Help:Files

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Revision as of 07:45, October 10, 2016 by Espyo (talk | contribs) (Quick guide on taking screenshots.)
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It is possible to upload files at Pikipedia. These include, at the moment, 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#Media.

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, and for images with a transparent background.
  • JPG/JPEG: for screenshots and photos.
  • GIF: for animations and low-color diagrams.

Preferably, images should be less than 150KB, and a warning is issued automatically when uploading larger files. 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. Try to link to relevant articles, though.

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 categorizations. 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.

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.

Videos

All embedded videos are Flash-based; they can be embedded on pages as follows:

  • {{#ev:service|id}}
  • {{#ev:service|id|width}}
  • {{#ev:service|id|width|align}}
  • {{#ev:service|id|width|align|desc}}

where:

  • service is the name of a video sharing service (supported services)
  • id is the id of the video to include
  • width (optional) is the width in pixels of the viewing area (height will be determined automatically)
  • align (optional) is an alignment (float) attribute, "left" or "right"
  • desc (optional) is a short description to display beneath the video when it is aligned

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 pre-release 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 {{listen}}.

Only Ogg Vorbis files are accepted. This is because of the format's completely free licensing and superior encoding.

Taking screenshots

There are a few ways to take screenshots (also known as "snapshots") of a game.

GameCube and Wii games
  • Using a capture card. Exact instructions vary between cards.
  • Using Dolphin's screenshot tool. It should create an image file on a folder somewhere.
Wii U games
  • Using a capture card. Exact instructions vary between cards.
  • Using the Wii U's screenshot feature (higher quality than the Miiverse method).
    1. Press WiiU Home.png when you want to take the screenshot.
    2. Open the Internet Browser.
    3. Browse to a website that allows you to upload images.
    4. When asked which "file" to upload, pick either the TV screen's image or the GamePad screen's.
  • Using Miiverse.
    1. Press WiiU Home.png when you want to take the screenshot.
    2. Open Miiverse.
    3. Submit your post to the game's community.
  • Using the in-game KopPad (only for photos taken from a leader's perspective).

See also