Wikipedia talk:Image source files

Missing sources for images
Moved from the village pump

Wikipedians have produced many maps, diagrams, graphs and figures available under the GFDL. But just having the image isn't quite enough, because it's hard to edit a diagram unless you have the sources that were used to make it. All you can really do with the image is scribble over the top.

(A real example: I noticed a couple of missing ships on User:Gsl's excellent map at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Battle_of_Aboukir_Bay.png. With access to the GIMP source for the image, I could have added the ships myself. But lacking the source, instead I asked Gsl to improve it.)

So I think that Wikipedia should encourage illustrators to upload their sources along with the image. Of course, not every contributor will be able to use the GIMP, or Adobe Illustrator, or 3D Studio Max or whatever. But having the source will mean that several people can work on an image, and there is a chance to continue to make improvements to the image when the original illustrator is busy or away. Gdr 13:01, 2004 Jul 16 (UTC)


 * I second this request. I try to upload the source (wether .psd, source code of some sort, etc) along with pictures. It is sometimes problematic, when the source is a lot larger than the image, but I think it is worth it. David Remahl 16:00, 16 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * Thirded! I started something like this for maps: WikiProject Maps/Source materials. We could definitely use a nice repository for all sorts of source material, though. One definite problem: Many source materials will be significantly larger than our 2MB upload limit; my automobile diagram model is verging on 4MB, for instance. A lot of SVG or similar stuff could be ZIPped to under 2MB, though. -- Wapcaplet 01:38, 18 Jul 2004 (UTC)

I have created a new page for listing image source files: Image source files. Please improve as needed, and link to it from appropriate places. -- Wapcaplet 03:07, 21 Jul 2004 (UTC)


 * That's a good start, but I don't think it will scale. The best thing to do would be to put a notice on each image page explaining where to find the sources for that image. To help people do this, the Wikipedia software at Special:Upload should prompt you to upload sources with each image. Gdr 11:02, 2004 Jul 21 (UTC)

Agreed, the ideal place to link them is from the image description page. It is likely to become unwieldy once there are a lot more sources, but we can deal with that when it happens. Having a list like this is helpful in the (relatively few) cases where a source file doesn't seem to have a corresponding image; one in particular is Image:USA CountiesSVG.zip, which is somewhat general-purpose and could be the basis for a variety of images, while not itself being very useful for illustration. I suspect there may be some designers (particularly in the area of map-making) who are seeking a particular kind of source file to base their illustrations on. Maybe one day that page will just become a list of "raw materials" from which to work, rather than collecting every Photoshop or SVG file we upload. I don't know if prompting uploaders for a source file is the best idea; most of the time, one will not be available, and it may confuse people who don't have one. -- Wapcaplet 16:19, 21 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Uploading compressed *.gz
When I try uploading my gzip-compressed GIMP source files, I now get an Upload warning '".gz" is not a recommended image file format.' Is there any way around this? I am trying to replace an existing source file so don't really want to switch compression formats. Geoff/Gsl 23:08, 21 Oct 2004 (UTC)

I get the exact same error uploading my .psd.tar.gz source for Image:Crossover_cable_wiring_diagram.png. Does anyone have a solution? User:Enigmatzu 03:30, 11 Dec 2004 (UTC)