View source for Help:Image guidelines

{{hatnote|For a technical guide on uploading and displaying images, see [[Help:Images]].}}
{{hatnote|For image licensing and copyright, see '''[[Portal Wiki:Licensing images]]'''.}}
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== General guidelines == 

* Images used on the Wiki should be uploaded directly to the Wiki using the [[Special:Upload|upload page]]. This avoids [[Wikipedia:Inline linking|inline linking]] (also known as hotlinking) or external linking of images on external sites. This is to avoid a number of problems:
** Stealing bandwidth from other sources (leeching)
** Copyright ownership
** Availability
** Ensuring the image links are more reliable, as they are under our control
* The Portal Wiki is ''not'' an image hosting service, and any images uploaded to the Wiki should solely be for use on the Wiki, not your personal website or any other place.

== Source, author and copyright information ==
* Each image on the Wiki has a corresponding description page. On that page, you should document the copyright status of the image by selecting one of the pre-defined [[:Category:License templates|licenses]]. Unlicensed images will be subject to deletion. Please see '''[[Portal Wiki:Licensing images|the licensing help page]]''' for more information on the correct license to choose when uploading images.
* You should add the '''source''' and, if known the '''author''' of an image in the summary section when uploading, or use the <code><nowiki>{{</nowiki>[[Template:Information|Information]]<nowiki>}}</nowiki></code> template.
* Fan art images should rarely be uploaded. In an exceptional case where fan art is relevant and notable, it should always be marked as non-official, especially when used in an article, and they should not take precedence over official artwork.

== Naming ==
* Use descriptive titles. Suffix the filename with the content description. For example, acceptable filenames would be "File:bots_highfive.png" or "File:Atlas_Tyrants_helm.png". File names such as "File:forscience.png" or "File:youmonster.png" are not descriptive, and will be subject to being renamed or deleted.
* Lowercase file extensions should be used for uniformity (ie .png rather than .PNG). This is also important as the software treats image names as case sensitive&mdash;this means "Filename.PNG" is considered a different file from "Filename.png".
* Avoid uploading images of the same subjects under different names. It is better to overwrite an existing image with a better one than to upload it to a new name (unless the current name is not descriptive enough, or the file is using a different format). Images can be reverted back to previous versions if newer ones are deemed to not be improvements.
* Use of underscores in image names is unnecessary as spaces in file names will be replaced with underscores. <code><nowiki>[[File:John Doe.png]]</nowiki></code> is the same as <code><nowiki>[[File:John_Doe.png]]</nowiki></code>.
* Images uploaded for use in userspace should be prefixed with <code>User_NAME_</code> where <code>NAME</code> is the user who uploaded that image, and will be using it on their own userspace.

== Categorization == 

Using '''categories''' for your images helps us sort them better, and makes it easier to find that particular image, should it be relevant for an article in the future. Your image should always reside in at least one category; more if relevant. To place an image in a category, simply add <code><nowiki>[[Category:</nowiki>'''CATEGORYNAME'''<nowiki>]]</nowiki></code>, substituting '''CATEGORYNAME''' for the relevant category.

* '''Icons''' should be placed in one or more subcategories of [[:Category:Icon images]].
* '''Screenshots''' should be placed in one or more subcategories of [[:Category:Screenshot images]] (this will be automatic if you use the <code><nowiki>{{</nowiki>[[Template:ScreenshotP2|ScreenshotP2]]<nowiki>}}</nowiki></code> template).
* Userspace images should be placed within the [[:Category:User images]] category, by inserting <code><nowiki>[[Category:User images]]</nowiki></code> into the image's summary field.

Additionally, a full list of all available categories can be found on the page [[Special:Categories]]. Should an appropriate category not exist, create a new one as necessary.

== Image formats ==
Currently [[Wikipedia:PNG|png]], [[Wikipedia:GIF|gif]], and [[Wikipedia:JPEG|jpeg]] image formats are allowed. All of these formats have different uses, and should generally be used for different types of images.

* '''png''' should be the primary file format for '''all images, unless otherwise noted'''. This includes, but is not limited to, icons, low-color illustrations (signs, icons, etc.), screenshots, in-game art, and similar images.
* '''jpg''' should only be used for photographs, or when the source image is a jpg. If the file is a PNG image and is too big to be uploaded, please ask [[User:WindPower|WindPower]] to increase the limit.
* '''gif''' should '''only''' be used for animated graphics, or when the original source is a gif image.

== Design and Quality ==

=== Image size ===
* Larger images may be difficult for some users to download or view so it is recommended that you crop images to focus on their subject.
* It is possible to upload images of up to 128MB. If you cannot remain within this, consider re-sizing or cropping your image before saving it as a lossy file format.

=== Compression levels ===
* '''png''' can have their file-size reduced by lowering the number of unique colors in the image, due to the way png files are compressed. It is, however, '''not''' recommended to do so, as it lowers the quality of images significantly.
* '''jpg''' files should always be uploaded at 100% quality, to avoid as much artifacting as possible. That said, it usually shouldn't be necessary to refactor jpg images, as they should only be used when the source is a jpg, and thus require no editing.

Optimization programs can be used to reduce file size; consider using programs like [http://luci.criosweb.ro/riot RIOT] if you have Windows, or [http://www.gracepointafterfive.com/punypng PunyPNG] for an online tool&mdash;both of which handle jpg, gif, and png files.

=== Resolution ===
* Crop non-landscape images to show the important areas.
* Do not blow up small images to larger sizes without good reason; this can detract from the overall quality.
* It is not recommended to resize images in an editing program, as MediaWiki can scale images automatically. Uploading a larger image that is cropped neatly means that higher amounts of detail can be seen if necessary. 

=== Transparency ===
* Images that require transparency should use the png file format. Gifs ''can'' also handle transparency, but only in a single [[Wikipedia:Indexed color|indexed color]] as they only support 256 colors and do not have [[Wikipedia:Alpha channel|alpha channel]] support. This means they do not allow anti-aliasing of edges or blended color layers, and shouldn't be used on the wiki for those reasons.

== Image linking ==
* [[Wikipedia:Inline linking|Inline linking]] (also known as hotlinking) or external linking of images on external sites for display on Portal Wiki should not be used. There are multiple reasons for this including bandwidth leeching, copyright, ownership and availability issues.

== See also ==
* [[Help:Images]] - Help article on using images
* [[Help:Taking Screenshots]] - Guide to taking screenshots


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