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User:This, that and the other/For the Common Good

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For the Common Good in action

For the Common Good is a standalone software application that aids in transferring free media to Wikimedia Commons. It is no longer maintained, but it still works and remains available for download.

Features

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FtCG includes several features:

  • Easy traversal of Category:Copy to Wikimedia Commons, Category:Copy to Wikimedia Commons (bot-assessed), Category:Move to Commons Priority Candidates, or any other category (FtCG is not limited to category traversal: you can also enter file names manually)
  • Integrated display of all elements on the file page (wikitext, file metadata, file links, previous versions, EXIF metadata)
  • Automatic provision of a partially-filled {{Information}} template if not already present, or amelioration of the existing one if present
  • A number of magic transformations to generate the Commons file description page:
    • For example, on English Wikipedia, "self" license templates are converted to the equivalent "user" templates, and there is plenty more magic
    • FtCG allows you to customize the transformations for each wiki using local wiki data
  • Ability to rename file when transferring
  • Ability to select one or more old versions of an image and transfer them separately
  • Automatic tagging with {{now Commons}} (or deletion, for admins) of the local image after transfer
  • Ability to keep a log of transfers if desired (very handy for Move to Commons drives)
  • A built-in categorisation system, similar to HotCat

Be aware that FtCG doesn't do all your work for you. Normally, you will still need to clean up the file page wikitext a little bit before clicking the "Transfer" button.

Download

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You can download the latest version of FtCG at https://atlight.github.io/ftcg. The most recent version is listed on that site. (You can check the version of your copy by clicking the "Settings..." button.)

A note on operating system compatibility: FtCG works on Windows and Linux, and most likely on Mac OS too.

  • Windows users can run FtCG directly. No installation is required, so long as your PC has the .NET Framework 4.6.1 (already installed on almost all Windows computers).
  • Tech-savvy Mac OS and Linux users can run this application using Mono and/or Wine[1], with only very minor loss of functionality compared to Windows[2].

For those who are interested, source code (in C#) is available on GitHub.

Feedback

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I would appreciate any feedback, bugs, or suggested improvements, especially regarding the deletion of files after transfer (not being an admin, I can't really test this feature).

Other wikis and languages

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  1. ^ If you have a choice, try FtCG under both Mono (mono ForTheCommonGood_1.x.y.z.exe) and Wine (wine ForTheCommonGood_1.x.y.z.exe) and see which one you prefer. They both work correctly, but each one has a different set of skin-deep visual glitches.
  2. ^ Known issues:
    • The category suggester does not provide automatic suggestions. (This functionality is intentionally disabled on Mono, as it causes FtCG to freeze.)
    • The "preview wikitext" window always appears blank.
    If you discover other issues, please let me know on the talk page.