User:I.R. Annie IP./Annie IP's 1st

Welcome to Wikimedia Commons, pool for media which may be used by any wiki projekts. In case you just want to edit pages, you can do so without logging in, although you are encouraged to log in. In case you want to upload files, you have to be logged in. As there is not yet a common login, you have to create an account (DE).

Overview

As soon as you're one of us, feel even more welcome. You probably might now like to contribute by uploading files. We encourage you to do so, but there are rules:

You are only allowed to upload what you own, or, what you explicitely were allowed to upload by the owner of rights and any possible third party. Furthermore, wiki only allows material whichs use is not restricted, which means that we accept only material in Public Domain or under one of serveral accepted Free Licences. This is a large and difficult area (Rechtsgebiet.) Here you get a first glimpse of it. (DE)
After you made up your mind, we invite you to upload your file. Please do not forget to categorize your file, as suggested on Commons:Upload file.
Any file found on Commons can be used in any wiki project. To embed a picture in your article, please consider these hints (EN, in a raw condition, as it will be until 0313, 24:00
We strongly advice you, before uploading, but insist, before you're asking questions, to check Commons:MediaFAQs. If your question seems not to be answered there, nor by this First Steps' tutorial, please preferably ask it at the Commons:Help desk (EN), or at your own language's counterpart to this (German Commons:Forum and similar). Questions of more general interest are discussed at the Commons:Village Pump (EN).

Notice: Media are found by the servers in local wikis first. If a file with same name exists on the local wiki (say: ), such item will not be loaded from Commons. In this case please upload your file to Commons under a different name and have the duplicate quick-deleted (see Commons:Upload file).

Allowed file formats

Only certain file types are allowed in Wikimedia Commons - you would get an error message when trying to upload a wrong file format:

For photographs, please use JPEG (JPG) format, and do not overcompress. JPG compression goes hand in hand with loss of definition.
For most purposes, open source PNG are most recommended. PNG files can be compressed losslessly.
GIF is allowed, but, for not being open source, somewhat less welcome. At this given time, animated GIFs can not be replaced by any other suitable accepted format.
SVG is the preferred format for diagrams, as vector grafics compress losslessly. When used in articles, SVGs get converted on the fly to PNG, therefore any browser will display them.
PDF is allowed, but seems to display less gently (see: COM:HD#Is there some way...).

Sound media

MIDI (.mid) and Ogg Vorbis (.ogg) are supported.

Video files

Ogg Theora only (also .ogg).

Note: Widely used MP3, MPEG and more are strictly not allowed at Wikimedia Commons, nor ever will be, being proprietary, patented and thus unfree file formats. TIFF files are disallowed for technical reasons.

Quality and file size

We encourage you to upload high quality files, but with common sense use of webspace.

JPEG- and PNG-format are reasonably handled up to 12.5 megapixels, which means that 3000 by 4000 pixels would do well in most cases, while 3500 by 4000 would give a problem.
MediaWiki can not scale animated GIFs, you have to upload such at a size appropriate for use in articles.
Like images, sound and video files should be of reasonable good quality. There is an upper limit of file size at about 20 MB until further notice. In case you feel the urge to upload larger files, please ask at COM:HD first.
If you improve on media files, let's say by cropping images, colour enhancing or whatever, please do not overwrite originals, generally spoken. Upload the modified file with an obviously derivated filename, eg. Image:Foo 2.png or even Image:Foo_cropped_by_SuperCropper.jpg as derivated from Image:Foo.jpg and mention each image in its counterpart's image description, so that Annie IP easily can compare versions.