Elite Dangerous Field Manual:Adding an Image
How to add a screenshot or original image to an EDFM article.
Current access
Uploads are technically enabled on EDFM (PNG/JPEG/WebP, up to 30 MB — see Elite Dangerous Field Manual:Screenshot Policy for the full rules), but the upload right is currently restricted to administrator accounts while public account creation is still closed — see Elite Dangerous Field Manual:Current Project Status. This is not the same as uploads being switched off; it's a temporary access restriction that will lift alongside public registration. If you have content you'd like added, flag it via the article's talk page for now rather than assuming you can upload it yourself.
Before uploading
Read Elite Dangerous Field Manual:Image Use Policy in full — in short: only your own original screenshots or diagrams (nothing copied from Fandom, Reddit, Discord, YouTube, other wikis, or "found on Google"), no third-party UI overlays or other players' identifying information without consent, and no AI-generated images presented as real captures.
Uploading an image
Go to Special:Upload. EDFM's upload form asks for what it can't safely work out on its own, and generates the rest of the file page automatically:
- Choose the file.
- Destination filename — a clear, descriptive name (it becomes the page title in the File namespace).
- Media purpose — what kind of image this is: Engineer portrait, character portrait, ship image, module/equipment image, station/settlement/planet/system image, UI screenshot, gameplay screenshot, diagram/infographic, EDFM-created graphic, or other. This drives the description and categories EDFM generates below.
- Subject — the EDFM article this image is of, typed as plain text (e.g.
Hero Ferrari, not[[Hero Ferrari]]) — start typing and existing page titles will autocomplete. Required for media purposes that have an obvious subject (a portrait, a ship, a specific location); optional for general gameplay screenshots, UI screenshots, and diagrams. If the subject doesn't yet have an EDFM article, it's still recorded, just as plain text rather than a link. - Subject type override — optional, and normally not needed. For an Engineer portrait, EDFM automatically works out "Ship Engineer" vs "Odyssey Engineer" from the subject's own article (its Engineering-type category) — only use this field if that inference is wrong or the subject's article doesn't exist yet.
- Licensing — for an ordinary gameplay screenshot this is almost always "Elite Dangerous in-game screenshot." See the guidance on the upload page itself, or Elite Dangerous Field Manual:Image Use Policy, for the other options. Your choice here also determines the
source,media_type, and (where the license makes it clear)copyright_holderfields below — you don't need to re-enter information the license already establishes. - Image modifications — optional. Only state something here if you actually know the file has been altered (e.g. "Cropped to portrait framing"); leave it blank rather than guess.
- Additional notes — optional freeform field for anything else worth recording.
On submission, EDFM builds the file page's == Summary == section automatically, using {{EDFM image information}}:
- description — a short factual sentence built from the media purpose and subject (e.g. "In-game portrait of Hero Ferrari, an Odyssey Engineer.").
- subject / subject_type — the article you named, linked if it exists, plus its inferred or overridden type.
- source / media_type / copyright_holder — derived from your Licensing choice (e.g. "Elite Dangerous, captured in-game" / "In-game screenshot" / "Frontier Developments plc" for an ordinary screenshot). For original work you made yourself, copyright is attributed to you as the creator, not to EDFM.
- captured_by — your account name, filled in automatically; you never need to type your own name.
- capture_date — included only if the uploaded file's own metadata contains a genuine capture date. EDFM never substitutes the upload date, and never guesses.
- modifications / notes — only included if you actually filled those optional fields in.
- intended_use — a short standard sentence built from the media purpose and subject (e.g. "Identification and illustration on the Hero Ferrari article and related Engineering pages.").
The relevant categories (for example Category:Engineer images and Category:Odyssey Engineer images) and the == Licensing == section (from your Licensing choice, e.g. {{License-ED screenshot}}) are added automatically as well.
You should not need to write or edit {{EDFM image information}}
Uploading a new version of an existing file (replacing the image itself) does not regenerate or overwrite the existing file page's description — your original metadata is left exactly as it was.
Once uploaded, reference the image on the article as [[File:Name.png|thumb|caption]], or pass it as |image=Name.png to an infobox that supports one (e.g. {{Engineer infobox}}).
Advanced: editing a file page directly
File pages are ordinary wiki pages. An experienced editor can open a file page and edit its {{EDFM image information}} fields directly at any time — for example to add a capture_date EDFM couldn't detect, correct a subject_type, or expand on notes. See {{EDFM image information}}'s own documentation for the full field list.
Captioning
Use {{Screenshot caption}} for the visible caption text under the image on the article page, so credit/context is shown consistently rather than as plain prose. This is separate from {{EDFM image information}} on the file page itself — see Elite Dangerous Field Manual:Screenshot Policy for the distinction.