Editing Help:Files (section)

==Using files==
{{For|all the details on the fields of a file link|Wikipedia:Extended image syntax|Module:InfoboxImage}}

[[H:S|Search]] for and find one of many existing image files, or upload your own file. Knowing the file's [[Help:page name|page name]] you can then  [[Help:Editing|edit]] your page and refer to that file to insert it into your wikitext. You will [[Help:wikilink|wikilink]] the page name, which will in turn include its file (of that name) in the page you edit.  Take for example ''File:Wikipedesketch.png''. Use the following ''all on one line'' (with no line breaks). Then the results will be as shown in the image to the right:
: <code><nowiki>[[</nowiki>'''File:'''Wikipedesketch.png|thumb|'''alt='''A cartoon centipede ... ''detailed description''.|The Wikipede edits <nowiki>''[[Myriapoda]]''</nowiki>.]]</code>
[[File:Wikipedesketch.png|thumb|alt=A cartoon centipede with 7 hands reads a book, lifts another, types on a laptop, and holds a bottle.|The Wikipede edits ''[[Myriapoda]]''.]]
The above link contains "fields":
# the page name, "[[:File:Wikipedesketch.png]]"
# "thumb", short for ''thumbnail'' and referring here to the reader's default size for images (See [[Help:User preferences]] to specify your own thumbnail sizes.)
# the [[WP:ALT|''alt'' text]], such as might read "A cartoon centipede with seven hands reads a book, lifts another, types on a laptop, and holds a bottle". ''Alt'' text is intended for visually impaired readers or those with browsers or computers that do not display images. See [[HELP:ALT]] for examples.
# the [[WP:CAPTION|caption]], as "The Wikipede edits ''[[Myriapoda]]''."  The caption is intended for viewers of the image and explains the meaning while using terms that refer directly to items ''as they appear'' in the image.
Text and captions need have little text in common. A reader of the article can click on the thumbnail, or on the small double-rectangle icon [[Image:Magnify-clip.png|link=|alt=]] below it, to go to the corresponding ''file page''.

By default, the page layout will place the image to the right of the wikitext, one line below where you placed the link.  The [[Wikipedia:Extended image syntax|extended image syntax]] provides many options to control how an image is displayed. You can make it "float" to the left, or center it, or place it without text flowing around it. You can force its size (to differ from the default set by the user), or even provide for the reader move around in a panorama. You can avoid image "stackups" in several ways, for example, by alternating left and right images, by aligning images, and if all else fails by forcing a break. You can create a gallery of images arranged into an array by using [[Help:Table|table syntax]], with a {{tl|Gallery}} template, and by directly using a [[Wikipedia:Gallery tag|gallery tag]]. Gallery tags use {{para|alt}} parameters on each line similar to standard images, but the {{tl|Gallery}} template requires enumerated alt text parameters. Also, you can create plain pictures that do not have captions and can be mingled with text and other images; these can use more fine-grained techniques, including borders, vertical alignment with text, and control over links. You can also link to an image without displaying it.

For examples of all these techniques, see ''[[Wikipedia:Picture tutorial|Picture tutorial]]''.