I have just installed Gimp 2.2 on my windows box and these are my first impressions. Over all I like the way this version turned out. The new filters are impressive; I like the new save and open dialogue boxes; also the cleaned up Script-fu plug ins; but here, I observed that sometimes the dialogue window pops up behind the main window rather than in the front. But not always, why is this?
I like the new rotation window but I have problem with the scale function. When I scale a selection, sometimes a duplicate image appears in the window. When I hit the scale button the original image gets scaled but occasionally the secondary image remains on the screen. Then I have to move the original one over the remnants; this then erases it as the eraser tool does. I don

Hi Sven,

Thanks for this advice. I was not aware of this option. The small theme fits much better to my taste. But I still think that by fine-tuning the layout the dialogue windows can be made more compact.

Regards, J. Mak

From: Sven Neumann
To: "Jozsef Mak"
CC: gimp-user@lists.xcf.berkeley.edu Subject: Re: [Gimp-user] Gimp 2.2, First impressions Date: Tue, 16 Nov 2004 20:22:17 +0100

Hi,

"Jozsef Mak" writes:

One more thing, which is not related to this particular release of Gimp. Why is it that the dialogue boxes in Gimp are so large?

You could go to the Preferences dialog and select the Small theme. Did you try that?

Sven

From: Sven Neumann
To: "Jozsef Mak"
CC: gimp-user@lists.xcf.berkeley.edu Subject: Re: [Gimp-user] Gimp 2.2, First impressions Date: Tue, 16 Nov 2004 23:57:06 +0100

Hi,

"Jozsef Mak" writes:

Thanks for this advice. I was not aware of this option. The small theme fits much better to my taste. But I still think that by fine-tuning the layout the dialogue windows can be made more compact.

The goal for 2.2 was to achieve a consistent and pleasant look. We followed the advices of the GNOME Human Interface Guidelines and used the spacings suggested there for most dialogs. We might consider to allow these spacings to be customized using style properties. This would make it possible to tune thes from the theme. That would be quite an effort though since all dialogs would have to be touched. If someone want to do this (comparably easy but rather large) task in the next development cycle, that would be welcomed.

Sven

In my view, there is no need to complicate Gimp with additional options; especially, because its interface is getting better all the time. In art school, my art teacher used to say, every pleasing composition has to have a center of interest. Every additional component in the arrangement should support this main element, otherwise, the design becomes confusing. This principle, in my view, can be applied to other fields as well. In the case of the dialogue boxes the center of interests is the settings and the options; in the hierarchy of components, the rest (such as the Cancel and Save buttons) is secondary.
In addition, it is good to keep in mind that pop up windows always disrupt the workflow, therefore, it make sense to make them as unobtrusive as possible. This is one of the reasons, I guess, that Photoshop but also Inkscape (to which I applaud) places increasingly more options on the upper toolbar