Help:How to use images
- This article is about how to use images when making a Wikipedia page. To add images to Wikipedia, see Wikipedia:Image use policy.
On Wikipedia, images (pictures) can be used on a page by using the Image tag. This tag uses the name of the image as well as some keywords to know where an image should be shown on a page.
Image tag
[[ Image:Image.jpg | frame type | position | sizepx | caption ]]
Keywords
There are some words (keywords) that are understood by the image tag. These words tell it what to do with the image. Any words it does not know are used as the caption for the image. These words are case-sensitive. They must be typed in all lower case letters.
- Position: left, center, right
- Frame type: frame, thumb
- Size: A number followed by px (i.e. 200px)
- Caption: any words that are not keywords are used as the caption.
Position
- Usable words: left, center, right
- If no position is given, the image will be put on the right side of the page.
When using left or right, the words on the page will wrap around the image. If the center tag is used, the words will be under the image. The center position should not be used on most articles.
| Examples of positioning |
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This is an example of putting the image on the left of a page.
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This is an example of putting the image on the right of a page.
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This is an example of putting the image in the center of a page.
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Caption2
Frame type
- Usable words: frame, thumb
- If no Frame type is chosen, no frame is used.
- If a Frame type is chosen, the caption is shown under the image.
| Examples of Frame types |
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File:Wiki.png Framed image This is an example of a framed image.
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File:Wiki.png Thumbnailed image This is an example of a Thumbnailed image.
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Size
The size of an image can be changed by adding a size in pixels to the image tag. This is done by adding a number followed by the letters px. For example, 150px. 200 pixels (200px) is the normal size used for most images on Wikipedia.
- Framed images will not be changed by having a size: they are always shown at full size.
- Thumbnailed pictures will be shown as 200px or the full size of the image (which ever is smaller) unless a size is used.
- Images with no frame type used will be shown at the full size of the image unless a size is used.
| Examples of Sizes | ||
|---|---|---|
| [[Image:Wiki.png|100px|Image: 100 pixels]] | [[Image:Wiki.png|200px|Image: 200 pixels]] | [[Image:Wiki.png|250px|Image: 250 pixels]] |
Caption
Anything that is not a keyword is used as the caption of the image. Captions are only shown on images which have a Frame type used. The caption is also shown when the user's mouse is over the image, with or without a frame type being used. Because keywords are case-sensitive, right is not the same as Right. right is a keyword, Right is used as a caption.
Changing: There is no information available right now on Wikipedia about how to change the caption of an image once it has been set - even if it is wrong.
Combining keywords
With the exception of using the frame and size (px) keywords together, all keywords can be used together in an image tag. If two keywords are trying to do the same thing the last one in the tag will be used. For example, if a tag has both left and right, the image will be put on the side of the page of which ever tag was added last.
- Example
[[Image:Wiki.png|50px|this is a caption|left|frame|right|Left|Image: 50 pixels]]
This image will be displayed at full size, framed, on the right side of the page with the caption of Image: 50 pixels.
- The keyword 50px is not used because the frame keyword is used.
- The caption is Image: 50pixels because it is the last part of the tag which is not a keyword.
- The image is placed on the right side of the page because right is the last position keyword in the tag. The word Left is not a keyword because it is capitalized. It is treated as a caption.