Commons talk:File renaming/Archive/2021

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Renaming of a large amount of US presidential election maps

I recently declined a large amount of rename requests changing the naming scheme of US presidential elections maps under Criterion 4. These were apparently promptyly relisted for renaming by the same editor and subsequently moved by other file movers. I'm unable to see how it's appropriate for an editor to change the naming scheme for an extensive amount of files created by other editors, to a certain degree already using a fairly consistent naming scheme, seemingly without any preceding discussion and how these rename requests comply with Criterion 4. Have I misinterpreted what Criterion 4 is for or is it OK to rename a 100s of files because an editor feel a different naming scheme is better? I noticed that the same editor has submitted a new batch of similar rename requests and thought it could be useful to bring this issue up. TommyG (talk) 21:07, 27 December 2020 (UTC)

@TommyG: As a New Jersey resident, I strongly object to the half uncapitalization of "New Jersey" to "New jersey" in this edit by epicgenius.   — Jeff G. ツ please ping or talk to me 21:37, 27 December 2020 (UTC)
I also disagree with my own half uncapitalization. Honestly, I don't even know why I did that three years ago. Epicgenius (talk) 21:43, 27 December 2020 (UTC)
As someone who's been to New Jersey, I'm fine with it. VanIsaac (en.wiki) 22:01, 27 December 2020 (UTC)
  • Criterion 4 is only relevant when files need to have a specific name to be used in a template. So if someone want to use #4 they should be able to mention a template somewhere that uses filenames. For example BSicon/Catalogue. --MGA73 (talk) 19:16, 11 February 2021 (UTC)
    • Realistically though, that's probably somewhere around 0.5 and 1% of all renames done under Criterion 4. So, maybe it's time file movers start paying better attention to the rationale behind each criteria. TommyG (talk) 19:01, 16 February 2021 (UTC)

I renamed this PDF file c:File:ДАКО_280-2-1381._1858_рік._Ревізька_казка_євреїв_купців_та_міщан_міста_Звенигородка.pdf. But thescript that changes links to it didn't work everywhere. For example, the link to the mentioned PDF on this Wikisource page were not renamed. Also, all [[c:File:...]] links are never shown as links to the file. A bug? Soshial (talk) 06:17, 12 March 2021 (UTC)

File name swaps

Surely it is moves 1 and 2 that need to omit redirects, rather than 2 and 3? As written, the first move would leave a redirect from "Obverse Of Token.jpg" to "Temporary name Of Token.jpg", which would be undesirable.--Verbarson (talk) 21:34, 10 April 2021 (UTC)

I believe the reason why this works, is because filemovers are allowed to overwrite simple redirects that have only one edit. So, when making the move in step 2, this effectively deletes the redirect before moving the file. TommyG (talk) 11:42, 11 April 2021 (UTC)

What is appropriate suppression of redirects?

The current text of this page only allows suppression of redirects in three circumstances:

  • To move recently uploaded files with an obvious error in the file name where that error would not be a reasonable redirect. For example: moving "Sheep in a tree.jpg" to "Squirrel in a tree.jpg" when the image does in fact depict a squirrel.
  • To perform file name swaps.
  • When the original file name contains vandalism. (Renaming criterion #5)

However, often when this is used for files in Category:Images from Geograph Britain and Ireland, I can't see any way that these apply. Here are a few recent examples:

I've created all of these redirects, but since there are several filemovers involved, I wonder if it's actually me that's out of step with consensus here. So, is the guideline still correct? Am I misinterpreting "recently uploaded"? --bjh21 (talk) 16:03, 11 February 2021 (UTC)

Well about the first one, I did a rename because it's not a tinder fungus (Fomes fomentarius) but a Ganoderma lipsiense. I personally don't mind your redirect, and maybe I was out of step by not creating one. Rudolphous (talk) 18:37, 11 February 2021 (UTC)
bjh21, ask yourself what is the point for re-creating unused redirects which are non-sensical and contain spelling errors. I assume you ignore what is written here: I suppress redirects when they are both "Unused and implausible", and are eligible for speedy deletion (G2). And that's what you re-created (without discussion, and without apparent, inherint reason outside this procedural polemic), a bunch of speedy deleteable, useless, unused and implausible (sometimes even misliding, as identify wrong places/subjects instead of the correct ones) redirects. Not the best way to spend your time on Commons. --Cavarrone (talk) 10:15, 12 February 2021 (UTC)
When I do a rename I usually remove the mark for "Leave a redirect behind" when possible. No one needs redirects into nowhere when the picture has never been used before! --Fridolin freudenfett (talk) 17:21, 12 February 2021 (UTC)
@Bjh21, Cavarrone, and Fridolin freudenfett: See also COM:VP#Removing redirects ?.   — Jeff G. ツ please ping or talk to me 19:11, 19 February 2021 (UTC)
@Bjh21: those deletions are clearly not in line with the policy. People who don't agree with the policy should try to get it changed, but until they have to stick to it. File movers should be made aware (warned) if they break this policy. If they persist after that, their file mover right should be removed. Multichill (talk) 19:22, 19 February 2021 (UTC)
  •  Comment Yes redirects should always be created unless there is a super good reason not to do so. Like vandalism or if it breaks something. --MGA73 (talk) 16:05, 14 May 2021 (UTC)
It also has been my observation recently that there are a number of filemovers who are not aware of the reason why we keep redirects. Also a lot of editors who come from the german wikipedia will have learned there to delete as many redirects as possible, so it might be a culture thing. Agathoclea (talk) 19:21, 22 June 2021 (UTC)
  •  Question Cavarrone when you rename without leaving a redirect can you honestly say that you have checked every website on the Internet and all books in the world and made sure that the file was not used anywhere outside Wikipedia? If yes may I ask how you managed to do that? --MGA73 (talk) 14:40, 28 June 2021 (UTC)

Criterion 4: needed expansion

At the explanations to criterion 4 should be mentioned:

When a mere vectorization (the raster image without alteration just converted to .svg) has another name than the raster image, without a proper reason (as e.g. the file name yet existing) it should be renamed, to enable the automatic reference.

Automatic reference can occur from templates as Vector version available not needing specification of the vector version when the name differs only at the extension, and from a lot of other templates when only the extension differs, e.g.

Unexperienced uploaders often get frightened when the upload procedure warns that a (similar) file name yet exists; sometimes they add a suffix to the file name, as 'vector' or so, to get rid of the warning, instead of ignoring it.
BTW, the warning should be expanded that the same name with different extensions is fine for mere vectorizations.
A proper reason for another name of a mere vectorization can be that the SVG file should follow a naming system while it's not worth the effort to rename the superseded raster image.
This reason for renaming should become part of the Official Guideline. -- sarang♥사랑 13:01, 31 March 2021 (UTC)

 Support Seems reasonable. -- H005 07:33, 16 April 2021 (UTC)

  •  Oppose reason 4 is used only when the names MUST have a special name for relevant templates to work. If templates depend on the filenames then it is allready possible to rename them. --MGA73 (talk) 14:26, 28 June 2021 (UTC)

Can't make a request on a phone

I tried to request a file name change (because it had a typo error in the name) using my cellphone. But that is virtually impossible due to the layout of the page such that my pop-up keyboard blocks the new file name and I have to backspace by counting characters, etc. Then it came up with a message about metadata that I couldn't read because only a portion was visible. Is there a way to do this without finding a PC somewhere during the lockdown? Thanks! Facts707 (talk) 03:40, 13 April 2021 (UTC)

You can add the rename request manually by adding the template yourself. Just add the following template to the file page {{Rename |1=NEW_SUGGESTED_NAME_OF_FILE.jpg |2=Rationale, number between 1 and 6 |3=Your reason for wanting to move the file |user=Facts707 }}. Replace the values for 1, 2 and 3 ( {{Rename |1= |2= |3= |user= }} ) repeated here for easier copy&paste) and the file will probably be renamed in due course. TommyG (talk) 06:11, 13 April 2021 (UTC)
@Jeff G.: I'm on a Windows97 computer with a mouse. Popups are very useful to me overall. But there is a popup on the "Move and Replace" that occasionally covers up some of the proposed new name. Not a fatal issue, though irritating! Krok6kola (talk) 15:42, 13 April 2021 (UTC)

"There could be a delay of a few hours." → seems more like a few weeks, at least for Criterion 3?

There are two images of Japanese content that are clearly misnamed, just based on the Japanese text that is clearly visible in the images:

Both were flagged earlier this month (the "Waraji" one by @HLHJ: , the "Bushido" one by me), and neither has seen any change or discussion from a move administrator.

Are the instructions on this Commons:File renaming page missing anything, some additional step that would result in these files actually getting renamed? Is the description that "There could be a delay of a few hours." just wildly inaccurate? Is there a lack of administrators?

Curious, – Eiríkr Útlendi | Tala við mig 17:02, 22 June 2021 (UTC)

It looks like there's a rather large backlog for file rename requests at the moment. I'll make an effort to get through a bit of it and hopefully someone else will chip in too. TommyG (talk) 19:12, 22 June 2021 (UTC)
Thank you, @TommyG! Wasn't sure what to expect.  :) Cheers! – Eiríkr Útlendi | Tala við mig 00:27, 23 June 2021 (UTC)
  •  Comment The reason could also be that there are too many files that is renamed. In my opinion we should rename files if the current name does not work or if it is offending/disruptive. I do not think that file names are important. The important is the description on the file page and the structured data and the categories. --MGA73 (talk) 14:35, 28 June 2021 (UTC)
I agree with this. The backlog is at times huge, in part due to certain editors submitting large amounts of rename requests for files that already have a reasonable name, but for some reason they feel need a more specific one. I often decline this type of rename request. TommyG (talk) 17:39, 28 June 2021 (UTC)
That is good background to know, thank you both. If the backlog is quite large, and likely to stay that way for the foreseeable future, might I suggest a change to the wording on the Commons:File renaming page?  :)
Re: filenames themselves, if the filename makes a claim that is not backed up by the content of the file (Criterion 3), a rename seems appropriate. For instance, assuming an image entitled something like "Barney the Dinosaur's Birthday Party", while displaying a still life painting of a bowl of fruit, a rename seems not just appropriate, but required, no? Eiríkr Útlendi | Tala við mig 18:49, 28 June 2021 (UTC)

FileːFlock of Eurasian Curlew at Langeoog island.jpg

Hallo,

der aktuelle Name dieser Datei ist das Ergebnis einer Änderung, über die ich weder vorher noch nachher informiert wurde. Sie hieß zuvorː "Swarm of birds at Langeog island.jpg". Vielen Dank für Korrektur des Inselnamens. Über die Spezifikation des Vogelnamens hätte ich mich gerne vorher abgestimmt. Ich selbst kann auf dem Foto keine Vogelart bestimmen, sehe mich auch nicht in der Lage, einem anonymen Dritten dieses ohne Rücksprache unter meinem Nutzernamen zu überlassen. Ich bitte also denjenigen, der die Veränderung bewirkt hat, mit mir Kontakt aufzunehmen.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen Hartmut SchmidtFoeniz (talk) 12:59, 25 June 2021 (UTC)

Hello,

the actual name of this file is the result of a change about which I wasn't informed, neither before nor after. The former name given by me was "Swarm of birds at Langeog island.jpg". Thank you for the correction of the island's spelling. Wether "swarm" or "flock", I feel ok with both. However, concerning the specification of the kind of birds, this should have been arranged with me beforehand. I myself cannot specify the kind of birds to be seen at the picture, but I don't like to have it done by an anonymous person under my name without any information exchange. Thus to whoever renamed the fileː please contact me.

Thank you and best regards

Hartmut SchmidtFoeniz (talk) 14:33, 25 June 2021 (UTC)


@Foeniz: I couldn't find that specific filename, but I found File:Flock of Eurasian Curlew at Langeoog island.jpg, moved by MPF.   — Jeff G. ツ please ping or talk to me 14:08, 26 June 2021 (UTC)
@Foeniz: - apologies; yes, it was me. I have good experience of this species and other similar ones, and checked the image carefully in full resolution to check the identity. With a creative commons license, there is of course no obligation to contact you beforehand; if I did so with every file that I check, it would take months of waiting for replies to check what I can do in a day :-) Of 'swarm', that is usually only used for insects in English (e.g. "a swarm of bees"); birds come in flocks (or occasionally other specialist terms, like a skein of geese, when they are flying in V-formation). Hope this helps! - MPF (talk) 14:28, 26 June 2021 (UTC)

Thank you both for taking care and especially for the specific informations. Apologies more than accepted as I got to know whom I learned from. Best regards. Hartmut SchmidtFoeniz (talk) 16:26, 26 June 2021 (UTC)

@Foeniz: You're welcome. It appears you used the wrong type of colon (en:ː) when trying to refer to that file, the colon must be a USASCII colon (code 58, see en:Colon (punctuation)).   — Jeff G. ツ please ping or talk to me 16:32, 26 June 2021 (UTC)

Hello user MPF. Here I am again with an other problem, now concerning my file "Five Common gulls" which got renamed by you from "Five herring gulls". That was allright. But I had published the file with "herring" in the challenge Five. So I renamed the file in that challenge too, but now the link is broken, the challenge entry indicates a broken link. I do not know how to fix it. May I ask you for help? Thank youǃFoeniz (talk) 17:05, 28 June 2021 (UTC)Foeniz (talk) 17:23, 28 June 2021 (UTC)

Renaming files unscrupulously

A person is renaming the pdf files without any discussion. All those file have pages in ta.wikisource and he is moving thousands of pages even for petty reason such as changing hypen in the file name. the changes can be seen here. why his file mover rights be not revoked? — Preceding unsigned comment was added by 2401:4900:1B2A:BCC5:E874:3FED:35D7:6C9A (talk) 09:58, 28 June 2021 (UTC)

From looking through a random sample of those files, it looks like this person is renaming their own files. This would fall in under "At the original uploader’s request.", which provides a very wide authority to rename files. I suggest you take it up with the editor in question if you find this disruptive. TommyG (talk) 10:43, 28 June 2021 (UTC)
Pinging @Info-farmer for that purpose.   — Jeff G. ツ please ping or talk to me 17:24, 28 June 2021 (UTC)
Thanks for this opputunity. I uploaded morethan 2000 pdf books and OCRed ~3 lakhs pages at ta.wikisource during my Wikipedian in Residence - Wikimedia Outreach . During that time (October 2015 - March 2016), we negotiated with our Government law Officials about the copy right of the books. then here, we are getting OTRS clearence also, see the example. And now completed 150 books with our female contributors team. Most of the contributors are not wellversed with wikisource codes. To get the output well, we are running few python3 scripts. While executing the scripts, i found that the mistakes of file names. OCR. and also at the final output stage.("transclusion") so, if the uniformity exists at the file name, reusing the scripts is easy. For example, many books come with volumns.to denote the volumns, at the time of upload, i never followed uniformity. Now with years of experiences, i understand the need. few books need only small corrections but combination of volumns(see the example). Many books needs removal of a word or words, its sub title. (see the books) to get unifomity.Few editors never finding the original name of a book at the final stage also occurs. (see the example). we are emerging community, so we are learning for the future. we are still negotiating with our government and writers for CC licensed books. by the end of this year, i am going to upload few hundred books and few encylopedias (20 volumns) because i am one of the activist of FSFTN (Freedom Software Foundation of Tamil Nadu). Actually many books, do not need redirects. Hope i furnished the details. I am not just doing file renaming but taking care for the whole outputs. --Info-farmer (talk) 02:34, 30 June 2021 (UTC)

Recently declined rename requests

Hi, A few years ago if a file was declined and then someone readds the filename template back and you go to rename it - A box would come up saying something along the lines of "This rename was recently declined, Are you sure you want to rename?" however this box no longer shows?,
Unfortunately I've a few times ran into a problem whereby someone's declined a request - I come along - and accept the request,
Checking the history before renaming a file is time consuming and I didn't know if the box could be added back ?
Thanks, –Davey2010Talk 20:08, 30 June 2021 (UTC)

Unable to change file extention

Hi, can someone help me understand why I'm technically unable to rename this file File:Gasparo Martellini - Portrait of Maria Caroline Augusta of Habsburg-Lorraine, Princess of Tuscany.webp to File:Gasparo Martellini - Portrait of Maria Caroline Augusta of Habsburg-Lorraine, Princess of Tuscany.png? I've tried twice and first thought I forgot to update the file extension, but on the second rename I did update the file extension correctly, but the rename functionality did seemingly overwrite my correctly defined .png with the incorrect .webp. Any suggestions? If I try now, the tool tells me that the file already exisits, which it does not. So I assume it is still correcting the file extension prior to checking if the file exists. Thanks Schlurcher (talk) 08:03, 7 August 2021 (UTC)

@Schlurcher: I downloaded the image, and file also says it’s WebP. This explains why you can’t rename it to .png—MediaWiki enforces that the extension matches the actual file format. —Tacsipacsi (talk) 12:43, 7 August 2021 (UTC)

Something wrong with a list on the page

Hi,
On the page, in the "File name swaps" section, something is wrong with a list: three items are marked '1.'.
Please do someting with it. Michgrig (talk) 21:02, 10 August 2021 (UTC)

That was Tmv at the start of July. I'm not sure I can fix the problem without causing translation problems, but maybe they can. --bjh21 (talk) 22:13, 10 August 2021 (UTC)

Village pump - Unduly motivated renaming request declining

There was recently some discussion on Commons:Village_pump#Unduly_motivated_renaming_request_declining about the interpretation of Criterion 4, where I feel the rename request was not justified and declined the move. It would be useful if some other file movers gave their opinion in this thread too. TommyG (talk) 09:43, 11 August 2021 (UTC)


I didn't understand how do to it

I just didn't understand how to rename a file, I want to remove the 'Benjamim Mattos' of this file, if someone could help me, thanks! EliasTheHorse (talk) 18:32, 29 September 2021 (UTC) ---> File:Uranium-glass-necklace-Benjamim-Mattos.jpg

@EliasTheHorse: , only people with certain rights can rename a file. I just renamed the file into File:Uranium-glass-necklace.jpg. Kind regards, Elly (talk) 18:38, 29 September 2021 (UTC)

Criterion number 4

Is "Same name as other photos of the same event" really an acceptable reason for criterion number 4, like this or this? Commons:File renaming#cite_note-4 does not appear to approve renamings like that. When more unnecessary file renames are done, there is larger risk of breaking som image links, like here. This could also happen with good file renames, but then there is real improvements in the file names. Can we add something like "images from the same event is not an acceptable file set for criterion 4" to these guidelines? Ö 17:38, 6 October 2021 (UTC)

  • As I read it, criterion 4 may only be used in the two situations described in "cite_note-4" and neither of those applies here. Furthermore, the new names are so bad that it would appear that the file names would be immediately eligible for reversion to the previous file names per condition #2. "43 UCE clausura04" and "43 UCE clausura05" say nothing about the files. 43 what? UCE is a non-descriptive abbreviation which you can't be expected to know. Who or what is clausura? --Stefan2 (talk) 18:35, 6 October 2021 (UTC)
  • I very much agree with Ö and Stefan2. I suppose we need to be clearer in the table, not hiding away things in a footnote. That would probably avoid some file move requests – but a file mover or administrator should know how to read the criteria regardless. I hope they could be more careful. –LPfi (talk) 19:28, 6 October 2021 (UTC)
    @Jordi G and Mosbatho: –LPfi (talk) 19:31, 6 October 2021 (UTC)
  • I understood the request as an "harmonize the names of a set of images"-request. --Mosbatho (talk) 19:46, 6 October 2021 (UTC)
  • Sorry if I'm the culprit of this mess. Revert the changes if you think it's convenient. I only wanted to harmonize the names in the category Universitat Catalana d'Estiu (Summer Catalan University), as all other photos name start with the number of the event (this was the 43 time this university took place). I know that the name say nothing about the files for a person who don't know this event but I thank that the most important thing to identify a file were the categories and the description. I use these names in this category because I think it's easy to order the photos inside the category from from the oldest to the newest. --Jordi G (talk) 21:46, 6 October 2021 (UTC)
  • @Jordi G and Mosbatho: This is not the intent of the harmonisation criterion, as explained in the footnote. Files are usually part of several categories, so files would need to be harmonised globally, and that is not a task for the filename. Often the filename carries much more important information, such as the name of the session, the place, or of the person depicted. Separating the years can be done by subcategories (not ideal in this case) or by sort keys in the individual files "[[Category:Universitat Catalana d'Estiu|2020]] (which should be explained at the category page). Please revert. –LPfi (talk) 12:26, 7 October 2021 (UTC)
  • Well, that's how you interpret Crit.4. That's fine with me. LPfi, if you make a move request on the files in question, notify me which files they are, I will not move them back to the filename you want to. --Mosbatho (talk) 16:04, 7 October 2021 (UTC)
  • @Mosbatho: Crit 4 is as written in the note only meant for when the file names MUST be named in a special way to make templates work or if a part of a book for example. So LPfi is correct. I'm not sure how to understand your comment. Do you mean you will not do any more moves like this or do you mean you do not care what LPfi say and you will continue to move? --MGA73 (talk) 18:03, 7 October 2021 (UTC)
  • @MGA73: , I surely did not mean, I do not accept the rules. My intention with the move was to help User:Jordi with their wish to sort those images in their intended way. I understood the request as an "harmonize the names of a set of images"-request, as I stated above. --Mosbatho (talk) 18:08, 7 October 2021 (UTC)
  • @Mosbatho: Great! Thanks a lot. I'm not a native English speaker so I was unsure how to understand the "Well, that's how you interpret Crit.4.". --MGA73 (talk) 18:10, 7 October 2021 (UTC)
  • I would presume that harmonizing the names of a set of images should be done in the direction of making all of the names more intelligible. BD2412 T 18:20, 7 October 2021 (UTC)

Help renaming 32 (very recently created) Geoshape files in Wikimedia Commons

I am working with a group of scholars on a project to digitally recontextualize artifacts and archival materials from a specific archaeological site, and I made a mistake in file naming in WMC that is holding up our work.

In brief, to facilitate this recontextualization work, we are creating an "urban gazetteer" for the site that defines geoshapes for specific buildings/parts of buildings, then pointing to the geoshapes with structured statements to join up WD items for artifacts/archival materials associated with a specific building. As we are in the process of defining a workflow, we have (very recently) created a handful of geoshapes in WMC but I named the files in a way that incorporates spaces in the file name, such that when the URLs for the WMC geoshapes are pulled into Wikidata, the spaces are replaced with a '+' or "%'. URLs with those symbols are not rendering in map format via WDQS. My team and I have reported the bug and it is on the list for a fix, but it's not high priority and we haven't seen movement on the issue for months. Now that I know what the issue is, I think I can work around it by just renaming the problematic files and being sure not to create file names with spaces in the future.

I understand there are good reasons for limiting renaming in WMC, but we have only a group of 32 geoshapes that are problematic, and are developed very recently and solely with in connection with our very site-specific and technical work--as such, I don't think there will be issues around other users pointing to or making use of these specific geoshapes (yet). I understand that someone with administrative permissions would need to help and/or approve this request for renaming--can anyone advise on how to connect with the right person to discuss whether it is possible to have permission to rename the problematic files so that we can continue our work? Ahc84 (talk) 14:43, 9 December 2021 (UTC)

@Ahc84: I think it would be quite reasonable to rename these under criterion 6, even if it's really working around a downstream bug rather than the more usual upstream one. Criterion 1 could probably apply as well. I don't know if adding the {{Rename}} template to the files' talk pages would work, but if it doesn't then you could list them here and I or another filemover could rename them. I don't think this strictly needs an administrator. --bjh21 (talk) 15:03, 9 December 2021 (UTC)
@Bjh21 If you or someone else could help, I would be so grateful, since this is new territory for me. As I said, it's a group of 32, and I have them in a CSV--should I just paste WDlabel/WD Q#/WMC URL in here, or is there a better method? I think we can just replace the '+' characters with '_' and that should let us work around the issue. Ahc84 (talk) 15:17, 9 December 2021 (UTC)
Actually, if these are in the "Data" namespace (like Data:Wall0018 Temple of Bel Dura-Europos.map, which you just created) then I think they're not technically files. That might mean that you can rename them yourself using the "Move" item on the "More" menu (in the usual desktop interface). ALternatively, if you give me a list of Commons page names or URLs here that should be fine even if this isn't quite the right place. Given the shape of that bug, I think you want to avoid spaces, '_', and '+' in your new filenames. I'd go for '-', a hyphen, as a character that's likely to be safe. --bjh21 (talk) 15:37, 9 December 2021 (UTC)
@Bjh21 Thanks so much--this method works just fine. I'll proceed that way. Thanks for your help! Ahc84 (talk) 15:48, 9 December 2021 (UTC)
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