Bulk Generation Processing Existing Posts

Learn how to automatically add featured images to hundreds or thousands of existing posts at once. Perfect for migrating legacy content.

Overview

The Bulk Generation tool processes multiple posts simultaneously, adding featured images to posts that don't have them. Essential for sites with existing content libraries.

When to Use Bulk Generation

Common Scenarios

✓ New Plugin Installation - Adding featured images to existing blog - Hundreds or thousands of old posts - Retroactive optimization

✓ Content Migration - Moving from another platform - Importing content without featured images - Rebuilding site

✓ Theme Change - New theme requires featured images - Improving visual consistency - SEO optimization

✓ Periodic Maintenance - Finding posts with missing images - Quality assurance checks - Regular content audits

Accessing the Bulk Generation Tool

Location

Method 1: Plugin Settings

1. Go to Settings > Auto Featured Image

2. Click Bulk Generation tab

3. Access full-featured interface

Method 2: Posts Screen

1. Go to Posts > All Posts

2. Select multiple posts (checkboxes)

3. Choose "Generate Featured Images" from Bulk Actions dropdown

4. Click Apply

Using the Bulk Generation Tool

Step 1: Filter Your Posts

Select Criteria:

Post Type

☑ Posts ☐ Pages ☐ Products (WooCommerce) ☐ Custom Post Types

Post Status

☑ Published ☐ Draft ☐ Pending ☐ Scheduled ☐ Private

Date Range

Custom Range:

From: [MM/DD/YYYY] To: [MM/DD/YYYY]

Post Categories

☐ All Categories ☑ Technology ☑ Travel ☐ Food

Step 2: Choose Generation Method

Click "Generation Method" to see what options are provided.

Find in Post - It searches for the first image found in the post content.

Generate From Title - It generate the images from the title on colored background (background and text customization can be done via settings)

Find or Generate - It tries to find images in content, if it is not present then it generates from Title

Find or Use Default Image - It tries to find images in content, if it is not present then it uses the default images configured in settings

Step 3: Start Bulk Generation

Click "Generate Featured Image" button.

Progress Display:

Progress Details: - You can also view the logs present below this section to know the status of this operation.

Success count (green) - Warning count (yellow) - e.g., no images found - Error count (red) - e.g., timeout, permissions

Handling Large Sites (1000+ Posts)

Challenges

PHP timeout limits
Memory exhaustion
Server load
Database locks

Solutions

1. Process in Smaller Batches

Strategy:

Total posts: 5,000 Batch 1: Posts from 2024 (1,200 posts) Batch 2: Posts from 2023 (1,800 posts) Batch 3: Posts from 2022 (1,000 posts) etc.

Break down by: - Date ranges - Categories - Authors - Post types

Use CRON Processing (Pro)

Setup:

Select a Generation Method from the settings.
Enable Add featured image on a schedule in plugin settings.
Configure Image generation schedule
Save the changes.
Close browser - processing continues

Quick Start Guide
Understanding How Auto Featured Image Works
Settings Explained: Complete Reference
Generating Featured Images from Post Content
Performance Optimization for Large Sites