Commons:File redirects
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File redirects behave as expected from redirects: they are an alternative name for a given file.
Redirects left after a file renaming
editAfter a File renaming, a redirect from the old name is automatically created (always for filemovers, though admins may prevent it).
These redirects should almost never be deleted.[1][2][3][4] (Commons:File renaming#Leaving redirects allows redirects to be removed for cases of an "obvious error in the file name where that error would not be a reasonable redirect" (such as an entirely misidentified object), file name swaps and where the original filename was vandalism.)
Removing redirects:
- breaks old references to the work when viewing older revisions in eg Wikipedia articles (before the passage of the Delinker) ;
- breaks external references (external websites, books, etc.) including attribution links ;
- breaks hotlinks[5] ;
Overall, remember that redirects do not cost anything.[6]
Redirects directly created
editRedirects may be used to provide a permanent to a media expected to change − see Commons:Overwriting existing files#Using redirects
References
editSee also
edit- Help:File redirect
- Commons:File renaming (policy)