Help:Images and other uploaded files

MediaWiki Handbook: Contents, Readers, Editors, Moderators, System admins +/-

You can upload files through MediaWiki and embed them in textual pages. In other words, to embed an image, the image file has to be uploaded. Also other files can be uploaded, see below. In earlier versions of MediaWiki, the term "image" was used for any uploaded file; the current version uses the term (and namespace) "file:" or "media:" instead.

When a file is uploaded, a file page (also called "image description page") will be created, with a page name consisting of the file name (including extension), prefixed with "File:" (or in general the value of variable {{ns:File}} (MediaWiki 1.14 following) or {{ns:Image}} (MediaWiki 1.13 or earlier).

Media files like images can be embedded into text using the regular internal link syntax. Images can also be resized to fit better within the page, see below.

A group of wikis may have designated one "preferred wiki" to upload files to, with sharing of those files enabled. Among Wikimedia wikis, Wikimedia Commons works for this. If images are uploaded to Wikimedia Commons, they can be used in all Wikimedia wikis. Images uploaded on another wiki (e.g. Wikipedia) can only be used in pages of that wiki. Thus this should be done only if there is a special reason for it, such as locally replacing an image from Commons with a local version without changing the links.

Images can also be produced by the system from specifications in wikitext:

Formulas (e.g. <math>n^2 = \sum_{k=1}^n(2k-1)</math> produced by <math>n^2 = \sum_{k=1}^n(2k-1)</math>.)
Timelines, navigational maps, etc. (e.g. Soviet Leaders)
Thumbnails of uploaded images (e.g. A steam locomotive, at File:LBNGR_MR740_05-09-11.jpeg) (saves bandwidth and rendering time compared with letting the browser do the reduction)

Supported file types

By default, MediaWiki only allows you to upload certain types of files (extensions gif, jpg, jpeg, ogg and png). This is managed by the orders in includes/DefaultSettings.php [1]: <source lang="php"> /**

* This is the list of preferred extensions for uploading files. Uploading files
* with extensions not in this list will trigger a warning.
*/

$wgFileExtensions = array( 'png', 'gif', 'jpg', 'jpeg', 'doc', 'docx', 'xls', 'xlsx', 'pdf' );

/** Files with these extensions will never be allowed as uploads. */ $wgFileBlacklist = array(

   # HTML may contain cookie-stealing JavaScript and web bugs
   'html', 'htm', 'js', 'jsb', 'mhtml', 'mht',
   # PHP scripts may execute arbitrary code on the server
   'php', 'phtml', 'php3', 'php4', 'php5', 'phps',
   # Other types that may be interpreted by some servers
   'shtml', 'jhtml', 'pl', 'py', 'cgi',
   # May contain harmful executables for Windows victims
   'exe', 'scr', 'dll', 'msi', 'vbs', 'bat', 'com', 'pif', 'cmd', 'vxd', 'cpl' );

/** Files with these mime types will never be allowed as uploads

* if $wgVerifyMimeType is enabled.
*/

$wgMimeTypeBlacklist= array(

   # HTML may contain cookie-stealing JavaScript and web bugs
   'text/html', 'text/javascript', 'text/x-javascript',  'application/x-shellscript',
   # PHP scripts may execute arbitrary code on the server
   'application/x-php', 'text/x-php',
   # Other types that may be interpreted by some servers
   'text/x-python', 'text/x-perl', 'text/x-bash', 'text/x-sh', 'text/x-csh',
   # Windows metafile, client-side vulnerability on some systems
   'application/x-msmetafile'

);

/** This is a flag to determine whether or not to check file extensions on upload. */ $wgCheckFileExtensions = false;

/**

* If this is turned off, users may override the warning for files not covered
* by $wgFileExtensions.
*/

$wgStrictFileExtensions = true;

/** Warn if uploaded files are larger than this (in bytes), or false to disable*/ $wgUploadSizeWarning = false; </source>

Take in to account that there is a blacklist of file extensions and mime types. For reasons of security, executable programs are not allowed by default. Also some file types that could be uploaded in the past can no longer be uploaded, but the files already uploaded can still be used.

SVG images uploaded earlier can be linked to, but not be directly embedded, e.g. Media:Wikipedia3fnlc1.svg (image description page) - see also m:SVG image support.

For videos see m:Video policy.

Uploading

To upload a file, in general, go to Commons, log in there, and upload the file using the upload link commons:Special:Upload. In the menu on the left under "toolbox" you will have a link named "Upload file". If you want to upload the file to one of the other wikis, you can follow the same steps as at Commons, but be sure to refer to the local guidelines.

Before uploading please ensure that you have rights to upload and redistribute the file(s) in question, and that they comply with any further licensing requirements of the Wikimedia Commons project and other criteria for inclusion. Please note that as with wiki pages, others may edit or delete your uploads if they think it serves the project, and you may be blocked from uploading if you abuse the system.

The preferred formats are JPEG for photographic images with millions of colors and shades; PNG for fixed-color pixelated images such as icons; SVG for structured drawings, logos; and OGG for audio.

Once you get to the upload page, on most browsers, you will see a "Browse..." button, which will bring up your operating system's standard file open dialog. Choosing a file will fill the name of that file into the text field next to the button. Upload the file under a suitable name, because renaming the file after uploading is not possible. The file name doesn't need to be the same as the file name stored on your computer. Please name your files descriptively to avoid confusion and make sure that the file name has the proper extension. Consider using the first 20 characters of the image name for as much compact information as possible, since only these are usually shown on category pages. The file names are case-sensitive (this applies even for the file name extension), except, in most wikis, for the first character.

When choosing a name for a file on Commons, do not use a name that is already in use on any project on which the file may be used. This is because a file on Commons with the same name as the one on the local is not accessible for embedding in the local project. However, if the new file on Commons should replace the local ones, and the local ones will therefore be deleted, you may use the same name.

You must also check the box affirming that you are not violating any copyrights by uploading the file. Press the "Upload file" button to finish the upload. This may take some time if you have a slow internet connection.

When a file is uploaded with the same name as an existing one, the old one is replaced, and the system will warn against overwriting. When a media file is replaced by uploading a new one with the same name (e.g. an image in an article is replaced), this does not show up in the page history of the article, nor in the Related changes of the article, nor in the revision history of the image description page (unless the description section is also changed). However, it is recorded in the Image History section of the image description page, and it changes m:Upload log. Therefore, to watch changes in images in an article, it is not sufficient to watch the article itself. Watching the image description pages will help you find the change in the file (from MediaWiki 1.13).

Protection of an image page is automatically also protection of the image itself: i.e. a new image under the name of the existing image can only be uploaded by a sysop.

When replacing or deleting a file on Commons, all projects that use the file are affected. Therefore it is important that the image page on Commons is linked to the local image pages of that file on all projects that use it. On these, even if they have never been created explicitly and therefore have an empty editable part, the "file links" section shows the local pages that use the file.

See commons:Commons:First steps for more detail.

Special:Imagelist provides the same information as the Upload log, but it uses the user's local time instead of the default time (set to Coordinated Universal Time for Wikimedia projects). In addition it gives the file sizes. Further it allows loading of portions and sorting by size in addition to sorting by date, and it has not only links to the image description pages, but also directly to the images.

Embedding internal files

To embed an internal file in a text, you just have to specify its file name with the internal link syntax ([[ ]]). Thus, [[image:tst.png]] gives File:Tst.png.

Here, "internal" refers to both the same project and Commons. An image name is assumed to refer to the one in the same project if it exists there, otherwise to one on Commons. If neither exists a link to the upload page appears, with class="new" ("red link"). The link is rendered the same as one to the edit page of the non-existing image page, except that the former shows the canonical form of the pagename.

Only images proper can be automatically presented, sound is not automatically played.

An embedded internal image automatically links to the image page, which shows the full image, or, depending on preferences, a reduced version with a link to the full version. The page also provides info about the image.

Images on MediaWiki:Bad image list cannot be embedded; they appear as a regular link to the image page. Exceptions to allow a listed image on particular relevant articles can be added. See, for example, w:en:MediaWiki:Bad image list.

Options

The internal-link style markup for embedding a file can take various options separated with a pipe character ("|"). In brief, they are [[Image:{name}|{type}|{location}|{size}|{upright}|{border}|{caption}]].

Type: 'thumb' or 'frame'. Causes image to be displayed with specific formatting (see below).
Location: 'left', 'right', 'center' or 'none'. Determines placement of the image on the page.<ref>class="floatleft", class="floatright", class="center" with class="floatnone", and just class="floatnone". The actual position depends on css.</ref> Defaults to 'right' if the type is 'thumb' or 'frame'. The combination thumb and none can be useful in a table, to allow a caption but reduce the space around the image. Text that follows the image with location left or right floats, in the case of center or none it does not (if necessary, reduce the browser window width to see this in the examples). An image without the specification thumb or frame, and without location specified (not even none) is displayed inline.
Size: {width}px or {width}x{height}px, reduces or enlarges an image without specified type, reduces an image if thumb is specified. Even if width and height are specified the image will keep its original aspect ratio: either the width or the height will be equal to the specified maximum, whichever allows the other to be no larger than the maximum.
Upright: for use only on images that are taller than they are wide. Adjusts a thumbnail's size to factor times the default thumbnail size, rounding the result to the nearest multiple of 10 pixels. For instance, "upright=1.5" makes the image larger, which is useful for maps or schematics that need to be larger to be readable. As a guide "upright=1" is the same width as a standard thumbnail, and "upright=0.75" is the same as using "upright" alone.
Border: adds a border around the image.
Link: To allow an image to link to an arbitrary title, URL or just nowhere.
Alt: See w:wp:Alternative text for images.
Caption: Any element which cannot be identified as one of the above is assumed to be caption text. If there is more than one the last one is effective, even if it's an empty string. Specifying a caption parameter is strongly recommended for the sake of accessibility. Images without type do not have a caption, the caption parameter becomes a "title"-attribute, which is shown in the hoverbox. A real caption can contain links.

In the case of a non-existing image, a link to the upload page is provided. If type has been specified this is still applied, with the caption. Location is also applied. Remaining elements, even image size, are treated like caption: the last one of any of these is effective as label of the upload link.

Single pipes inside a pair of double rectangular brackets, such as in link and image syntax, are shielded by these brackets from being interpreted as table syntax. However, this does not apply to consecutive pipes, which might occur in the expanded wikitext for image syntax if an optional parameter is not applicable. Thus in the case of an optional parameter, make the pipe optional as well. A pipe in e.g. the then- or else part of a conditional parser function can be coded as {{!}}, due to Template:!. Alternatively, add an unconditional space in the image syntax: a pipe-space-pipe combination is not a double pipe, so not taken as table syntax, while a parameter position containing just a space is ignored in the interpretation of the image syntax.

In cases where text floats around the image, use <br clear="all" />, or on projects that have Template:Clr or Template:- {{clr}} or {{-}} to continue below the image(s).

An image can be in-line, a floating block, or like a paragraph (i.e., without text on the sides).

Inline

a[[Image:Tst.png|x]]b → axb [2]

a[[Image:Tst.png|5px|x]]b → axb [3]

a[[Image:Tst.png|20px|x]]b → axb [4]

The default thumbnail width (also applicable to frameless) can be set in the preferences, so typically it is better not to specify "px". Either way, showing an enlargement of the stored image is not possible.

a[[Image:Tst.png|frameless|x]]b → axb [5]

a[[Image:Tst.png|frameless|5px|x]]b → axb [6]

a[[Image:Tst.png|frameless|20px|x]]b → axb [7]

Floating, neither thumb nor frame

With the differences mentioned above, this applies to frameless too.

a[[Image:Tst.png|left|x]]b → a

x

b [8]

a[[Image:Tst.png|left|5px|x]]b → a

x

b [9]

a[[Image:Tst.png|left|20px|x]]b → a

x

b [10]

a[[Image:Tst.png|right|x]]b → a

x

b [11]

a[[Image:Tst.png|right|5px|x]]b → a

x

b [12]

a[[Image:Tst.png|right|20px|x]]b → a

x

b [13]

Blank on the side(s), neither thumb nor frame

With the differences mentioned above, this applies to frameless too.

a[[Image:Tst.png|center|x]]b → a

x

b [14]

a[[Image:Tst.png|center|5px|x]]b → a

x

b [15]

a[[Image:Tst.png|center|20px|x]]b → a

x

b [16]

a[[Image:Tst.png|none|x]]b → a

x

b [17]

a[[Image:Tst.png|none|5px|x]]b → a

x

b [18]

a[[Image:Tst.png|none|20px|x]]b → a

x

b [19]

Floating, thumb with caption

Both the image itself and an "enlarge" icon in the frame links to the image page.

a[[Image:Tst.png|thumb|c|x]]b → a

File:Drenthe-Position.png Drenthe, the least crowded province	File:Flevoland-Position.png	File:Friesland-Position.png

File:Gelderland-Position.png	File:Zuid Holland-Position.png South Holland, the most crowded province	File:Utrecht-Position.png

	http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Tst.png
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Tst.png
	http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Tst.png

Help:Images and other uploaded files

Contents

Supported file types

Uploading

Embedding internal files

Options

Inline

Floating, neither thumb nor frame

Blank on the side(s), neither thumb nor frame

Floating, thumb with caption

Blank on the side(s), thumb with caption

Limitation of thumb

Floating, frame with caption

Blank on the side(s), frame with caption

Limitation of frame

Multiple images with floating text

Link

Gallery

Galleries in categories

Images in a table

Linking

Navigational maps

Example using ImageMap

Examples using EasyTimeline

Alternatives

Template for showing links to files with appropriate icons

See also

External links

Links to other help pages

Navigation menu

Search