Help:Files

It is possible to upload files at Pikipedia. These include images and audio files. This help page is a set of guidelines for contributing images to the Wiki. For help on how to include images on articles, see Help:Editing.

Images
The most common images are screenshots from the Pikmin games, but other games that have content relevant to a Pikmin article, box-shots, concept art, maps, diagrams, and other relevant files are allowed too. The following are instructions and guidelines on how to correctly upload a good image. Failure to follow these could result in the image being deleted. Pikipedia uses a custom script on the upload page that makes some steps automatic, amongst other improvements. Although unlikely, the script might not be running. Either way, so long as you follow the instructions on the upload page and on this section, you will be fine.

Filetypes
Your image must be saved properly. The filetypes used on Pikipedia are:
 * PNG: for maps and diagrams, images with a transparent background, or images where it's very important to keep a high quality on the small details.
 * JPG/JPEG: for screenshots and photos.
 * GIF: for animations and simple images.
 * SVG: a vector format for diagrams and logos.

If the image you are about to send has a lot of small details that need to be kept, try to keep the image high-resolution. If not, try to avoid uploading images that have a high resolution; resize if necessary. If you are ever unsure, always save an image as a PNG file, as this is a lossless file format, which means that you will not lose image quality, and someone else can alter the image for you.

File name
Although there is no real constraint about what you should name your file, do not name it something random like "kjhsdfs.jpg". Instead, name it something that quickly identifies what the image is about, and if you think that somebody could upload a similar image in the future, disambiguate your name some more, like adding the name of the game to it. Think about it this way: if you wanted to search about images with certain content, your image should appear on the search results. It won't show up if its name is just garbage.

Description
Quickly describe what's in the image. You don't need to go into a lot of detail if you don't want to, but you should at least explain what it contains. Try to link to relevant articles, also.

Categorization
All files should be under the proper categories. If on the upload page, you see boxes asking you for the image type, the game, the area, etc., that means that Pikipedia's custom upload script is running and you shouldn't worry about categorizing manually. Otherwise, read on.

You should place the image on whatever categories it fits. Whenever possible, it should be under the most specific (deepest) categories available. Use the following checklist to decide what categories to use.
 * Game: Pikmin, Pikmin 2, Pikmin 3, Pikmin 4, Hey! Pikmin, Pikmin Bloom, Non-Pikmin images (things not belonging to the Pikmin series), or none.
 * Type: Boxart, concept art, icons, logos, maps, merchandise, real world things (specially objects meant for comparing with treasures and fruits), or none.
 * Subject: The most relevant thing(s) in the image; you can pick more than one category. Fruits, hazards, obstacles, Onions, plants and fungi, ship parts, treasures, menus, or none.
 * Character: Categorize any main characters that appear in the image, if they are visible enough to be of interest. e.g. Category:Captain Olimar images.
 * Pikmin: Categorize any Pikmin types that appear in the image, if they are visible enough to be of interest. e.g. Category:Yellow Pikmin images.
 * Enemy: Categorize any enemies that appear in the image, if they are visible enough to be of interest. e.g. Category:Swooping Snitchbug images.
 * Area: Use the category for the area it is at (e.g. Category:The Impact Site images), if it's an area in the main story mode. Otherwise, skip this step.
 * Game mode: 2-Player Battle, Bingo Battle, Pikmin 2 Challenge Mode, or none.
 * Context: Pikipedia images (images used outside of the context of an article), or none.
 * Misc.: Glitches, menus, prerelease content, or none.

License
Each type of image requires a different image licensing template. For most types of files, the license is chosen automatically when you select the appropriate type, but if you are ever given the question about what the license should be, please pick from these options (which could vary depending on some conditions):
 * "Video game screenshot" for when it's an in-game screenshot.
 * "Concept art" for official concept art or artwork made by the developers of a game.
 * "Audio" for audio files.
 * "User image" for an image that is irrelevant to the series, and is to be used by users only (read more here).
 * "Texture" for an image that comes directly from the game's files.
 * "Public domain" for when the image doesn't have any licensing. Only pick this if you know what you're doing.
 * "Copyrighted" for images that belong to somebody else, but are meant to be used fairly on the wiki.
 * "Free licenses" for specific licenses, when you know what they are.

User images
You can upload images that are not related to the wiki or the series, especially if you only plan on using them for yourself, but remember to not overdo it. We're not an image hosting platform. You may only have five user images.

Transparency crops
You may crop out the background of an image so that it's replaced with transparency, but make sure the image retains a good quality, the leftover blank space around the subject is gone, and there are no obvious artifacts from the cropping process.

Videos
YouTube videos can be embedded in a page with:  .

Besides the ID parameter, which points to the YouTube video ID, you can also include any of the following:
 * width=&lt;width&gt;: width in pixels of the viewing area.
 * height=&lt;height&gt;: height in pixels of the viewing area. If not present, it is calculated automatically.
 * playlist=&lt;id&gt;: embeds the first video in the specified playlist, and shows the rest of the videos after. With this, the id parameter is ignored.
 * start=&lt;time&gt;: makes the video start at the specified number of seconds.
 * end=&lt;time&gt;: makes the video end at the specified number of seconds.
 * thumb: makes the video show up in a thumbnail, like you would with an image.
 * left</tt>: aligns the video to the left of the page.
 * right</tt>: aligns the video to the right of the page.
 * center</tt>: centers the video on the page.
 * caption=&lt;text&gt;</tt>: a short description of the video. It shows up beneath it.

The number of videos used in articles should be kept to a minimum, and used only where necessary and useful. Examples of this are videos of glitches, which are easier to understand through a video, or prerelease material (though the text should not rely on videos for understanding, to cater for those who cannot watch them).

Audio
You may upload sound effects or parts of songs, but only if adding them improves the understanding of the subject. For parts of game tracks, they can't be over 30 seconds in length, and should not have sound effects. When adding the audio file to an article, use.

Capturing footage
Here are a few ways to take screenshots (also known as "snapshots") and videos of a game.

GameCube and Wii games

 * Using a capture card. Exact instructions vary between cards.
 * Using Dolphin's screenshot and frame dump tools.

Wii U games
Note that it was formerly possible to use Miiverse to export screenshots. Note also that the above method cannot be used to capture Wii game screenshots.
 * Using a capture card. Exact instructions vary between cards.
 * Using the Wii U's screenshot feature (higher quality than the Miiverse method).
 * Press when you want to take the screenshot.
 * Open the Internet Browser.
 * Browse to a website that allows you to upload images.
 * When asked which "file" to upload, pick either the TV screen's image or the GamePad screen's.

Nintendo 3DS games

 * Using a capture card. Exact instructions vary between cards.
 * Using an emulator.

If you want to capture a scene in an area in using both screens, you'll need to combine and align them manually, since each screen is an independent screenshot. Vertically, you'll need to place a gap between the two screens, which seems to be 32 pixels high. Horizontally, both screens should be centered.

Note that it was formerly possible to use Miiverse to export screenshots.

Nintendo Switch games

 * Using the built-in screenshot and video feature. Press the capture button for a screenshot, and hold it to save a video of the last 30 seconds (in supported games). To export images and videos, there are 2 options. If you have a microSD card in your Switch, screenshots will be saved on that. Turn your console completely off, remove the card safely, and connect it to a computer to access the files. Alternatively, the Switch has a feature to export images to a mobile device or social media site. In the image gallery, select a screenshot or video, press, select one of the export options, and follow the instructions on-screen. If you download the file from a social media site before uploading the file to Pikipedia, the quality may be degraded.
 * Using a capture card. Exact instructions vary between cards.

Mobile phone

 * Exact instructions vary depending on the phone's brand, make, and operative system.