Uninstalling & Data
What the plugin stores, what happens when you delete it, and how to remove everything on purpose.
The short version
Deleting the plugin removes nothing by default. Your galleries, settings and license stay in the database, so reinstalling picks up exactly where you left off.
If you want a clean removal, you have to ask for it first — switch on Settings → Advanced Controls → Clean-up Data on Deletion before deleting.
What the plugin stores
| What | Where | Removed by cleanup? |
|---|---|---|
| Reusable galleries | Posts of a hidden shaped_gallery type | ✅ (only when the free plugin is gone too) |
| Galleries embedded in pages | Inside the page's own content | ❌ — they belong to your pages |
| Settings | One options row | ✅ (only when the free plugin is gone too) |
| License key and status | Its own options row | ✅ |
| Generated watermark files | Your uploads folder | ✅ |
| Cached gallery data | Transients | ✅ |
| Pattern favourites | An options row | ✅ (only when the free plugin is gone too) |
| Your images | The Media Library | ❌ never |
Your images are never touched
Removing an image from a gallery, deleting a gallery, and uninstalling the plugin all leave your Media Library exactly as it is. The plugin references your files; it doesn't own them.
Arming the cleanup
Shaped Gallery → Settings → Advanced Controls.
Switch on Clean-up Data on Deletion.
Confirm the dialog:
Deleting the plugin will permanently remove all Shaped Gallery Pro data, including galleries, settings, caches, your license key and watermark files. Nothing is removed now, and this cannot be undone.
Save Changes.
Nothing is removed at that moment. The switch only says what should happen if the plugin is deleted later. You can switch it back off at any time.
Deleting the plugin
Which plugin you delete, and whether the other one is still on disk, decides what goes:
| You delete | Other plugin still installed | What's removed |
|---|---|---|
| Pro | Free still present | Pro's own data only: the license row, its scheduled task, its install record, and the generated watermark files. Your galleries and settings stay, because the free build still needs them. |
| Pro | Free already gone | Everything: galleries, settings, caches, pattern favourites, plus all of the above. |
| Free | Pro still present | Nothing. The free build's uninstaller stands down so it can't take Pro's data with it. |
In every case, nothing at all is removed unless Clean-up Data on Deletion is on.
Deactivating is not deleting
Deactivate stops the plugin running and touches no data — your galleries stop rendering and come straight back when you reactivate. The cleanup only ever runs on Delete.
On multisite, the flag is per site
Each site in a network has its own settings, so each decides for itself. One site ticking the box doesn't empty its neighbours.
Removing one gallery
Shaped Gallery → Saved Galleries → Delete. The confirmation says what it costs:
Permanently delete this gallery? It will stop working everywhere its shortcode is used, and this cannot be undone.
Because pages hold a reference rather than a copy, deleting a gallery blanks it everywhere its shortcode appears. If you're not sure where it's used, search your content for the id first.
Removing just the generated files
Watermarking creates copies of your images. To reclaim that space without touching anything else:
Settings → Modules → Watermark → gear → Purge Watermark Cache.
The copies are rebuilt from your originals the next time someone views a watermarked gallery, so it's safe to press at any time. More →
Clearing caches only
Settings → Advanced Controls → Clear Gallery Cache. Clears the plugin's cached gallery data and nothing else — everything it clears is derived and rebuilds on the next view. More →
Moving to another site
Reusable galleries are ordinary WordPress posts, so WordPress's own export/import carries them:
- Tools → Export, choose All content (galleries are a hidden post type and ride along with it).
- On the new site, install both plugins, activate your license, and Tools → Import.
- Import your Media Library too, or the galleries will reference files that aren't there.
- Check each gallery afterwards — attachment ids change on import, and galleries referencing Media Library items are matched by id.
Before a big migration
Take a backup, and check a couple of galleries on the new site before you point DNS at it. It's far easier to fix two galleries than sixty.