Help:Files

Namespaces
Subject namespaces Talk namespaces
0 (Main/Article) Talk 1
2 User User talk 3
4 Wikipedia Wikipedia talk 5
6 File File talk 7
8 MediaWiki MediaWiki talk 9
10 Template Template talk 11
12 Help Help talk 13
14 Category Category talk 15
100 Portal Portal talk 101
118 Draft Draft talk 119
126 MOS MOS talk 127
710 TimedText TimedText talk 711
828 Module Module talk 829
Former namespaces
108 Book Book talk 109
442 Course Course talk 443
444 Institution Institution talk 445
446 Education Program Education Program talk 447
2300 Gadget Gadget talk 2301
2302 Gadget definition Gadget definition talk 2303
2600 Topic 2601
Virtual namespaces
-1 Special
-2 Media
Current list

The File namespace is a namespace consisting of administration pages in which all of Wikipedia's media content resides. On Wikipedia, all media filenames begin with the prefix File:, including data files for images, video clips, or audio clips, including document length clips; or MIDI files (a small file of computer music instructions).

Search for files, or upload your own file. (See Uploading files below.) A search lists every file page containing all the search terms found on the file page. From the search box, enter File:descriptive terms.  For example, include the terms image, video, or midi in the query. Then, discovering the page name, you can edit the wikitext of any page and insert that media. This is an easy way to significantly improve articles. (See Using files below.) For example, the page title "File:CI 2011 swim 04 jeh.theora.ogv" will appear in the search results for File: swim video.

There are three semantic differences from the normal wikilink syntax when working with a file page:

  • [[File:pagename]] will transclude the file, inserting the image, video, audio, or MIDI file into the rendered page in a file link. A file link is a transclusion from the File namespace, complete with transclusion parameters.
  • [[:File:pagename]], with the initial colon, will link the image, video, or audio file page;
  • [[Media:pagename]] will render a link which can activate the image or audio or video of a data file directly, on its own page (separate from the rendered page or the file page).

For backward compatibility with older pages the alias Image: (now deprecated) is still available instead of File: in wikilinks or in the search box, but "image" will now refer to more types of data files than just images.