderer, the REST layer or the editor. More →

Data ​

What happens if I delete the plugin? ​

By default, nothing is removed — your galleries and settings stay in the database, so reinstalling picks up where you left off. To have everything deleted on uninstall, switch on Settings → Advanced Controls → Clean-up Data on Deletion first. Full detail →

A gallery goes to the trash first, so check Saved Galleries and your site's trash. A permanent delete cannot be undone — restore from a backup.

Still stuck? ​