Help:File description pages



Each uploaded file has an associated file description page, which gives information about the source of the file, as well as licensing and technical details of the file. While we traditionally think of a file description page as something that gives more info about a static image, it can actually amplify anything that can be uploaded to a wiki, including videos, sound clips, fonts, PDF documents and more.

Because a file description page is part of a unique namespace, you may occasionally hear it referred to by either the namespace name or number. Terms like a file page or a namespace 6 page mean precisely the same thing.

What are the parts of the page?
The description page consists of four parts:
 * 1) The image itself, or a link to a non-image file
 * 2) * The description page shows either the full-size image, or a reduced-size version with a link to the full version labeled "Full resolution".
 * 3) * Displayed images can be slightly different to the original upload, as images are automatically optimized for use on the web. A "download" link is available to obtain the original file.
 * 4) An "About" tab that contains:
 * 5) * a description of the image/sound, which you can add or edit by editing the image page
 * 6) * a list of pages on which the image appears (not including pages that simply link to the image page)
 * 7) A "File History" tab that contains:
 * 8) * The history of uploads for that image (see also page history)
 * 9) * A link to upload a new version of that image
 * 10) A "Metadata" tab, when metadata of the image is available.

How do I update the page?
The description text under the "About" tab can be edited like normal article text by clicking the "Edit" button. This will also allow you to categorize the image.

The image itself can be updated by uploading a new image with the same name via upload tools, or by using the "Upload a new version of this file" link at the bottom of the "File history" tab.

What information should be placed on the "About" tab?
This area allows normal article wikitext. Initially the description automatically contains the upload summary supplied by the user when uploading the first version (this text also shows up in the "File history" section in the "Comment" column).

Description of the image
Example: "Image of a goldfish in a small tank". This is useful for users who do not have direct access to the image.

Author and source information
Always provide as much information as you can about the creator of the image, and where you got the image (i.e. a website, scanned from a book, took a photo yourself).

If the image is licensed under a CC-BY license (or most similar licenses) it must be attributed to the copyright holder (usually the photographer). If this is not done, your upload violates the terms of the license, and is a copyright violation.

Even if the image is public domain or is under a license that doesn't require attribution, please provide source information anyway to make verification easy. Remember that your community might be around for ten, twenty, or a hundred years, and later readers or editors may have different needs for verifying the source of an image.

Licensing information
Please include an image copyright tag, either by typing the correct template (such as  by hand, or choosing from a license selector dropdown, if available on your wiki.

If applicable, provide a link to documentation of the licensing terms (i.e. a "Terms of use" or "About" page for the website where you got the image).

Other versions
If other versions (especially a larger version) of the same image exists, it can be helpful to link to them. For example: Text-free versions may be useful for using across different languages.
 *  Goldfish-in-tank-large.jpg (info) 
 *  Goldfish-in-tank2.jpg (info) 
 *  Goldfish-in-tank-textfree.jpg (info) 

Can I categorize images?
By adding a category tag on the image page, images can be in the same category as other pages, but are treated a little differently: they are not included in the count of articles in the category, and they are displayed in a separate section, with a thumbnail and the name for each.

A category can either mix articles and images about a subject, or you can create separate image categories. An image category is typically a subcategory of the general category about the same subject, and a subcategory of a wider image category.

For categorizing a brand new image, the image page does not even have to be edited: the category code can be included in the upload summary.

Can images be protected?
Administrators and content moderators can protect an image description page, which automatically protects the image itself, preventing users without specified rights from reuploading that image or uploading an image of the same name.

How do I link to an image page without displaying the image?
To make a link to the image description page of an image without including the actual image, use a leading colon in the link, like:  or. The colon prevents the image being embedded in the article, and instead makes an ordinary internal link.

Further help and feedback
de:Hilfe:Dateibeschreibungsseite es:Ayuda:Página de descripción de imagen fi:Ohje:Tiedoston kuvaussivu fr:Aide:Page de description d'un fichier it:Aiuto:Caricare file multipli ja:Help:画像記述ページ pl:Pomoc:Opis pliku pt:Ajuda:Página de descrição de imagem ru:Справка:Описание изображения vi:Trợ giúp:Trang mô tả ảnh zh:Help:圖像描述頁