Wikipedia:File upload wizard: Difference between revisions

Thank you for offering to contribute an image or other media file for use on Wikipedia. This wizard will guide you through a questionnaire prompting you for the appropriate copyright and sourcing information for each file. Please ensure you understand copyright and the image use policy before proceeding.

Upload your own or a freely licensed file

Uploads to Wikimedia Commons

Upload a non-free file

Uploads locally to the English Wikipedia; must comply with the non-free content criteria

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Sorry, in order to use this uploading script, JavaScript must be enabled. You can still use the plain Special:Upload page to upload files to the English Wikipedia without JavaScript.

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Sorry, in order to use this uploading script and to upload files, you need to be logged in with your named account. Please log in and then try again.

Your account has not become confirmed yet.

Sorry, in order to upload files on the English Wikipedia, you need to have a confirmed account. Normally, your account will become confirmed automatically once you have made 10 edits and four days have passed since you created it.

You may already be able to upload files on the Wikimedia Commons, but you can't do it on the English Wikipedia just yet. If the file you want to upload has a free license, please go to Commons and upload it there.

Important note: if you don't want to wait until you are autoconfirmed, you may ask somebody else to upload a file for you at Wikipedia:Files for upload.

In very rare cases an administrator may make your account confirmed manually through a request at Wikipedia:Requests for permissions/Confirmed.

Step 1: Choose your file

File:

Choose a file from your computer. Maximum file size: 100 MB. Permitted file types: png, gif, jpg, jpeg, xcf, pdf, mid, mp3, mpeg, mpg, ogg, ogv, opus, svg, djvu, tiff, tif, oga, flac, wav, wave, webm, webp.

Step 2: Describe your file

Please provide a clear, descriptive name by which your file will be known on Wikipedia.

This name must be unique across the whole of Wikipedia, so please make it informative and easy to recognize. It's no problem to use a fairly long name. It may also include spaces, commas and most other punctuation marks. Please also note that file names are case sensitive (with the exception of the first letter). Good: "City of London, skyline from London City Hall, Oct 2008.jpg". Bad: "Skyline.jpg", "DSC0001234.jpg".

Sorry, a few special characters and character combinations cannot be used in the filename for technical reasons. This goes especially for # < > [ ] | : { } /  and ~~~. Your filename has been modified to avoid these. Please check if it is okay now.

The filename you chose seems to be very short, or overly generic. Please don't use:

• Titles that consist only of very generic descriptive words (e.g. "Sunset.jpg", "Townhall.jpg")
• Titles that consist only of a person's first or last name, when that name is likely to be shared by many others (e.g. "John.jpg", "Miller.jpg")
• Titles that consist of mere numbers, of the kind often produced by digital cameras ("DSC_001234", "IMGP0345"), or random strings like those sometimes found on the web ("30996951316264l.jpg")

Existing file.
Last uploaded by Example user.

A file of this name already exists on Commons!

If you upload your file with this name, you will be masking the existing file and make it inaccessible. Your new file will be displayed everywhere the existing file was previously used.

This should not be done, except in very rare exceptional cases.

Please don't upload your file under this name, unless you seriously know what you are doing. Choose a different name for your new file instead.

If you want to replace the existing file with an uncontroversial, improved version of the same work, please go to Commons and upload it there, not here on the English Wikipedia's local wiki.

A file of this name already exists.

If you upload your file with this name, you will be overwriting the existing file. Your new file will be displayed everywhere the existing file was previously used. Please don't do this, unless you have a good reason to:

	No, I don't want to overwrite the existing file. I will choose a different name for my new file instead.
	Yes, I want to overwrite the existing file. My file is merely a new, improved and uncontentious version of the same work. The old description page, including the source and copyright information, will still be correct for the new version and can remain the same.
	Yes, I want to overwrite the existing file, and I will use this wizard to add a new description and new source information for it. The previous version was my own, or else I have made sure the previous uploader(s) don't object to this replacement.

Please provide a brief description of the contents of this file. This will be stored and displayed as part of the file description page. It is important that other editors are able to understand what this file is about.
	What does this file show? What is it a photo/diagram/recording of? It will be helpful if you also add a wikilink to the article where you want to use it.

Step 3: Provide source and copyright information

It is very important that you read through the following options and questions, and provide all required information truthfully and carefully.

	This is a free work. I can demonstrate that it is legally okay for anybody to use, in Wikipedia and elsewhere, for any purpose. Thank you for offering to upload a free work. Wikipedia loves free files. However, we would love it even more if you uploaded them on our sister project, the Wikimedia Commons. Files uploaded on Commons can be used immediately here on Wikipedia as well as on all its sister projects. Uploading files on Commons works just the same as here. Your Wikipedia account will automatically work on Commons too. Please consider uploading your file on Commons. However, if you prefer to do it here instead, you may go ahead with this form. You can also first use this form to collect the information about your file and then send it to Commons from here. Copyright status: This file is entirely my own work. I am the copyright holder. I made this myself, from scratch, without copying or incorporating anybody else's creative work, and I am willing to release it under a free license. Please note that by "entirely self-made" we really mean just that. Do not use this section for any of the following: a scan or photograph you made of a painting, drawing, printed page or other item originally created by somebody else. The copyright belongs to the original creator, not to you. a screenshot or other kind of capture of a video, computer screen, TV programme or other kind of visual media. a picture you created by modifying or copying some other picture or by combining several preexisting pictures made by somebody else. a picture given to you by somebody else. a picture you found somewhere on the Internet. Editors who falsely declare such items as their "own work" will be blocked from editing. Please describe how and when you created this item. How?   (e.g.: Where and on what kind of occasion did you take this photo? How did you make this diagram? etc.) Date   (please use YYYY-MM-DD format if possible). Publication: Please indicate here if you have previously published this item elsewhere, e.g. on your own website, your Flickr or Facebook account, etc., providing a link. It is important that you place this work under a free license, which will allow everybody else to use it for any purpose, including both commercial and non-commercial purposes, and to modify it. This license will be irrevocable. This file was given to me by its owner. The copyright owner of this file has given it to me for uploading on Wikipedia. I can provide evidence that they have agreed to release it under a free license, for free use by anybody and for any purpose. Please describe who owns this work and how you got it from them. Owner/author: Date of creation: Source: Where did you get the file from? (e.g. available online; was sent to me personally …) Permission: How did you receive the permission? (e.g.: by e-mail, personally, I work for the owner …) The copyright owner has chosen the following license: License: Other: Evidence: The license statement can be found online at: The license agreement has been forwarded to Wikimedia's volunteer response team at "permissions-en@wikimedia.org". OTRS ticket received: The license hasn't yet been forwarded, but I will do so shortly or ask the owner to send it. I haven't got the evidence right now, but I will provide some if requested to do so. Note: files without verifiable permissions may be deleted. You may be better off obtaining proof of permission first. This file is from a free published source. I took it from a website or other published source, where its author has explicitly placed it under a free license, allowing free re-use by anybody. Use this only if there is an explicit licensing statement in the source. The website must explicitly say that the image is released under a license that allows free re-use for any purpose, e.g. the Creative Commons Attribution license. You must be able to point exactly to where it says this. If the source website doesn't say so explicitly, please do not upload the file. Author/owner: Date of creation: Source: For web sources: please provide a link to the html web page where the file can be found ("http://... .html"), not a direct link to the image file itself ("http://... .jpg"). For print sources: provide full bibliographic information (author, title, publisher, year, page, etc.) The copyright owner has chosen the following license for this file: License: Other: Evidence: Provide a link to where the author explicitly says that the file is released under a free license. (if not visible on the source page itself). This work is so old its copyright has expired This is an old photograph, or a photographic reproduction of an old painting, drawing, etc. I can provide enough information about its author and provenance to prove that it is old enough for its copyright to have expired. It is now legally in the Public Domain. Original author: Please name the original author of this work. Lifetime: Specify date of death, if applicable to public domain status. In many cases, we need to be certain the author died before a certain year, in many cases before 1929. Original publication: Provide as much information as possible about the original time and place of publication of this work. For print publications: provide full bibliographic information. Date of publication: Provide date of first publication, and date of creation if different. Immediate source: State exactly where you found this file. For web sources: please provide a link to the html web page where the file can be found ("http://... .html"), not a direct link to the image file itself ("http://... .jpg"). For print sources: provide full bibliographic information (author, title, publisher, year, page, etc.) Public Domain status: This work is free of all copyrights because: It was created and first published before 1929 and is therefore in the Public Domain in the US. It was first published outside the US, and it was in the Public Domain in its country of origin by the "URAA date". For most countries, this means the author died 70 years before 1 January 1996, i.e. before 1926. Please look up the copyright rules for the specific country at [1]. It was first published in the US before 1989, and its copyright expired because it was published without a copyright notice and/or without the necessary copyright registration. Please look up the exact rules at [2]. Its copyright expired for some other reason. [Please explain below]. Explanation: Please provide any evidence necessary to verify the public domain status. This file is in the Public Domain for some other reason. I can demonstrate that this work is legally in the Public Domain, i.e. nobody owns any copyrights on it. This may be for a variety of reasons, for instance because it was created by the US Federal Government, or because it is too simple to attract any copyright. Public Domain means that nobody owns any copyrights on this work. It does not mean simply that it is freely viewable somewhere on the web or that it has been widely used by others. This is not for images you simply found somewhere on the web. Most images on the web are under copyright and belong to somebody, even if you believe the owner won't care about that copyright. If it is in the public domain, you must be able to point to an actual law that makes it so. If you can't point to such a law but merely found this image somewhere, then please do not upload it. Author: Please name the original author of this work. Source: State exactly where you found this file. For web sources: please provide a link to the html web page where the file can be found ("http://... .html"), not a direct link to the image file itself ("http://... .jpg"). For print sources: provide full bibliographic information (author, title, publisher, year, page, etc.) Date of creation: Public Domain status: This work is free of all copyrights because: It was created by an agency of the US Federal Government. This does not apply to most US state and local agencies, nor to governments of other countries! It is an official governmental item, such as a flag, state emblem, banknote or postage stamp, from a country where such items are exempt from copyright according to local law. This does not apply to all countries, nor does it usually apply to all publications! (For instance, it usually doesn't apply to simple publicity photographs published on a governmental website.) Please look up the copyright rules for the specific country in question. If the country does not have an exemption rule that applies to this item, go on with the section for "non-free copyrighted works" below. Explanation: Add any explanation or evidence necessary to substantiate your statement above. Cite and provide a link to the relevant law if possible. It is too simple to be eligible for copyright. This typically applies only to graphics that consist solely of simple geometric shapes and/or a few letters or words, or to items such as mathematical or chemical formulae. It may apply to some very simple logos that do not contain complex pictorial elements. It never applies to photographs! It is in the Public Domain for some other reason. Explanation:
	This is a copyrighted, non-free work, but I believe it is Fair Use. I have read the Wikipedia rules on Non-Free Content, and I am prepared to explain how the use of this file will meet the criteria set out there. Please remember that you will need to demonstrate that: The file will serve an important function in a particular article; (NFCC8) It cannot be replaced by any other, free illustration that might yet be created; (NFCC1) Its use does not negatively affect the commercial interests of its owner (NFCC2) There will not be more non-free material used than necessary. (NFCC3) This file will be used in the following article: Enter the name of exactly one Wikipedia article, without the [[...]] brackets and without the "http://en.wikipedia.org/..." URL code. It has to be an actual article, not a talkpage, template, user page, etc. If you plan to use the file in more than one article, please name only one of them here. Then, after uploading, open the image description page for editing and add your separate explanations for each additional article manually. Example – article okay. This article doesn't exist! The article Example could not be found. Please check the spelling, and make sure you enter the name of an existing article in which you will include this file. If this is an article you are only planning to write, please write it first and upload the file afterwards. This is not an actual encyclopedia article! The page Example is not in the main article namespace. Non-free files can only be used in mainspace article pages, not on a user page, talk page, template, etc. Please upload this file only if it is going to be used in an actual article. If this page is an article draft in your user space, we're sorry, but we must ask you to wait until the page is ready and has been moved into mainspace, and only upload the file after that. This is a disambiguation page! The page Example is not a real article, but a disambiguation page pointing to a number of other pages. Please check and enter the exact title of the actual target article you meant. Non-free use rationale This image is the object of discussion in an article. This is a copyrighted artwork or photograph, and the image itself is the topic of discussion in the article. The discussion is about the photograph or painting as such, as a creative work, not just about the thing or person it shows. Which of these options describes this item best? Who created this work? Author/owner: Date: Source: State exactly where you found this file. For web sources: please provide a link to the html web page where the file can be found ("http://... .html"), not a direct link to the image file itself ("http://... .jpg"). For print sources: provide full bibliographic information (author, title, publisher, year, page, etc.) Usage: The article as a whole is dedicated specifically to a discussion of this particular photograph/painting. (It is not just about the person or thing shown in the picture.) There is a substantial amount of encyclopedic discussion of this particular photograph/painting (not just about the person or thing shown in it) in this article. The illustration is specifically needed to support the following point: If neither of these two statements applies, then please do not upload this image. This section is not for images used merely to illustrate an article about a person or thing, showing what that person or thing look like. This is a depiction of a copyrighted three-dimensional work or building, which is the object of discussion in an article. This is a photograph or other kind of depiction of a copyrighted, three-dimensional creative work, such as a statue or work of architecture. The article contains a discussion of that work which requires illustration. The photograph as such is free, or was provided by the creator of the sculpture. Which of these options describes this item best? First describe who created the original work depicted: Creator: Date: Usage: The article as a whole is dedicated specifically to this work. There is a substantial amount of encyclopedic discussion of this work in this article. The illustration is specifically needed to support the following point: Now describe who created the image: Author: Date: Source: State exactly where you found this file. For web sources: please provide a link to the html web page where the file can be found ("http://... .html"), not a direct link to the image file itself ("http://... .jpg"). For print sources: provide full bibliographic information (author, title, publisher, year, page, etc.) Image status The image was created and published by the same author who also holds the rights to the original object, and no alternative depiction could be suitably created. The author of the image has released the photographic work under a free license, or it is in the public domain: Name the license or describe the public domain status, adding any necessary evidence to make the licensing status verifiable. This is an excerpt from a copyrighted work. This is an excerpt from a copyrighted work, e.g. a screenshot from a movie or TV programme, a panel from a comic, or a sound sample from a song. Its presence is needed to support a piece of explicit critical discussion in an article related to that work or its creator(s). Which of these options describes this item best? Author: (author / copyright owner of the original work) Date of creation: Source: (where exactly did you get this file from?) Please explain what exactly in the article it is that you want to illustrate with this.   Typically, the illustration must be used to support some specific issue of discussion in the article. Please be concrete and specific. Don't just copy boilerplate statements from elsewhere. State clearly, in your own words, what this particular file will be doing in this particular article. If necessary, please explain why this purpose cannot be achieved through text alone.   This is the official cover art of a work. This is the cover or dustjacket of a book, the cover of a CD or video, the official release poster of a movie, or a comparable item. It will be included as that work's primary means of visual identification, at the top of the article about the book, movie, etc. in question. Note: If you plan to use it for any other purpose than this, please tick the box for "other non-free work" below. Which of these options describes this item best? Author: (author / copyright owner of the original work) Date of publication: Source: (where exactly did you get this file from?) This image will be shown as a primary means of visual identification at the top of the article dedicated to the work in question. A standard fair use rationale will be added that matches this type of use. If you plan to use the file for any purpose other than this, please do not use this section, but the one labelled "other type of non-free work" below. This is a logo of an organization, company, brand, etc. This is an official logo of an entity that is the subject of a Wikipedia article. It will be included as that entity's primary means of visual identification, at the top of the article in question. Note: If you plan to use it for any other purpose than this, please tick the box for "other non-free work" below. Which of these options describes this item best? Source: (where exactly did you get this file from?) This image will be shown as a primary means of visual identification at the top of the article dedicated to the entity in question. A standard fair use rationale will be added that matches this type of use. If you plan to use the file for any purpose other than this, please do not use this section, but the one labelled "other type of non-free work" below. This is a historical portrait of a person no longer alive. This is a historical photograph or other depiction of a person who is no longer alive. It will be used as the primary means of visual identification of that person in the article about them. Deceased since: (This type of file can typically only be used with people who are no longer alive.) Author: (Who made this image?) Original publication: (Where, when and how was this image first published?) Date of publication: Source: (Where exactly did you get this file from?) This image will be shown as a primary means of visual identification at the top of the article dedicated to the person in question. A standard fair use rationale will be added that matches this type of use. If you plan to use the file for any purpose other than this, please do not use this section, but the one labelled "other type of non-free work" below. Please explain why a free alternative to this image cannot be found.   For subjects who died recently: have you made a reasonable effort to find people who might possess photographs of this person and might be willing to release one? For subjects who lived in the early-to-mid 20th century: have you considered if there might be an older photograph that has fallen in the public domain? Please explain why you are confident that our use of the file will not harm any commercial opportunities of its owner.   We will typically not use a file if its owner has a potential commercial interest in its use, and if our use of it would compete with its original market role. This is some other kind of non-free work that I believe is legitimate Fair Use. This is a copyrighted work whose use does not fall into any of the classes above. I have read the Wikipedia rules on Non-free content, and I will explain how this file meets all of the criteria set out there. Which of these options describes this item best? Author: (Who made this image?) Original publication: (Where, when and how was this image first published?) Date of publication: Source: (Where exactly did you get this file from?) Please explain what exact purpose this file will serve in the article.   Please be concrete and specific. Don't just copy boilerplate statements from elsewhere. State clearly, in your own words, what this particular file will be doing in this particular article. Your explanation must make it clear why the article would be significantly worse off without this file. Please explain why this purpose could not be served by text alone.   Please explain why this purpose could not be served with an alternative, free illustration that could yet be found or created.   For a file to be deemed replaceable, it is not necessary that a suitable replacement already exists. Even if it is merely possible that a replacement could be created, we will not use the non-free file. Please explain why you are confident that our use of the file will not harm any commercial opportunities of its owner.   We will typically not use a file if its owner has a potential commercial interest in its use, and if our use of it would compete with its original market role. Remember that the use of non-free files must be minimal. This can mean several things: Don't use more files per article/topic than necessary Don't use the same file in more articles than necessary Don't use larger excerpts of a single work than necessary Don't use images of higher resolution than necessary In view of this, please explain how the use of this file will be minimal.   Special source and license conditions (optional)   Any further relevant information about this file?   Edit summary: A brief description of why you are overwriting this file. This will not be saved on the description page, but will be shown in its edit history. Yes, I want this file to be immediately available in all Wikimedia projects, in all languages. I will upload it on the Wikimedia Commons. Clicking this button will redirect you to a page on Commons. This will only work if you are already logged in there, which is likely the case if you have a unified account. Check here to see if you are logged in. No, I want to upload this file locally. This way it can be used only on the English Wikipedia. We urge you to upload it to the Commons unless there is a very good reason for it to stay local. Often such local files are copied to the Commons for use elsewhere and deleted locally, requiring extra work for other volunteers. If you do not want your file to be copied to Commons and deleted locally, consider adding the {{Keep local}} tag. Reset this form and start over.
	This file doesn't fit either of the categories above. This file doesn't seem to fall into either of the classes above, or I am not certain what its status is. I found this file somewhere, but I don't really know who made it or who owns it. Well, we're very sorry, but if you're not sure about this file's copyright status, or if it doesn't fit into any of the groups above, then: Please don't upload it. Really, please don't. Even if you think it would make for a great addition to an article. We really take these copyright rules very seriously on Wikipedia. Note that media is assumed to be fully-copyrighted unless shown otherwise; the burden is on the uploader. In particular, please don't upload: any file you simply found on some website, without knowing who its author or copyright owner is. any file you found somewhere, even if you have good reason to believe it has a copyright owner who would not mind us using it, but you don't have an explicit licensing statement from them. any file that was released for publicity purposes by its owners but doesn't have a fully-free license for free re-use for all purposes. any file credited to a commercial image agency, such as Reuters, AP or Getty Images. Such files normally cannot be used even under the "Fair Use" rules, except in rare cases. any file that is licensed for use exclusively on Wikipedia, or is free except that the free license excludes commercial use. If you are in any doubt, please ask some experienced editors for advice before uploading. People will be happy to assist you at Wikipedia:Media copyright questions. Thank you.

Preview (test)

This is the data that will be submitted to upload:

Filename:
Edit summary:
Text:

Upload in process

Your file is being uploaded.

This might take a minute or two, depending on the size of the file and the speed of your internet connection.

Once uploading is completed, you will find your new file at this link:

File:Example.jpg

File successfully uploaded

Your file has been uploaded successfully and can now be found here:

File:Example.jpg

Please follow the link and check that the image description page has all the information you meant to include.

If you want to change the description, just go to the image page, click the "edit" tab at the top of the page and edit just as you would edit any other page. Do not go through this upload form again, unless you want to replace the actual file with a new version.

To insert this file into an article, you may want to use code similar to the following:

[[File:Example.jpg|thumb|right|insert a caption here]]

If you wish to make a link to the file in text, without actually showing the image, for instance when discussing the image on a talk page, you can use the following (mark the ":" after the initial brackets!):

[[:File:Example.jpg]]

See Wikipedia:Picture tutorial for more detailed help on how to insert and position images in pages.

Thank you for using the File Upload Wizard.
Please leave your feedback, comments, bug reports or suggestions on the talk page.