Help:Image page

Each uploaded file has an associated image page. This term is also applied in the case of other file types, notably sound files.

In the case of an image proper, the image page shows the full image (elsewhere often only a reduced version is shown), or, depending on preferences, a reduced version with a link to the full version, labelled "Download high resolution version (..x.., .. KB)".

Also the page is used as image description page, giving info about the image.

To make a link to the image description page of a sound file, or of an image without including the actual image, use a link like: [[:Image:a_sound.ogg]] or [[:Image:an_image.jpg]]. In the case of an image, the leading colon prevents the image being embedded in the article, and instead makes an ordinary link. In the case of a sound, automatically playing the sound is not possible anyway.

The description page consists of four parts:

• in the case of an image: the image itself
• description of the image/sound
• "Image history"
• "Image links" or "File links".

The description part has also an edit history; it is labelled, somewhat confusingly, Image:xxx Revision history. It should not be confused with the Image history.

What follows refers to the description part, and is in particular about images.

Useful things to include on an image description page

In the description part of the page you can put text. Initially the description part automatically contains the upload summary supplied by the user when uploading the first version (this text also shows up in the Image history section at the first upload line).

Description of the image

Eg: "Image of a goldfish in a small tank". This should not be an alternative text, but rather a description. This is useful for users who do not have direct access to the image, and is a temporary substitute for a proper longdesc tag.

You could also include the proportions of the image, in pixels.

Other versions

If other versions (especially a larger version) of the same image exists, link to them.

• [[Media:Goldfish-in-tank2.jpg|different camera angle]] ([[:Image:Goldfish-in-tank2.jpg|info]])
• [[Media:Goldfish-in-tank-textfree.jpg|textfree version]] ([[:Image:Goldfish-in-tank-textfree.jpg|info]])

Textfree versions are useful for using across language versions.

Categorizing images

Images can be in the same category as other pages, but are treated separately: on the category page they are not included in the count of articles in the category, and they are displayed in a separate section, with for each a thumbnail and the name.

On Spotting World there are essentially only images. On projects with real articles a category can either mix articles and images about a subject, or one has 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 new image, the image page does not even have to be edited: the category tag can simply be put in the upload summary.

Editing

The preview of the edit page of an image page only shows the editable part, not the image itself, the image history or the image links.

Through this edit page one cannot edit the image file itself: a new image file requires a new upload.

Protection

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.