Thank you Raimond for your test summary!
We added this question to our FAQ-site:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/WMDE_Technical_Wishes/Move_files_to_Commons#What_if_I_want_to_import_a_file_to_Commons_that_has_been_imported_before_(without_the_history)

If you or anyone else want's to cross-read and if necessary amend details, you are welcome!

Cheers,
 M

Am Fr., 18. Jan. 2019 um 08:03 Uhr schrieb Raimond Spekking <raimond.spekking@gmail.com>:

Hi,

I have tested this case this an hour ago with https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Kimberlit_-_Suedafrika2.jpg&action=history

I works, but it is some manual work necessary to restore the file description on Commons and refine it after the import. I am not sure if I would do this very often...

Pro: Perfect attribution to the original uploader

Contra: Manual work

Regards

Raimond.

-- 
Raimond Spekking, Köln
Am 17.01.2019 um 21:52 schrieb Michael Schönitzer:

Hi,

Thank you for the positiv feedback!

The decision if you move an already moved file again or not is up to you, the community. WMDE “just” provides you with the tools to do so. If you move the file again you have the advantage to not lose the file and version history and have more transparency about who uploaded the file or edited the file description page.

To do so you will have to first delete the file on Wikimedia Commons, then move the file with FileExporter and finally delete the local version.


If the file page on Wikimedia Commons has been changed in the meantime and you want to preserve both version histories, you can try to undelete the version on Wikimedia Commons after moving the file to merge the version histories – but that might be a bit tricky.


Cheers,
 M

Am Mi., 16. Jan. 2019 um 15:43 Uhr schrieb Deryck Chan <deryckchan@gmail.com>:
It's great...!

I've come across a few cases where there's already a copy of the file on Commons, but the (original) local file hasn't been deleted yet. Should I use the new tool to import the file history, or is that not necessary? What was WMDE's proposde workflow for old files that were imported without the file history?

On Wed, 16 Jan 2019 at 14:22, Johanna Strodt <johanna.strodt@wikimedia.de> wrote:
Hello Deryck,

Wow, that's great! As of ~2 hours ago, the feature is available on all wikis (don't forget to activate it in your preferences). I'd love to hear what you think of it.

Best,
Johanna
 

Am Mi., 16. Jan. 2019 um 15:10 Uhr schrieb Deryck Chan <deryckchan@gmail.com>:
Hello Johanna,

This is great timing. The Cantonese Wikipedia has recently been going through a drive to clean up old files, some dating back to 2006, which haven't been moved to Commons because... CommonsHelper is frankly a bit clumsy. This will help us lots!

Deryck

On Mon, 14 Jan 2019 at 12:04, Johanna Strodt <johanna.strodt@wikimedia.de> wrote:

// sorry for cross-posting


The FileExporter will soon be released as a beta feature to all wikis. The planned deployment date is January 16.


Some background: Files from local wikis should be transferred to Wikimedia Commons if their license allows it. This way, they can be used by all wikis. But if you wanted to import a local file to Commons in the past, you couldn’t properly transfer its file and page history. It was a wish from a survey of the German-speaking communities to find a solution to this problem.

Now, the FileExporter makes it possible to import a file from a local wiki to Wikimedia Commons, while keeping its history intact. A first version has already been a beta feature on a few first wikis since June 2018. [1] Since then, bugs were fixed and features were added.


If you’re interested in importing local files, please give the feature a try. Even though it’s a beta feature, you can use it for real file imports. Please note that in order to get started, you need to

  1. activate the beta feature “FileExporter” on your wiki [2], and

  2. make sure your wiki has a proper configuration file. Configuration files are maintained by each wiki's community. They define, among other things, whether a file can be exported. Exports from wikis without a configuration file are blocked. Find more more information in the documentation. [3]


We’re looking forward to your feedback on the central feedback page! [4] A big thanks to everyone who gave feedback so far.


If you wish to learn more about the project, have a look at the page of the wish. [5]


For the Technical Wishes team,

Johanna


[1] deployment plan: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/WMDE_Technical_Wishes/Move_files_to_Commons#Deployment_plan

[2] go to Preferences > Beta features, e.g. https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-betafeatures

[3] documentation on configuration files: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/WMDE_Technical_Wishes/Move_files_to_Commons/Configuration_file_documentation

[4] central feedback page: https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help_talk:Extension:FileImporter

[5] project page: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/WMDE_Technical_Wishes/Move_files_to_Commons


Johanna Strodt Project Manager Community Communications Technical Wishlist, Wikimedia Deutschland
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Unsere Vision ist eine Welt, in der alle Menschen am Wissens der Menschheit teilhaben, es nutzen und mehren können. Helfen Sie uns dabei!

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Wikimedia Deutschland e. V. | Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24 | 10963 Berlin
Tel. (030) 219 158 26-0

Unsere Vision ist eine Welt, in der alle Menschen am Wissens der Menschheit teilhaben, es nutzen und mehren können. Helfen Sie uns dabei!

Wikimedia Deutschland - Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e. V. Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Berlin-Charlottenburg unter der Nummer 23855 B. Als gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/029/42207.