JDOC:Image naming guidelines

The image naming guidelines are to give documentation contributors a set guidelines about naming an uploaded image file not used by Joomla! Help screens. These guidelines are not absolute but for informative purposes. They should only be used as a reference for helping contributors form a good image file name. Naming an image for use in Joomla documentation is not difficult once you understand how the images are processed and stored. Some of the benefits of Mediawiki's method of image storage are an image history, extra image data, and easy image updating.

Naming an Uploaded Image

The Mediawiki software allows uploaded images to be named by two methods.

1. Uploading an image directly, not referenced in a page but will be used. The default name of the image will be the "local" (name in your file system) but it may be changed before the actual upload.
2. Clicking on a red link, referenced in a page already with an image link such as [[Image:Name of the image.png]]

Of the two methods, the later method is the easiest method to use.

Naming Pattern Suggestions

Image names should consist of an underscore or hyphenated separated list of descriptive words. Think of them as a summary description of the image.

Suggested Formats For Joomla Images

It would be very beneficial if the first part of any Joomla image refers to it's version. This allows someone to instantly know what version of Joomla is connected to the image. Example: j3x or j25. There is no need to insert the .(dot) in the version, please omit it.

<jver>-<admin>-<view>.<extension('png' | 'jpg' | 'jpeg' | 'gif')>

Joomla Image Examples

A screenshot of Joomla 3.x or 2.5 administrator's view of the article manager could be written as:

j3x_admin_content_article_manager_articles.png
j25-admin-content-article-manager-articles.png

A screenshot of Joomla 3.x or 2.5 site's(frontend) view of the log in module could be written as:

j3x_site_protostar_log_in_module.png
j25-frontent-beez-20-log_in_module.png

Suggested Formats For non-Joomla Images

Common sense and a descriptive summary should be the guide for non-Joomla images. Again, use the underscore _ or hyphen - to separate the summary. For images of people, please use the person's name. For images of software or website's, please include them within reason.

Non-Joomla Image Examples

GitHub pull request, the Firefox Firebug tool, or these other examples could be written as:

github-pull-request-how-to.png
eclipse_indigo_interface_egit_browsing_veiw.png
joomla-event-Nov-2013-John-Smith.png
firefox_addon_firebug_colour_picker.png

They are short, descriptive and inform the viewer looking at the image call what the image is quickly.

Localisation of Image Names

In preparation for documentation localisation, how to address images of different languages needs to be addressed. As documentation becomes localised, it is necessary to let user's and the Documentation Working Group identify images in another language quickly. Please do not use a native language as a file name description. Instead, add a trailing two-letter language code to the end of your file description before you upload the image in the 'base' language description.

Translators of Joomla! Documentation should read: Localising Images. Translators will find detailed information about translating images.

Here is the base examples:

<jver>-<admin>-<view>-<language code>.<extension('png' | 'jpg' | 'jpeg' | 'gif')>

Taking some of the examples from above:

j3x_admin_content_article_manager_articles_es.png
j25-admin-content-article-manager-articles-fr.png

A screenshot of Joomla 3.x or 2.5 site's(frontend) view of the log in module could be written as:

j3x_site_protostar_log_in_module_fr.png
j25-frontent-beez-20-log_in_module-es.png