---
title: Remove Special Characters Settings Reference
description: "Every setting in Remove Special Characters: Force Redirection and Notification Email (Pro), the Remove Characters tool and access rules."
url: "https://wpfactory.com/docs/special-characters-settings/"
updated: "2026-09-27"
category: References
---

# Remove Special Characters Settings Reference

This is the settings reference for [Remove Special Characters From Permalinks (URLs) for WordPress](https://wpfactory.com/item/remove-special-characters-from-permalinks-wordpress-plugin/). The free version has no settings: it cleans slugs automatically on save. Pro adds two screens: **Settings > Special Characters** for Force Redirection and the notification email, and **Tools > Remove Characters** for the one-click bulk cleanup.

## Free version

There is no menu item, settings page or option to configure. Once active (with WooCommerce also active), the plugin cleans the slug of any post, page, product or custom post type item when it is saved. See [How to Remove Special Characters from WordPress URLs](https://wpfactory.com/docs/special-characters-remove-from-urls/).

On the **Plugins** screen, the free plugin adds a **Pro Version** link. When you first activate it, a notice on the Plugins screen describes the Pro version.

## Settings > Special Characters (Pro)

The page is titled **Remove Special Characters Settings** and has one tab, **General**. Values are stored together in the option `trscfp_general`.

![Settings, Special Characters page, General tab](https://wpfactory.com/wp-content/uploads/special-characters-settings-1.png)

| Label | Option key | Type | Default | What it does |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Force Redirection | `redirect` | Checkbox | Off | When a front-end request ends in a 404 error, redirects it with a 301 to the post whose stored original path (`_trscfp_original_post_name`) matches the requested path. Only necessary if default WordPress redirection does not work. See [How to Redirect Old Permalinks After Removing Special Characters](https://wpfactory.com/docs/special-characters-redirect-old-urls/). |
| Notification Email | `email` | Text | The site admin email (**Settings > General > Administration Email Address**) | Receives an email when the bulk removal process is complete. The Remove Characters notice also names this address. Clear the field and save to send no email. |

Click **Save Changes** after editing. The page is saved through WordPress's `options.php`, so saving requires an administrator (the `manage_options` capability), even though users with `delete_posts` can open the page.

## Tools > Remove Characters (Pro)

The page is titled **Remove Special Characters from All Permalinks**.

| Control | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| **Remove special characters** button | Finds every published item whose slug contains a character other than a to z, 0 to 9, hyphen, underscore or dot, and cleans those slugs in a background process. Shows a notice with the number of posts found. See [How to Bulk Clean Special Characters from All WordPress Permalinks](https://wpfactory.com/docs/special-characters-bulk-clean-permalinks/). |

## Plugins screen links (Pro)

| Link | Opens |
| --- | --- |
| Settings | **Settings > Special Characters** (`options-general.php?page=trscfp`) |
| Remove tool | **Tools > Remove Characters** (`tools.php?page=trscfp_remove_characters`) |

## Who can see the Pro screens

Both Pro menu items require the `delete_posts` capability. In a default WordPress setup that includes administrators, editors, authors and contributors.

### Get more control

Save-time cleanup is free. [Remove Special Characters From Permalinks (URLs) for WordPress](https://wpfactory.com/item/remove-special-characters-from-permalinks-wordpress-plugin/) Pro adds the bulk tool, Force Redirection and completion emails. [See what Pro unlocks](https://wpfactory.com/item/remove-special-characters-from-permalinks-wordpress-plugin/).

Need a hand? Our team answers every ticket on the [Remove Special Characters support forum](https://wpfactory.com/support/item/remove-special-characters-from-permalinks-wordpress-plugin/).

Related articles

- [Remove Special Characters Developer Reference](https://wpfactory.com/docs/special-characters-developer-reference/)
- [Remove Special Characters Troubleshooting](https://wpfactory.com/docs/special-characters-troubleshooting/)
- [Remove Special Characters: Free vs Pro](https://wpfactory.com/docs/special-characters-free-vs-pro/)
- [Getting Started with Remove Special Characters From Permalinks](https://wpfactory.com/docs/special-characters-getting-started/)
- [How to Fix Non-English Characters in WordPress Permalinks](https://wpfactory.com/docs/special-characters-non-english-permalinks/)