Help:Pictures

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Help:Pictures is a guide on how to use and manage images and other media files in a MediaWiki environment. This article provides an overview of the procedures for uploading, inserting, and maintaining pictures within a MediaWiki-based website, such as those commonly used for wikis, including the well-known Wikipedia.

Uploading Pictures

To upload pictures to a MediaWiki site, users must have the necessary permissions, which typically require being logged into an account with uploading privileges. The process involves:

Navigating to the "Upload file" link on the sidebar under "tools."
Clicking on the link will open an upload page where users can select the file to upload from their device.
Users must also provide a description of the image, its source, and any copyright information.
After filling out the necessary information, the file can be uploaded by clicking the "Upload file" button.

Inserting Pictures

Once an image is uploaded, it can be inserted into articles using the following syntax:

  
Caption text

This syntax allows for several options:

thumb or thumbnail – Displays a smaller version of the image.
right or left – Aligns the image to the right or left side of the page.
center – Centers the image on the page.
alt – Provides alternative text for the image, which is useful for accessibility.
The caption text can be added directly after the alt text.

Managing Pictures

MediaWiki provides various tools and special pages to manage uploaded files, including:

Special:ListFiles – Displays a list of all uploaded files.
Special:NewFiles – Shows recently uploaded files.
Special:UnusedFiles – Lists files that are uploaded but not used in any articles.

Best Practices

When dealing with pictures on a MediaWiki site, consider the following best practices:

Ensure that all uploaded images comply with the site's copyright policies.
Use descriptive file names that reflect the image content.
Optimize images for web use to ensure fast page loading.
Regularly check the usage of images and remove or replace outdated or unused files.