Help talk:Pictures

How do we add a background color? E.g. for

[[file:1-Unaone.svg|frameless]]

we get

Adding a border doesn't help, because the flag is not rectangular (unlike the Japanese flag illustrated on this help page). Can we add a colored background to make the flag visible? — kwami (talk) 05:06, 24 February 2023 (UTC)

Is there a reason not to use thumb? The default grey background isn’t much better, but at least it’s something. — HTGS (talk) 23:58, 16 March 2024 (UTC)

Hi! I need help for the id. I am trying to make a userbox and I need the id for the image. So how to see the id in the image page in Wikimedia commons? Also what id I am searching for is this NeD1a [[User:Nedia020415|Nedia020415]] (talk) 00:39, 28 May 2024 (UTC)

Sample userbox with the commons logo

@Nedia020415: To refer to an image in the "id" parameter of the {{Userbox}} template, use something like id = [[File:Commons-logo.svg|42x42px]], asking the userbox code to display the image. It's perhaps a misleading parameter name, as it doesn't refer to any kind of internal or system "id". -- John of Reading (talk) 06:44, 28 May 2024 (UTC)

You might also be interested in Category:Wikimedia Commons user templates. —⁠andrybak (talk) 07:16, 28 May 2024 (UTC)

Hi, how can I supress annotations? I encounter that problem in Commons:Category:1910s maps of Sinai by the British War Office. Thanks in advance. --Enyavar (talk) 20:58, 12 August 2024 (UTC)

The redirect Wikipedia:Picture turorial has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2024 November 7 § Wikipedia:Picture turorial until a consensus is reached. Steel1943 (talk) 03:59, 7 November 2024 (UTC)

Tip: The examples with the Egyptian Amun works better in dark mode without the < blockquote >

-- Arthurfragoso (talk) 02:57, 14 December 2024 (UTC)

At R rotunda, we have three images that would work well as a horizontal row on desktop (laptop, tablet) view:

• [[:File:Half r from malmesbury bible.jpg |thumb |An r rotunda (the middle letter) in the word "quadraginta" in a Latin Bible of 1407, on display in Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire, England]]
• [[:File:Pablo-Hurus-Zaragoza-1496-annotated.png |thumb |upright 1.4 |Example from early printing by Pablo Hurus in 1496 in Zaragoza, Spain. The sample includes the types for r rotunda (marked red), ordinary r (marked green), and Tironian et (marked blue).]] This image would be better at upright=2.0 or more
• [[:File:Caslon-specimen-1763-great-primer-black.png |thumb |upright=1.4|Example from 18th-century typesetting in England, printed 1763 by William Caslon I in London. The sample shows r rotunda used in the words or, Mayors and corporate.]]

(but not combined into a collage, we mustn't forget most visitors use smartphones).

Is there a way to do 'all images same height then each as wide as it needs to maintain its ratio'? {{multiple image}} doesn't help either. 𝕁𝕄𝔽 (talk) 16:25, 19 February 2026 (UTC)

Perhaps, parameter "heights" of the <gallery> tag is what you are looking for? —⁠andrybak (talk) 16:33, 19 February 2026 (UTC)

I believe that I tried that but since I tried so many combinations I may have lost the plot! I'll try again. 𝕁𝕄𝔽 (talk) 16:44, 19 February 2026 (UTC)

Having just sandboxed it (and it works), evidently I had not in fact tried that. Perhaps I got lost in {{Gallery}}. Thank you again. 𝕁𝕄𝔽 (talk) 17:00, 19 February 2026 (UTC)

This section gives some bad advice. From MOS:IMAGELOC: "A consistent left margin creates a stable anchor for tracking through lines of text, making it more readable or accessible"; stacking images on the right is preferable to alternating left and right. It seems to me that stacking images only becomes ugly when they are of different widths, and even then I would argue that alternating is just as ugly.

Also the "add more text" advice isn't very useful; text should only be added on its own merits, not to improve image formatting.

I think this section could be restricted to the useful advice on ways to group images. Wh1pla5h99 (talk) 00:31, 20 February 2026 (UTC)

Example: Democratic Party (United States)

This article has a logo (image) in the infobox. When I search “Democrat…” on Wikipedia (using the iPhone app), suggested pages are populated. Most have a small thumbnail next to the article title, some articles do not - like this one.

I checked how this displays using my mobile browser and the search preview has a thumbnail, but it’s a generic grey box.

I could add the updated 2025 party logo (uploaded to Commons by another user) as a thumbnail, which would then show in the article search preview. But, this goes against guidelines, I think, by duplicating an image at the top of the article.

I think thumbnails in search results are very useful, especially for more visual users, to help with finding the correct / relevant Wikipedia article.

Is there a way I can resolve this? Thanks.

Note: I have no affiliation with the political party. Snowpeek (talk) 16:50, 9 March 2026 (UTC)