Q: Can files/document images/photographs be attached to wiki pages?

A: Whilst it is technically possible, please do NOT do so

Whilst it is technically possible to attach files to wiki pages, we prefer they aren't for a number of reasons including

• Most fundamentally they actually add very little direct value to TRP. Image files, whether in their native format such as JPG, PNG, TIF etc or when wrapped inside a PDF, are unintelligible to our content indexing software and the information in them will never show up in search results.
• Files can also be a vector for the transmission of malware, the consequences of which is something we’d rather not have to deal with!
• We also need to be cautious of copyright issues, particularly where pages have been scanned from modern books etc.

In consideration of these three points, we choose not to make attached files visible to users who are not logged into TRP (anonymous users), which further reduces their usefulness.

Documents

In general, the most appropriate way of handling the image of a document, such as a will or land transaction, is to create a transcript of the document and enter that transcript as a TRP gleaning page. This approach has several advantages including

• The text is indexed within TRP and will appear in search results.
• The single gleaning page can be linked to the wiki pages of all the R*v*s individuals referenced in the document. Linking wiki pages is covered in First Steps - Part 6.
• The transcript files is typically much smaller than a reasonable quality image file of the original document. This difference is often of the order of 100/200 times smaller. All of the running costs for the server capacity used by TRP, including the disk space, are very generously met by our benefactor Barry Reeves. We are very grateful to him for providing this platform for our collective research and we need to do all we can through the ways we use TRP to manage those resources wisely and be respectful of his generosity to us.

When you create a gleaning page, please remember to include in the source information which allows another community member to find the original document and/or its online image.

Photographs

We don't permit the posting of photographs of ancestors directly within TRP. Such photographs rarely add genealogical value and their storage would increase TRP's operating costs. There are a number of places on the web where it is possible for you to post a copy of your precious family heirloom photographs, at no cost to yourself. You are welcome to include a url to that external web page on the TRP wikipage for your ancestor.

Exceptions

Because there are a few exceptional situations where it may be appropriate to attach an image of a document to a wiki page, we have not disabled the "Attach File" capability within TRP. The most common exception is for an image of a document privately held and not accessible elsewhere. For example, the cover notes from a family bible might fall within this exception, although often a transcription will suffice. Please always consult with your Mentor Team via its Talk page BEFORE posting any file for their guidance.