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Videos are increasingly becoming a key feature of online media, and wikis have the option of adding them throughout their pages.

Videos can help attract readers who are looking for quick information about major topics, as they help compliment all of the in-depth information on wiki pages. In turn, more readers can lead to more contributors for your wiki.

How to add a video to your wiki[]

Note: This step may be bypassed if using the new EmbedVideo tool.

To add a video, you can visit Special:NewFiles, which is your wiki's "gallery of new files".

  • Click on the "Add video" button at the top of the page, which will display a pop-up window where you can add the URL of your video. Click on "Add" and the page will soon let you know if the upload worked.
  • The gallery of new files lets you search media types - check the "videos" box and click 'Search' to only show videos. Your uploaded video should appear below.

Links to Special:NewFiles are included in the drop-down menu accessible via the three vertical dots in the top-right corner of the wiki, and also under the "Explore" menu in the navigation bar.

Another alternative is uploading videos through Special:Upload, which allows you to upload them with their default video format.

How to add a video to a page[]

EmbedVideo[]

If adding a video via the new EmbedVideo extension, it is not necessary to add the video to the wiki first — instead, this extension can pull videos directly from other websites, with support for over 30 different video and audio services as opposed to the video embed tool's four. Usage instructions are available on the EmbedVideo help page.

The rest of the following sections pertain only to the video embed tool or regular upload tools, for those videos which have been or will be manually added to your wiki.

Using visual and 2017 source editor[]

  • Use the media icon (looks like a picture) in the top navigation bar and click on it.
  • A window called "media settings" pops-up.
  • In this window, you can search your wiki for the video you want to add or also upload a file.
  • Choose your video from the media listed and click on "use this image".
  • This will open another window, which allows you under the tab "general" to add a caption and alternative text. At the bottom, you also can choose to change the file (this brings you back to the first "media settings" pop-up). Under the tab "advanced" you can make additional changes to the video and how it will appear on the page. You can change position (left, center, right), define if you want text wrapped around the file, change the image type (thumbnail, frame, frameless, basic) and change the video size (default: 180 x 135 px).
  • Click "Insert".
  • Preview and save your page.

Using 2010 source editor[]

  • Use the media icon (looks like a picture) in the top navigation bar and click on it.
  • A window called "insert files" pops up.
  • In this window, you can search your wiki for the video you want to add or also upload a file through the "Upload" button at the bottom left.
  • You need to insert the name of the video (and don't forget to add the correct extension).
  • The other buttons allow you to, all of them optional, add a caption, change position (none, center, left, right), change the image type (thumbnail, frame, frameless, basic) and change the video size (default: 180 x 135 px).
  • Click "Insert".
  • Preview and save your page.

Using wikitext[]

  • If you are already familiar with source editing, you can add the video directly by using the file wikitext. For example: [[File:Video name|250px|thumb]]
  • Note that on desktop, if the size used to display the file thumbnail in an article page is smaller than 400px wide, clicking on the video will open a pop-up window for it to appear in the proper size. If the thumbnail is displayed at 400px or larger, the video will play directly on the page.

How to replace or remove a video[]

In the event you need to replace a video, you will need to upload a new version of it at a different file name. You can do that by repeating the instructions above.

Go to the uploaded video file. You can search for videos on Special:NewFiles ("Gallery of new files") or go to Category:Video, which should contain all the uploaded videos. Open the file, go to "edit" and choose "delete" from the drop-down menu. Choose a reason or "other/additional reason" why you want to remove it (or leave it blank) and click "delete".

Next pages[]

Further help and feedback[]