Help on CTAN

Which teaser images for packages or topics are used?

The CTAN portal may show teaser images for packages and topics at some places. The actual rendering depends on the skin chosen and the width of the browser window. Simple skins tend to suppress images. Even if the skin likes to show an image it may decide that there is not enough screen space to do so.

Graphics Format

The images must use the PNG graphics file format. For the time being any other format will not be recognized.

Sizes

The teaser images for packages and topics are standardized. This allows the skins to know in advance how much space is required. The primary size of the teaser image is 600×200 pixels. A secondary image with the same contents and the resolution of 1200×400 pixels must accompany the primary one.

The actual size used during the rendering in the browser is determined by the browser. The image may be scaled to other sizes from the primary or secondary image.

Naming Conventions

The name of the primary teaser image is derived from the name of the package or topic it relates to. This base name is completed with the extension for the graphics format (.png). The name of the secondary image is made up the same way by augmenting the base name with -large.png.

Note that the relation solemnly relies on this naming convention. The distinction between packages and topics appears by placing them in different directories.

Storing and Submission

The teaser images are stored within the portal. Thus they have to be deployed to the proper place there. In case you want to submit a teaser image for a package or topic please consult the webmaster.

License

The teaser images are supposed to distributed under the license CC-0 – i.e. public domain. A confirmation is required that the submitted images are distributed under this license (in the mail).

Hints

When you prepare a teaser image keep in mind several aspects.

• The images should work with different skins. Thus design the image to work with any kind of colored or structured background.
• The image can be partially transparent. Maybe it is a good idea to surround such content with a corona to separate it against the background in any case.
• Use colors carefully. The teaser image may not look good if too many unrelated colors are used.