User:Godai2/first steps/upload

First steps

First steps tour

• Understanding Commons
• Creating an account
• File uploading
• License selection

Tips & tricks

• A perfect upload
• Sorting of files
• Tools that make life easier
• Useful media software

Third parties

• Reuse of Commons’ media files

How to upload a file

The "Upload file" link in the left "participate" box

Now that you’re logged in, you can upload files.

On the left above the "search" field on top of the "participate" box, you’ll find an "Upload file" link. Clicking the link you will find the Commons:Upload page, which conducts (including it's sub-pages) through the upload procedure.

First step: Where is the work from?

Generally, there are four cases:

It's entirely your own work, click on the link “It is entirely my own work”

On the next page you have to choose the right license. Please not, that only license will be accepted which are determined throug the [[Common:Licensing

• You know the source and it's free-licensed, like many images of flickr, most files of other wikimedia projects, free software screenshots, or its public domain like files from US federal government, or free-licensed files from somewhere else, click on the appropriate link;
• You know the author, but you don't know which license applies to his work, click “I don't know who the author is, or I don't know what license applies”
• You don't know the source, click also “I don't know who the author is, or I don't know what license applies”

So the source is not the only issue to pay attention on, you have to check the copyright of the file. Generally, files published under a copyleft license—such as the GFDL (GNU Free Documentation License)—are fine, but compliance should always be checked first.

In short, it is required that files may be reused and modified for any purpose with or without the author’s consent. In doubt, don’t hesitate to ask at Commons talk:Licensing before uploading your files. Generally, files published under a copyleft license—such as the GFDL (GNU Free Documentation License)—are fine, but compliance should always be checked first.

Below the legal text is the upload form. To select the file on your computer, click onto the "Browse" button next to the field "Source filename". This’ll pop up a file selection dialog. Once you’ve selected the file and pressed "Ok" the text field contains its path.

The "Destination filename" is the title that will be used for the uploaded image page. (Warning: if you enter nothing here, your local filename will be used.) You should use a descriptive name and follow naming conventions which give guidance on capitalisation, non-alphanumeric characters, etc. Don't use a non-descriptive name like "DSC123456.jpg" from a digital camera. Cryptic names for images make them a lot harder to find and use, and if you use a default filename from your camera it's much more likely that someone else will accidentally overwrite your image. This is especially important in Wikimedia Commons, because you can’t rename an image file once it’s been uploaded.

The upload form below the legal text

Next is a larger "Summary" field. This is important as well, as an image without a description of its content is just about as useful as no image at all. Just describe it: what’s the subject? Where and how was it made? By whom? When? If any, which camera did you use?

• If you made the file, just say so.
• If you copied it from another web site, provide a URL.
• If you copied it from another Wikimedia project, indicate which one (for example, "the German Wikipedia"), the author there, and the original title.

For your upload to succeed you will need either to select a license in the 'Licensing' field or to add a licence tag in the "Summary" field. Don't do both, as that would make the license information appear twice.

The summary field now offers a template for you to complete. Using it helps to present the information in a consistent style.

If you are uploading a modified version of a file, the image description is not altered, but the what you put in the Summary will be shown in the "Comment" box of the "File history" table, further down the Image page. Explain the changes you have made.

Please note:

• For new users, there is a 4 day period when they can't overwrite existing files (and doing so for images of others is strongly discouraged in most cases).

Next step

The next page, First steps/License selection explains licensing.

Topics on this page are covered in more depth at First steps/Quality and description.

Once your file is uploaded you should categorise it. See First steps/Sorting.

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons pages:

• Project scope

MediaWiki handbook:

• Images and other uploaded files
• Image page