Wikipedia:Autosizing images

"WP:SCALE" redirects here. For the use of scale reference objects in photographs, see WP:FIDUCIAL.

The following are techniques to auto-size, or scale, any image ("thumb" or "frameless"), based on each user's default thumbnail size (220px for those not logged in or for those who have not changed it at Special:Preferences). Within an image link, the options are as follows:

• thumb – displays the image as a framed thumbnail at the user's default size
• frameless – displays the image as an unframed at the user's default size
• upright – scales the image to approximately 75% of the user's default size (25% smaller)
• upright=0.8 – scales the image to approximately 80% of the user's default size (20% smaller)
• upright=1.2 – scales the image to approximately 120% of the user's default size (20% larger)
• left – shifts the image to the left margin
• right – shifts the image to the right margin
• center – shifts the image to center between left/right margins

Each of the above sizing options can be used in any image link coded into a Wikipedia page, in the form [[File:Example.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Description]]. When a user views the page, the image will be resized based on the user's default image size setting.

Effects of upright

The available values for thumbnail size in Preferences (on the Appearance tab) are 120px, 150px, 180px, 200px, 220px (default), 250px, 300px, and 400px. As explained at Wikipedia:Extended image syntax § Size, upright=Factor will "adjust a thumbnail's size to Factor times the default thumbnail size, rounding the result to the nearest multiple of 10". That can be calculated on Wikipedia via {{#expr: SIZE * FACTOR round -1}}, which is how the following table was generated.

Effects of upright on image widths available in user preferences

	120px	150px	180px	200px	220px (default)	250px	300px	400px
upright=0.3	40px	50px	50px	60px	70px	80px	90px	120px
upright=0.6	70px	90px	110px	120px	130px	150px	180px	240px
upright=0.75 upright	90px	110px	140px	150px	170px	190px	230px	300px
upright=0.8	100px	120px	140px	160px	180px	200px	240px	320px
upright=0.85	100px	130px	150px	170px	190px	210px	260px	340px
upright=0.9	110px	140px	160px	180px	200px	230px	270px	360px
upright=0.95	110px	140px	170px	190px	210px	240px	290px	380px
upright=1	120px	150px	180px	200px	220px	250px	300px	400px
upright=1.05	130px	160px	190px	210px	230px	260px	320px	420px
upright=1.1	130px	170px	200px	220px	240px	280px	330px	440px
upright=1.15	140px	170px	210px	230px	250px	290px	350px	460px
upright=1.2	140px	180px	220px	240px	260px	300px	360px	480px
upright=1.25	150px	190px	230px	250px	280px	310px	380px	500px
upright=1.3	160px	200px	230px	260px	290px	330px	390px	520px
upright=1.35	160px	200px	240px	270px	300px	340px	410px	540px
upright=1.5	180px	230px	270px	300px	330px	380px	450px	600px
upright=1.8	220px	270px	320px	360px	400px	450px	540px	720px

Examples

thumb, frameless, upright

The following examples use the "thumb" or "frameless" options to set an image to the default size, with "upright" to scale the image larger or smaller than the default size. When using these options, a small image will never be scaled larger than its original size.

Options used	Large image	Small image
|thumb
|thumb|upright=1.35
|thumb|upright=0.3
|frameless
|frameless|upright=1.35
|frameless|upright=0.3

In the examples above, the size of the image is scaled based on each user's default image size, which can be changed at Special:Preferences. Setting image size in pixels, such as "250px", would override the user's preference and display the image as 250px wide for all users who view that image on that page.

left, right, center

As shown in the prior examples, "thumb" defaults to right aligned, while "frameless" defaults to left aligned. This can be changed by using "left", "right", or "center". The following examples include lorem ipsum text before (in red) and after (in green) to show how it wraps around the image.

Alignment	thumb	frameless
left	Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.	Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
right	Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.	Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
center	Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.	Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

Purpose of autosizing

Because many users have begun viewing Wikipedia articles on various smaller devices, not just desktop PC computers, the autosizing of images will allow each user to view those images as smaller pictures on handheld devices, such as laptops, notebook or tablet computers, and some mobile phones. The users can set their Special:Preferences to select their default image size (such as: 250px, 180px, or 120px), for whichever handheld device they use for viewing Wikipedia pages. Autosizing of images will also allow sight-impaired users, per WP:Access, to enlarge their default image-size (such as 300px) to perhaps see details more clearly.

See also

• Wikipedia:Picture tutorial – full description of image options & many examples

[ This essay is a quick draft to be expanded later. ]