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Settings Explained Complete Reference ​

Complete documentation of every setting in Auto Featured Image. Use this as your comprehensive reference guide.

In this article

Accessing Plugin Settings ​

Navigate to the Auto Featured Image page in your WordPress dashboard, then open the Settings tab.

1. Post Type Selection ​

Generate for Post Types ​

Purpose: Choose which post types should have auto-generated featured images.

Note: This option appears only after you enable the Add featured image when saving a post toggle.

How to Configure: ​

  1. Check the boxes for post types you want to enable
  2. Custom post types appear automatically if registered
  3. Click Save Settings

2. Generation Methods ​

Primary Image Source ​

Purpose: Define how featured images should be created.

Option A: Find in post ​

What it does: Uses the first image found in post content

When to use: - Content already has images - Image selection should be automatic - Want fastest performance

Option B: Generate from title ​

What it does: Creates a custom graphic with post title text

Note: Please check this detailed Guide on How to Generate featured Image from Post Title.

When to use: - Opinion pieces - Tutorials without screenshots - Announcements - News articles

Option C: Find or generate ​

What it does:  It tries to find images in content, if it is not present then it generates from Title

It is a combination of Option A and Option B

Option D: Find or use default image ​

What it does:  It tries to find images in content, if it is not present then it uses the default images configured in settings

3. Default Image Configuration ​

Purpose: Set fallback images when no other method succeeds. The default image field is located in the Image Settings tab.

Site-Wide Default ​

Upload Default Image: Add Image Button

4. Auto-Generation Toggles ​

Purpose: Control when automatic generation occurs.

Automatic Generation ​

  • Add featured image when saving a post
  • When: The post is saved, whether you publish it or update it
  • Condition: Only if no featured image exists

Manual Generation ​

  • Generate featured image (Pro)
  • Location: The Image column dialog in the Posts list table
  • Allows manual trigger per post

5. Bulk Operations ​

Purpose: Process multiple posts at once.

Bulk Generation Settings ​

Post Selection:

  • Post Types: [Select: Posts | Pages | Products]
  • Post Status (Pro): [Select: Published | Draft | Pending | All]
  • Date Range (Pro):
  • From: [Date Picker]
  • To: [Date Picker]

Filters (Pro): - Categories: [Dropdown]

6. External APIs (Pro Only) ​

Purpose: You can connect to External API such as Pixabay and Unsplash to Import the images for your post directly from these platforms.

7. License (Pro Only) ​

Purpose: Manage your Pro license.

License Key: _____-_____-_____-_____

  • Status: ● Active / ○ Inactive
  • Expires: 2026-12-31

8. Plugin Logs ​

Purpose: View and manage the logs generated during the usage of the plugin

Default Settings Recommendations ​

For Blogs with Image-Heavy Content ​

✓ First Image from Content ✓ Auto-generate on publish ✗ Auto-generate on update (unless needed) ✓ Import external images

For Text-Based Content ​

✓ Generate from Post Title ✓ Stock Image Search (Pro) ✓ Default fallback image Background: Branded color/image Font: Brand font, 48px

For E-commerce Sites ​

✓ First Image from Content (for products with images) ✓ Custom dimensions: 800x800 ✗ Auto-generate on update (preserve manual images)

For News/Magazine Sites ​

✓ First Image from Content ✓ Stock Image Search fallback (Pro) ✓ Auto-generate on publish Batch processing: 20 posts

Troubleshooting Settings ​

Settings Not Saving? ​

  • Check file permissions on wp-content/uploads
  • Disable caching plugins temporarily
  • Clear browser cache
  • Check for JavaScript errors in console

Custom Post Types Not Showing? ​

  • Verify post type is registered correctly
  • Check post type supports 'thumbnail'
  • Re-save permalinks (Settings > Permalinks)

API Keys Not Working? ​

  • Verify keys are correct (no extra spaces)
  • Check API quotas/limits
  • Test keys using external tool
  • Review API provider status page

Need Help? ​

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