Rotate on the arbitrary line -- feature request

I had scanned a bunch of small odd shapped images and most of them I couldn't
get rotated exactly right. I had to use photoshop and they have a feature
where I can draw a straight line, and say to rotate the image to that line. It
was called Rotate to Arbitrary. I see a similiar feature in Gimp where I can
rotate the image, but I can't have it rotate to a line. The reason this is
helpful is because I can choose a line of text or a border edge because I
wasn't able to straighten out the images just by eyeballing them. I was within
one degree, but that wasn't good enough for because over 12 inches, you can
see that the text is a little crooked. rotating the image -1 degree the other
way over corrects the image in the opposite direction, so it is best if the
computer can rotate it. How can I request this feature to be added. It seems
very useful for images that aren't straight and allows people to just
arbitrarily throw images on the scanner, and then orient them up perfectly..

On 19.06.2010 17:50, doug p. wrote:
[..]
> where I can draw a straight line, and say to rotate the image to that line.
[..]
> How can I request this feature to be added.

Hi doug,

the best way to request user interface improvements is to sketch your idea
and post it on the UI brainstorm [1]. I'm aware of two postings which already
touch the same problem [2,3]. Improvements are always welcome.

That being said, the canonical workaround is to align to the window border
or to another window, if necessary.

regards,
yahvuu


[1] http://gimp-brainstorm.blogspot.com/
[2] http://gimp-brainstorm.blogspot.com/2007/10/precise-rotation-using-measured-data.html
[3] http://gimp-brainstorm.blogspot.com/2010/06/workspace-continued.html

On 06/19/10 10:16, yahvuu wrote:
> On 19.06.2010 17:50, doug p. wrote:
> [..]
>> where I can draw a straight line, and say to rotate the image to that line.
> [..]
> > How can I request this feature to be added.
>
> Hi doug,
>
> the best way to request user interface improvements is to sketch your idea
> and post it on the UI brainstorm [1]. I'm aware of two postings which already
> touch the same problem [2,3]. Improvements are always welcome.
>
> That being said, the canonical workaround is to align to the window border
> or to another window, if necessary.
>
> regards,
> yahvuu
>
>
> [1] http://gimp-brainstorm.blogspot.com/
> [2] http://gimp-brainstorm.blogspot.com/2007/10/precise-rotation-using-measured-data.html
> [3] http://gimp-brainstorm.blogspot.com/2010/06/workspace-continued.html

The brainstorm site is a one way process . There's no discussion and
rarely any feedback. Also the fact that the submission has to be totally
pictorial is a debatable restriction for a purely GUI topic but not well
suited to presenting the pros and cons of one rotation method against
another.

It is acceptable to open a feature request bug once the ideas have been
discussed here. So you're doing the right thing.

Wait to see what responses you get and what the feeling is about the
idea and its feasibility. Unless it gets shot down you could open a
feature request bug.

/gg

On 06/19/2010 11:50 AM, doug p. wrote:
> I had scanned a bunch of small odd shapped images and most of them I couldn't
> get rotated exactly right. I had to use photoshop and they have a feature
> where I can draw a straight line, and say to rotate the image to that line. It
> was called Rotate to Arbitrary. I see a similiar feature in Gimp where I can
> rotate the image, but I can't have it rotate to a line. The reason this is
> helpful is because I can choose a line of text or a border edge because I
> wasn't able to straighten out the images just by eyeballing them. I was within
> one degree, but that wasn't good enough for because over 12 inches, you can
> see that the text is a little crooked. rotating the image -1 degree the other
> way over corrects the image in the opposite direction, so it is best if the
> computer can rotate it. How can I request this feature to be added. It seems
> very useful for images that aren't straight and allows people to just
> arbitrarily throw images on the scanner, and then orient them up perfectly..

Doug, I am not sure if this works, but can you add a layer, draw that is exactly
the "line" you want, then use Gimp's rotate to line up on that drawn line. Then
delete that layer. Seems complicated.

I too liked Photoshop's Rotate to Arbitrary feature and I wish there was
something like that in Gimp.

Jay

There is a script called "Straighten & Crop"... look it up, it seems to
be the perfect solution.

Doug

There are a couple of scripts that provide this behaviour:
http://registry.gimp.org/node/22910
Or
http://registry.gimp.org/node/18821 which also needs
http://registry.gimp.org/node/18820

I find the first to be the simplest.

-Rob A>


On 6/19/10, doug p. <forums@gimpusers.com> wrote:
> I had scanned a bunch of small odd shapped images and most of them I
> couldn't
> get rotated exactly right. I had to use photoshop and they have a feature
> where I can draw a straight line, and say to rotate the image to that line.
> It
> was called Rotate to Arbitrary. I see a similiar feature in Gimp where I can
> rotate the image, but I can't have it rotate to a line. The reason this is
> helpful is because I can choose a line of text or a border edge because I
> wasn't able to straighten out the images just by eyeballing them. I was
> within
> one degree, but that wasn't good enough for because over 12 inches, you can
> see that the text is a little crooked. rotating the image -1 degree the
> other
> way over corrects the image in the opposite direction, so it is best if the
> computer can rotate it. How can I request this feature to be added. It seems
> very useful for images that aren't straight and allows people to just
> arbitrarily throw images on the scanner, and then orient them up perfectly..
>
> --
> doug p. (via www.gimpusers.com)
>

Hi,
forums@gimpusers.com (2010-06-19 at 1750.20 +0200):
> I had scanned a bunch of small odd shapped images and most of them I couldn't
> get rotated exactly right. I had to use photoshop and they have a feature
> where I can draw a straight line, and say to rotate the image to that line. It
> was called Rotate to Arbitrary. I see a similiar feature in Gimp where I can
> rotate the image, but I can't have it rotate to a line. The reason this is

Is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtAVRv8RMBg the feature you are
talking about? Playing with grid settings one can get a good result in
most situations, tho being able to set one single line (or cross of
two) at user selectable coords would indeed help in some cases.

> helpful is because I can choose a line of text or a border edge because I
> wasn't able to straighten out the images just by eyeballing them. I was within
> one degree, but that wasn't good enough for because over 12 inches, you can
> see that the text is a little crooked. rotating the image -1 degree the other
> way over corrects the image in the opposite direction, so it is best if the
> computer can rotate it. How can I request this feature to be added. It seems
> very useful for images that aren't straight and allows people to just
> arbitrarily throw images on the scanner, and then orient them up perfectly..

Hmm... maybe your case is a bit extreme. OTOH, I tried some fake scans
and zooming in (a lot) with grid set to 1 pix gave pretty good control
with Gimp corrective method. Could I see a crop of your scans to try
with the same image?

If not the thing you need, you better follow the advice of other
posts.

GSR

On Sat, 2010-06-19 at 17:50 +0200, doug p. wrote:
> I had scanned a bunch of small odd shapped images and most of them I couldn't
> get rotated exactly right. I had to use photoshop and they have a feature
> where I can draw a straight line, and say to rotate the image to that line. It
> was called Rotate to Arbitrary. I see a similiar feature in Gimp where I can
> rotate the image, but I can't have it rotate to a line.

The feature, or something very similar, is already present in GIMP. You
select the Rotate Tool and choose "Corrective" as the Transform
Direction in the tool options. Set preview mode to "Grid" and align your
grid with the line on the image that you want to be horizontal. That's
it.

Having this feature exposed with a UI similar to that available in PS
has been suggested every so often. Everyone agrees that it would
probably be a nice thing to add, but so far no one has started to work
on it.


Sven