Triforce Wiki:File use policy

This article is about the policy regarding general uploading and use of images. For the policy regarding personal image use, see Triforce Wiki:Personal images.

The following guidelines are strongly encouraged when uploading images for use in this encyclopedia.

File formats

• For brand new images uploaded to Triforce Wiki via the upload file page:
  • PNG is the preferred image format as it retains the highest level of quality.
  • JPG is generally only desirable for photographic images and movie or TV screenshots.
  • GIF files are desirable in the case of animated images only. Single frame GIFs should be converted to PNG format.
  • SVG is great alternative to PNG for things like symbols and logos when available, but should only be reserved for such.
• For brand new audios uploaded to Triforce Wiki via the upload file page:
  • MP3 is the most encouraged audio format, as it is the most widely available audio file format.
  • OGA is the second-case scenario audio format, and should only be used if the source audio is already this file type.
  • WAV is only to be used when audio is created by the uploader and is released into the public domain. Because wav is a lossless audio format, it should not be used for official game audio as it does not fall under fair use.
• The only accepted video format on Triforce Wiki is Theora (OGV).

• As a general rule, files should be uploaded in the format they were found in (with the exception of formats not supported by the wiki, which should be first converted to PNG). Otherwise, converting between formats either sacrifices image quality or bloats the file size without increasing quality. Screenshots found in the JPG format and uploaded as such are also easily identifiable, when aiming to source higher quality PNG replacements.
  • JPG images should also not be converted for the sake of replacing them with transparent backgrounds, as this can lead to leftover off-color edge pixels as a result of bad transparency, which are easily visible when viewed on a different color background. Such images should just be uploaded as they are without any modifications to the backgrounds whatsoever.

• When taking screenshots, note that some emulators can alter the display beyond what the actual hardware supports. Screenshots with a resolution close to that of the actual hardware are preferable, but upscaled shots are tolerated if there's no high-quality alternative available. However, video filters (such as 2xSal) and forced aspect ratio changes are not acceptable in any form.
  • If a screenshot contains any black borders which would not normally be seen on a television display, those borders should be cropped-out.
  • If a screenshot needs to be cropped from the hardware output to remove black borders or have transparency added (if a game element overlaps the border), this should be noted in {{aboutfile}} parameter #4.

• When in the process of uploading files, the syntax for {{aboutfile}} automatically appears in the summary box. This should be formatted correctly, and repeatedly not doing so is considered an offense. A {{reminder}} or {{aboutfile-reminder}} should be issued to users that repeatedly upload files without correctly formatting the template.

Naming files

Uploaded files should have a descriptive name, as this makes it easier to use, is better for searching purposes, and looks more professional.

Names should include the title of the subject, like a game abbreviation or show title, the subject of the image, and the type of image that it is (screenshot, artwork, sprite, etc. While the order can be changed, different images may require more information, such as a language identifier. One question that may help when naming a file is "Can I tell what this image contains without seeing it?"

For example, a name like "Screenshot-82.png" is vague and nonspecific, while "LOZII screenshot - Link - Fighting a blue stalfos.png" is too cumbersome for a file name; instead, "LOZII Link Fights Blue Stalfos.png" or "LOZII Blue Stalfos screenshot.png" would both be appropriate, yet informative name choices.

Abbreviations are often preferable for the full names of games and other media, but this is all that abbreviations should be used for. In addition, the abbreviation should be separated from the rest of the file name for increased legibility. For example, "OOTWT.png" is hard to understand and is not clear, whereas "OOT Water Temple.png" is simple to read and determine.

If the file name already accurately describes the image, it shouldn't be moved unless absolutely necessary, such as to distinguish from a similarly named second file.

File names should not use any punctuation (brackets, colons, commas, etc.) except for hyphens and apostrophes that are found in the subject name (like Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland or Link's uncle). Unnecessary punctuation creates extra padding that makes it more difficult to follow the subject of the image. Furthermore, symbols like stars, hearts, emojis, etc., foreign characters/alphabets (i.e. Japanese kana or Greek letters), accented letters (é, ü, etc.) and other specialized characters should not be used and romanized alternatives should be in their stead. These are often difficult to type for many users and may even render as unicode rather than the proper symbols, making the images even harder to understand and potentially breaks the rendering process. If possible, keep subject material in english, unless there is no alternative available.

Finally, all file names should use lowercase extensions (".png" instead of ".PNG"). Any files that utilize Theora or Vorbis (ogg) should be renamed in accordance to the creator Xiph Foundation's request (see more). Additionally, jpeg files should be written as jpg.

Image optimization

Image optimization is a process by which images are processed to shrink their file size. By using a lossless method of optimization, images can be compressed without compromising quality by removing unecessary metadata such as information like camera specifications or date of creation, and (for images that are already lossless, such as PNGs) recompressing them with a more efficient algorithm. Since this information is usually not critical to displaying the image, optimizers can remove this data.

Compressing images before uploading them is beneficial because it can (often substantially) reduce load time for users on slow internet connections and to reduce server load. Optimization usually focuses on the context of PNG images in particular, but it is possible to optimize other types of images. All optimization performed must be lossless, as to preserve image quality.

Color-correction metadata

While most of the metadata removed by optimization is unnecessary and safe to remove, a few images contain metadata that determines how browsers display the colors in the images (see below for details). Images that were originally exported from the Adobe suite or other specialized software (usually artwork and press images) seem to be the most likely to contain color-correction metadata, while emulator screenshots likely do not contain such metadata. Most optimizing utilities (such as PNG Monstrous) remove this data by default, which can be problematic, as Triforce Wiki policy requires preserving the content of images as provided by the source. Therefore, if optimization produces a discernible difference in color as a result of removing this metadata, the optimized image should not be uploaded.

If optimized images with color-correction metadata is desired, care must be taken to ensure this data is preserved. ImageOptim on macOS should support this option if Strip PNG Metadata and Strip JPG Metadata is disabled in Preferences. Otherwise, see below for instructions. When in doubt, it is better to leave these images un-optimized.

All images with color correction, whether they are optimized or not, should use {{color-corrected}}.

List of image optimization utilities

Unfortunately, many of the existing GUI image optimization utilities, with the exception of ImageOptim, are very outdated. The tools either don't offer functionality to preserve color-changing metadata or don't offer zopflipng, the newest and most efficient optimization for PNGs. Tools that don't allow for preservation of color metadata are unsuitable for use on images that contain this data.

Tool	OSes supported	Formats supported	Can preserve color metadata	Supports zopflipng
PNG Monstrous	Windows*	PNG
ImageOptim	macOS	PNG, JPG, GIF, SVG
Trimage	Linux	PNG, JPG
Running pngout, zopflipng, and/or jpegoptim from the command line	Windows, Mac, Linux	PNG, JPG

* runs on macOS/Linux with WINE

PNG chunks

PNGs can contain four ancillary chunks with colorspace information, which may affect the way software displays the colors in an image:

• gAMA - determines color intensity
• cHRM - determines color chromaticity
• sRGB - colorspace rendering intent data (often serves the same purpose as gAMA + cHRM)
• iCCP - colorspace data (often serves the same purpose as gAMA + cHRM)

While most images do not contain this metadata, when they are present, these chunks should be preserved to ensure that browsers display the image's colors as intended.

Optimizing images with color-correction metadata

It is possible to keep certain metadata, such as the gamma chunk or embedded ICC profiles, while still optimizing the image. ImageOptim on macOS should support this option if Strip PNG Metadata and Strip JPG Metadata is disabled in Preferences. Otherwise (for Windows and Linux) this can be done by manually running the actual PNG optimizer from the command line and passing the appropriate options. For the best compression, run pngout then zopflipng, but running only zopflipng should provide sufficient results in most cases. After optimizing, please verify that the colors of the new image remain the same.

Installing the command-line tools

• Linux: Install zopfli, pngout, and/or jpegoptim with your package manager.
• Windows:
  • Download pngout for Windows
  • Download zopflipng for Windows
  • Download jpegoptim for Windows

zopflipng

Example command to preserve important chunks: zopflipng --keepchunks=iCCP,gAMA,cHRM,sRGB input.png output.png

See this page for further explanation.

pngout

Example command to preserve important chunks: pngout -kiCCP,gAMA,cHRM,sRGB input.png output.png

jpegoptim

Lossless, and preserves important chunks by default: jpegoptim image.jpg