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Tutorial: GIMP 2.8: A review of the new features!

Written by , translated by devvv · Created on Mar 31, 2010, last updated over 11 years ago CC BY-NC License
GIMP 2.8: A review of the new features!

Motivation

GIMP 2.8 has got kick-ass features such as a long awaited single window mode, full on-canvas text editing capabilites, layer groups and much more.

Tutorial details

  1. 1

    A new optional “Single Window Mode” offers awesome new usability features!

    Single Window Mode is an OPTIONAL feature that can be turned on in the “Windows” menu all the time (while working).

    Floating windows like the toolbox and the dialogues will appear inside a single “main” window now. No overlapping of windows or something like that anymore! Also GIMP is a single application with only one reserved task entry in the task bar.

    This feature was awaited for many years from the GIMP community! It finally arrives with GIMP 2.8 and the single window mode feels just awesome and offers a new great workflow with GIMP!

  2. 2

    New open window navigation

    A new navigation above an open image window will let you to switch and navigate through all open windows easily! No more task bar switching between images.

  3. 3

    Extended docking features!

    Docking your dialogues has been siginificantly enhanced and offers a very dynamic way of managing your GIMP layout now.

    Multi-column-docks are available now. It is very easy to personalize your layout by just dragging the dialogs into other columns/docks etc.

  4. 4

    Awesome on-canvas text editing feature!

    Direct on-canvas editing of text has been made available (no longer need to use a seperate dialog box to enter text)! And not just that. Now it is possible to change text inside the bounding text box and also use certain styles! For example select a word and press a “Bold” or “Italic” button. You can also change the size, line-height and font! Not just that – meanwhile it is also possible to change the color of certain words and characters.

    To clear styles there is a button available that removes all given styles instantly.

    This feature is absolutely great!

  5. 5

    Changed file export offers a siginificantly faster workflow!

    The “Save” and “Save as” function is now only used to store GIMPs own file format XCF. No save as png or jpg is available here.

    If you want to make a png version of an open file you have to export it using the new “EXPORT” entry. This offers all file formats you previously know GIMP is capable of.

    Also the workflow is sped up because there is a simple “OVERWRITE” entry after opening an image that is not xcf. You can then simply overwrite the image with the same properties (i.e. a JPEG quality of 98). After a XCF-file has been exported to, say, PNG you’ll be able to export it again using the same filename and properties easily.

  6. 6

    Extremely useful: Layer sets / Layer groups

    You can now create groups/sets and move layers to these sets which makes the layers dialogue not so confusing when having LOTS of layers in an image.

    Especially nice for web deleopers that design their websites using GIMP. You can show and hide a set, duplicate it or move all layers in a group at once!

    If a Layer group is made invisible using the eye icon but still open (so that the layers inside the group are shown in the list) there is a striked through eye now shown beside the layers that are inside the group to indicate that these layers are not displayed in the final projection of the image, but theoretically visible inside the layer group.

    Layer masks on layer groups will sadly not be implemented in GIMP 2.8.

  7. 7

    Highly enhanced resources management

    GIMPs Brushes, Gradients and Pattern can be now selected and tagged using words that describe a resource. After tagging you’ll be able to filter the resources using these tags.

    Very useful and an indeed worth to use feature when having lots of brushes loaded into GIMP. Also: imported brushed are auto-tagged based on the directory name – thats super sweet & easy ;)

  8. 8

    Rotatable Brushes

    Brushes can now be rotated! Great for all kind of paintings!

  9. 9

    Extended Paint dynamics

    The paint dynamics have been removed from the paint tools properties. They are now available as a dialogue that is dockable.

    The Brush Dynamics have been heavily enhanced offering a wide range of new possibilites including opacity, size, tilting, rotating, color, hardness, distance, aspect ratio, rate flow and jitter. Either use the “Mapping Matrix” (see image: left) or click the drop down and use a single view of an option to finetune it (see image: right)

    Also there are useful preset dynamics. Most of these dynamics are only useful with a tablet but some options are also available when only using a mouse (i.e. “Speed”)

    Truly a heaven for painters ;)

  10. 10

    Enhanced Look&Feel

    Many tools do have better look and feel now. For example Selection and Path tools now have a clearly visible verctorized line to better show the selection outline. The moving ants are however still available to view a selection of course.

  11. 11

    Brush outlines

    Brushes now use an outline to make the area better visible which a brush affects. You can clearly see the brush outline in the picture where I use the vines brush.

  12. 12

    Brush dynamics presets

    The presets for brush dynamics are now available as a drop down field to choose the dynamics from. This was needed because the brush dynamics get huge improvements too and are therefore more comprehensive.

  13. 13

    A new “Lock Pixels” feature prevents erroneous painting on a layer when switching it on in the layers dialoge.

  14. 14

    Calculation possibility in image-size-widgets

    Calculate sizes in widgets that are used to do something with size. I.e. you can enter (200+20+20)*2/3 and GIMP will show up 173 as a final result. Very useful for setting guides in an image.

  15. 15

    Layer modes sorted

    The layer modes are now all sorted by a certain category such as modes that brighten/darken etc the image.

  16. 16

    Image palette: export to CSS, PHP, Java, Python or plain text

    You can now export color values in several formats. If you choose PHP, Python or Java, the colors are declared as variables. For CSS, unnamed classes will be created and plain text files will only contain a Hex code list.

  17. 17

    Toolbox adjustments and properties

    Customization of the Tool window is now possible via the Edit / Settings dialog. Tools can be sorted by priority or removed completely.

  18. 18

    New / changed keyboard shortcuts

    New: Alt+WindowsKey+click on a layer = Alpha from layer (you can combine this with the Shift- and CTRL-key to add or subtract selections quickly.
    New: Ctrl+Shift+E = File / Export
    New: Ctrl+E: quick export
    Modified: Ctrl+Shift+R = Resize canvas to window size
    Modified: Ctrl+R = Resize window to canvas size

  19. 19

    New basic gradient available

    A new standard color gradient is available that seperates FG and BG-Color without smotthing the colors together.

  20. 20

    Color Curves show R,G and B channels in background for better finetuning.

  21. 21

    Misc smaller changes

    - Canvas edges are now “magnetic”
    - Support for JPEG2000
    - Support for 16 bit RAW import

  22. 22

    GIMP and GEGL

    GEGL, the powerful node-based graphics kit that will enable features for non-destructive image-editing in the future, has been completely integrated into GIMP now and is also responsible for image projection. That means the final image composition you see is done by GEGL.

  23. 23

    GIMP 2.8 will be licenced under the Lesser GPL v3 license.

  24. 24

    Zoom hotkeys

    In older GIMP versions a keystroke on “1” brings the zoom-factor to 100%. Now you can also use the keys 2,3,4 and 5 to get an instant zoom of the image to 200/400/800 and 1600%.

  25. 25

    Intuitive new slider widgets

    With the new slider widgets it is possible to alter values in different ways. You can enter the values directly by clicking into the value number to change it. But if you hover the slider at the top edge you’ll be able to jump to a specific value directly, without using your keyboard. If you hover the new slider widget in the middle or bottom part it is possible to move the slider to the left and right to finetune your adjustments in smaller steps.

    This is a very intuitive addition, and you’ll not want to give it away after trying it out yourself ;)

  26. 26

    Import Screenshots of a webpage

    With a new option found in File / Create / From Webpage you’ll be able to load a screenshot of the entire page into GIMP. The new option uses webkit to render the website (Webkit is the engine thats also used in Chromium / Chrome / Safari / Epiphany).

    It’s a nice addition for web developers and designers, because you don’t need to use other plugins (for instance “Screengrab” for Mozilla Firefox) to shoot the entire website and not just a screenshot that is limited to the size of your monitor / screen.

  27. 27

    PDF-Export

    This new feature is still experimental. You’ll be able to export stuff as pdf file that includes text as vector graphics and embeds fonts. It also tries to convert things to vector graphics where possible.

    However the feature is not completed and there is still work left to be done to include images, which did not work for me.

  28. 28

    Multiple pdf pages

    The above described feature also works for multi-page pdf-files. To generate multiple pdf pages you need to go to File / Create / PDF / Multipage PDF. Then add a file you want to be a page in pdf format. Do it multiple times and GIMP will create a pluti page pdf file for you.

    As above – this is also experimental, because some image are not included and text is sometimes wrongly set.

  29. 29

    Tool presets

    With this cool new improvement you’re able to save all the specific values for a tool. For instance you can create a star brush with a slight white-yellowish color and random angle (wich can be used to create sparkle on objects) and save it to the tool presets to directly access in future work.

    Or you can save special sized (for example 1200px width) rectangles that are maybe commonly used for web designers or something like that. The presets store lots of things which you’re able to define – you can exclude storage of FG/BG color for instance.

  30. 30

    Merge layer group

    Nothing more to say – you’re able to merge down a complete group of layers that are in a set to create everything on a single layer.

  31. 31

    New tool: Cage transform

    The tool makes it possible to create a cage (more or less some kind of a selection) around an area that you want transform seperately. After that you can move the points (like the points you set using the paths tool) you set before to transform the cage in the way you like.

    The transformation works inside the cage only, so there are sometimes clearly seen edges inside the image you transform. This has to be worked seperately on (i.e. using the clone tool to overpaint or get rid of these edges).

    Nevertheless the new tool is awesome and you can see it in action in our youtube video

  32. 32

    Feedback on long computations

    When working on stuff that needs some more time to compute (for instance when working with the new cage transform tool) GIMP now gives you feedback with a neat new overlay that displays the time left for the action you want to perform.

  33. 33

    GIMPs resources are being revamped – as a first step there will be new brushes that are more useful than the old ones. That gives GIMP a more modern look!

  34. 34

    ALT+LayerClick (in Ubuntu you maybe need to click ALT+WindowsKey+LayerClick) makes a selection from alpha channel. You’re also able to make selection operations (add, intersect, subtract) with different alpha channels from certain layers!

  35. 35

    Choosing the Language GIMP uses is now no longer only OperatingSystem dependent. Edit > Preferences > Interface > Language will do it for you now!

  36. 36

    Wacom graphic tablets should work fine in most cases with GIMP 2.8. However if you have problems the probably only way is to downgrade to 2.6 until GIMP 3 is released with full GTK3 support

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devvv member for over 17 years devvv 1475 comments
over 3 years ago

You can press CTRL and then use the mouse wheel to zoom.

Taff member for over 6 years Taff 1 comment
over 3 years ago

Can a Zoom with mouse wheel feature be developed?

Tapbuster
over 5 years ago

As a avid user, NOT A PROGRAMMER.
could I request a a SUPER CLONE / HEALING TOOL?
where the sample site can be defined as rectangle, ellipse. circle, size selected or defined as X, Y pixels.
the stamp site to be able to define X, Y, pixel erase area, replace with central size selected, X,Y, sample, and the surrounding number of pixels to be % blurred / % blended with background.
I accept that this would be an immense coding, number crunching task, but can it be done?

AEW member for almost 6 years AEW 1 comment rated this topic with 5/5
almost 6 years ago

When the 2.10 was first released, I got really excited because there was a feature that I really thought would be helpful. I downloaded it, but for various reasons the whole program was crashing so frequently that I gave up. Now that I am back, I can't remember the name of the new built-in feature.

What I thought it would be good at is differentiate/accentuate/enhance differences in shades. I want to take some of the photographs that I take for FindAGrave and better differentiate the writing on the stone. Can anyone think of the name of this new feature that is eluding my memory?

caroline member for about 10 years caroline 2 comments
about 7 years ago

many thanks - throughly enjoy GIMP

bazza
almost 8 years ago

I use gimp with gmic to do an animation http://4232.cf

Bob K.
over 8 years ago

"Surprised that no one's mentioned both that GIMP is celebrating it's 20th anniversary and for doing so, just released GIMP 2.8.16. I'm sure someone here will do so soon enough. :)"

Are you really surprised!. Been waiting for Gimp 2.10 with HIGH BIT COLOR DEPTH and high end features for three years, when it was promised. Gimp is no longer relevant for photographers and creative types!. All my work is now done in Lightroom and Photoshop CC. And the development cycle is pathetic!!!. If I was putting something out for my 20th anniversary, it would have been substantial. Not a simple bug fix. Gimp better start a massive kickstarter campaign for new developers, or it will continue to be a forgotten tool that once was great. By the way Happy 20th!. Sorry no balloons for this anniversary. My rant. :(. Back to using Photoshop CC. It may not be free, but it gives me and many others the high end tools we need. And NOW! Not 20 years from now!.

devvv member for over 17 years devvv 1475 comments
over 8 years ago

Yes, we will :) But we're not at home yet

Lyle member for almost 12 years Lyle 91 comments
over 8 years ago

Surprised that no one's mentioned both that GIMP is celebrating it's 20th anniversary and for doing so, just released GIMP 2.8.16. I'm sure someone here will do so soon enough. :)

andy
almost 9 years ago

Great tutorial, I learned a lot for my new website http://www.ajm7.co.uk/webdesign/

Lyle member for almost 12 years Lyle 91 comments
almost 9 years ago

Something I recently discovered. Was able to speed up certain filter operations in GIMP (some up to 6 times faster; that's significant folks) by setting an environmental variable to yes. Check link below for details. Not sure why the powers that be are suppressing this since 99.995% of computers have GPU capabilities. :)

http://www.gimpchat.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=12565&sid=df9bc3388a290996e252d69cafdbd331

Lenora
about 9 years ago

I downloaded 2.8.14 for windows (Windows 7 Professional) without issue other than the toolbox does not appear on the screen. What must I do to make it appear with the 3 colored bubbles shown in the documentation, tutorials and books on this version for setting it up?

francis
about 9 years ago

Thank's Lile !
after all my research, there is no solution.
To boost GIMP, the developers would be gods if they created a plug-in able to open files .PSB adobe.
Hopefully, good luck! in 2015 ?

Lyle member for almost 12 years Lyle 91 comments
about 9 years ago

Hey Francis. Apparently GIMP cannot open this particular format, but found the information below via a Yahoo search. Apparently Imagemagick can open this particular file format; from there, it can be converted to another more GIMP friendly format. :)

http://www.imagemagick.org/discourse-server/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=15672

francis
about 9 years ago

hello!
do you know a way to open very large files .psb ADOBE Photoshop CS with GIMP ?

When is that GIMP can open files in photoshop CS .psb ?
Thank you !

Andrea
about 9 years ago

Si uso la finestra singola e si nota un buon miglioramento... ovviamente mi piacerebbe vedere un Gimp migliorato ma anche e soprattutto più intuitivo ed amichevole, vi prego di osservare le funzioni di comando del software Photo Impact X3 per comprendere cosa intendo :)
.....................................
You use the single window and you notice a good improvement ... of course I would love to see a Gimp improved but also more intuitive and friendly, please observe the operating functions of the software Photo Impact X3 to understand what I mean :)

devvv member for over 17 years devvv 1475 comments
about 9 years ago

did you try the single window mode in gimp 2.8?

Andrea
about 9 years ago

Salve a voi che lavorate per migliorare a qualità di gimp,
vi scrivo, con la speranza che possiate prendere in considerazione la mia richiesta...
Suggerisco di prendere in considerazione il software di grafica passato dalla Ulead alla Corel "Photo Impact X3" probabilmente non più sostenuto in termini di sviluppo... Sicuramente molto meno potente di P.Shop, ma contenente alcune future utili a migliorare lo sviluppo di Gimp e che i vostri programmatori come ad esempio il tasto duplica selezione o immagine assente in gimp... vi suggerisco di studiarlo anche per sviluppare una nuova ed accattivante finestra di lavoro utente.
........................
Hello to you who work to improve quality in gimp,
I write to you with the hope that you will consider my request ...
I suggest to consider the graphics software passed from the Corel Ulead "Photo Impact X3" probably no more supported in terms of development ... Definitely a lot less powerful than P.Shop, but containing some future profits to improve the development of Gimp and that your programmers such as duplicate key selection or absent image in gimp ... i suggest you study it also to develop a new and attractive working window user.

Sebhelyesfarku
over 9 years ago

Still no non-destructive editing (adjustment/filter layers)? GIMP is useless for professional design work.

xavier
almost 10 years ago

Save defaulting HARD and unchangingly to XCF is worthy of a firing squad execution. Actually, that is too quick and painless....
Who in their demented drugged-up state thought that that change was good?
If you open an XCF, then save saves an XCF. If you start a new file, maybe too? But if you open a PNG, JPG or something else, that is the format that Save should save to when you say Save. Is that TOO simple?
Some lamehole devs, all over the web, defend their idiocy and then pontificate that it is we, the users, who are too "simple" or "low-level" to use their glorious software. One said "Its not a Word Processor". All bunk and excuses for screwing up, BIGTIME.
Many of the users out there are pros, seasoned in PhotoShop and finding a good close equivalent in GiMP when moving to Linux as their OS.
This needs to be fixed, FAST. If the devs don't want to, they should move on. No, wait, they will F-up 100 other good projects if they do. Stay on the GiMP team but just don't commit any of your stooooopid "ideas".

josephbupe member for almost 13 years josephbupe 20 comments
almost 10 years ago

Hi Laurent gerome,

if I understand you correctly, in gimp 2.8.x you wont be able to see previews of images all at once. The only time you will see a preview of an image is when you select the image. By default, the preview will be on the right side of the window.

I have also been hoping that we could have an option to preview images all at once like in ms windows file browser. Fortunately, Gimp allows to drag-and-drop images into it, so (on Windows) I often opt to browse my images with the windows file browser, then drag-and-drop into Gimp.

I hope this helps.

Laurent gerome
about 10 years ago

Why cant I see absolutely no preview when I want to open an image? I'm on Mac with Gimp 2.8

Me
over 10 years ago

I understand the lack of "single window mode" can be annoying... for Windows™ users but with the most basic window manager you can get on Linux, it is not the case.
With Unity, Gnome(-Shell), KDE even Fluxbox or Awesome you realize how useful are these floating windows, especially in dual screen.

But anyway the SWM is there and we can disable it, so it's ok despite of all the noise it has generated by the past.

Llewellan member for about 11 years Llewellan 1 comment
about 11 years ago

I really love GIMP 2.8. Thanks to the dedication and work of the good people at gimp this version is a great one.
It is very easy to become accustomed to the changes, (saving , export) as the postives and enhancements are more than welcome. Thank you Gimp, well done.

boil
about 11 years ago

article #fails to mention G'Mic

any Gimp user worth salt is GMic loyal

why the treason?

see doyle
about 11 years ago

#sunny

vote which features you like with MONEY donation to project / developers

otherwise you're whistling in the wind

before expressing disdain research- and cite history or evolution of a feature lest ye be deemed feckless akin to netards

(only imbeciles use sms for instant text communication)

Sunny member for over 11 years Sunny 7 comments
about 11 years ago

@ Sasha. It isn't just "export" instead of "save". whereas save used to instantly save in the format you chose. It's now Export...then click export again....then click the pop-up to allow overwriting the old file....then click export ONE MORE TIME!!!
so all this as opposed to simply clicking "save" when i may be redoing an image 20 times...yeah all the extra steps get old and tedious.
This along with the new text tool which i also use frequently,its easier for me to use previous version.
According to your logic though apprently we should just get used to things that don't work as well as a previous versions and say nothing, lest we be branded as "whiners"
I like to think that users can come here and say what features they like and which they dont like, and perhaps developers can continually keep improving a wonderful tool that i use on a daily basis

sasha
about 11 years ago

Wow what a bunch of WHINERS.

How can clicking 'Export' instead of 'Save' be this big of a deal? Are people really downgrading just because they're too stupid to figure it out, or is it just laziness?

How much should we bet that some of these folks tell others to 'get used' to Gnome 3/Unity, but are too dimwitted to deal with a few minor changes to Gimp.

anonymous
about 11 years ago

Feature 5, is a non-feature forcing users to use XCF is NOT an optimization, If I type PNG or TGA I expect it to save in that format. This is not how other image editors work, and in fact is insulting to the user base. The previous behavior of warning dialog for non-XCF file format was sufficient. I cannot over state my dislike of the new behavior, and will be seeking alternatives

Sunny member for over 11 years Sunny 7 comments
about 11 years ago

Also the new export is a pain. A lot of times i have to redo an image 20-30 times. In 2.6 i could simply click "save" and the redone image was instantly saved in the format and name i had previously saved . Now i have to click export, click the dialog box to allow to overwrite, click the other dialog box warning me about layered TGA...it's a pain. Clicking "save" was MUCH faster

Sunny member for over 11 years Sunny 7 comments
about 11 years ago

i have the brush outline on 2.6...thats new feature?
Also resizing brushes is a pain now...the new slider widgets are one of the main reasons i went back to 2.6
often i need ro resize brushes quite small and seem to have a hard time doing it. i end up having to type the values over and over.
Also the new text tool isn't as easy to use. On 2.6 i was able to type text....resize the Font and then i could reposition the text easily to anywhere on my image...i could move into one corner...see how looked..didnt like so i could easily drag the box to another corner and see how it looks. The new 2.8...i have to drag the bog one edge at a time and its quite a bit more difficult to reposition

Zoffix Znet
over 11 years ago

I'm disappointed in this release. The path tool is now slow to react and blocks much of the working surface; so you can't even see where you're placing it. And what's up with the save feature no longer saving in different formats? Was it too easy to do?

Sadly, I'm downgrading to 2.6 in absolute disappointment with the new Gimp ~_~

balaji
over 11 years ago

how change the window color gimp 2.8?

denster1 member for over 11 years denster1 3 comments
over 11 years ago

Running windows 7 by the way. I thought I was doing something wrong. But someone else tried it and couldn't get it to work either.

denster1 member for over 11 years denster1 3 comments
over 11 years ago

No, the render filter in line nova. Iwas talking on gimp forums yesterday and they turned it in to bugzilla., and said it was fixed. I'm waiting for 9 to come out instead of redownloading this 2.8.2.

devvv member for over 17 years devvv 1475 comments
over 11 years ago

Can't reproduce this bug... What are you doing? Do you mean the supernova filter?

denster1 member for over 11 years denster1 3 comments
over 11 years ago

The only bug I found in 2.8.2 is...You can't change the line color in line nova. There are other ways to do it but it won't work off the foreground color. Other than that I like it

Cartoons
over 11 years ago

Wow, I feel so 'old school'... I'm still using 2.6 for my cartoons. I'll be upgrading today!

XMPP_is_for_texting member for over 11 years XMPP_is_for_texting 3 comments rated this topic with 3/5
over 11 years ago

Why was SVG not made available for save/export format?

XMPP_is_for_texting member for over 11 years XMPP_is_for_texting 3 comments rated this topic with 3/5
over 11 years ago

How might one adapt a decade old Wacon SERIAL tablet to USB in Ubuntu for GIMP?

Difydave member for almost 14 years Difydave 12 comments
over 11 years ago

Is there any way to change the default export format from png to jpg? I know it "remembers" for that session once you've changed it, but it'd be nice if it would stay like that. Small thing I know.

XMPP is for texting
over 11 years ago

We have been trying to convince Adobe to allow custom layer blend modes in photoshop for more than a decade.

Will GIMP finally allow custom [layer] blend modes naively?

G'MIC plugin almost allows it... :|

CallCela
over 11 years ago

2.8 is fun and exciting, but the new text feature often blocks out things I need to see while using text. This is annoying.
The Cage tool is a cool toy.

kiwi_steve member for over 11 years kiwi_steve 1 comment rated this topic with 4/5
over 11 years ago

Love the new single-window feature but I HATE the new save feature. Downgrading (Upgrading?) to 2.6 until you put it back the way it was.

ZojaZ
over 11 years ago

wow... I figured out that if I detach Layer tab from Dock window it appears in a new windowl ALL ACTIVE... so somehow this is solved - now I can use new GIMP 2.8 further with my jobs and earlier works, just it has now another window for Layer... a bit annoying and it still has to do something with application installation environment. I'd be happy to have the default app layout, so still would appreciate any hints and suggestions on how to install or configure new GIMP to work properly. Many thanks!

ZojaZ
over 11 years ago

Installed GIMP 2.8.0 yesterday under Windows 7 Pro 64bit. PROBLEM: Layer Window is totally inactive. That is - all grayed out; no list of layers appear if/when they are created; no any mouse operations do anything in this window. It's simpy not working. However layers themselves are created - I can see it through menu Layer - I can e.g. go create new layers, manage them with other commands, I can switch between layers with menu Layer->Stack; I can switch layers with Page Dn/Up keys; so layers are there and do work, but........ it's simply useless when you don't have the control over them in the Docable Layer Window. It's obviously some code/install problem that this window is not active. But no idea what to do... Yes, tried re-install. What else? any distributive to reinstall, e.g. GTK or what? And, BTW, I did install 2.8 over 2.6, so may be they have mixed up?

Lyle member for almost 12 years Lyle 91 comments
over 11 years ago

I know; 2.8.1 is a beta micro-release per the new way the developers are releasing changes. Still, I would rather wait for the official 2.8.2 release and have worked around the idiosynchrasies where I could since 2.8 has been otherwise rock solid. Hasen't locked up on me once (which the 32-bit 2.6x GIMP did daily; now use 64-bit 2.8 and have zero regrets). Hopefully 2.8.2 will get the nod soon. As a side note, I do appreciate both Partha and samj for their fantastic involvement with Windows GIMP. :)

RodDetmer member for almost 14 years RodDetmer 16 comments
over 11 years ago

Lyle Mitch fixed the PSPI and Userfilter issue in his latest GIT commit. Also the fix for link all layers was fixed. The developers have not issued a windows setup install for Gimp-2.8.1 yet but Partha has.This fix along with others was included in his latest compile. You may want to give his version a try.maybe his portable hosted on Sams website? That shouldn't interfere with your current install.

-Rod

Lyle member for almost 12 years Lyle 91 comments
over 11 years ago

Just an experimenting idea's guy Bug_Sampson but thank you for the words. Biggest thing with GIMP is to have fun and the experience will come. There's still enough fun with GIMP that I discover (and sometimes rediscover due to my half-heimerz; lol) something knew nearly every day and I've been using GiMP over a decade. lol

:)

Bug_Sampson member for over 11 years Bug_Sampson 5 comments
over 11 years ago

I'll have to look into Shellout. I'm newish to Gimp, even newer to using it for more than photo editing. I did just install to Gurm, which is also thanks to RobA, to control my growing resources. I've seen your posts on different sites and have seen your name attached to at least one filter. So, I know you're a knowledgeable person. I'm a Linux user. Obviously I have Python if I was able to install Gurm. Once again, thanks.

Lyle member for almost 12 years Lyle 91 comments
over 11 years ago

Yeah; also, since 2.6.10 (or was it 2.6.8; can't remember), PSPI has been broken for a few types of PS filters too; that's why you gotta have Shell-out. I still like running PS filters native where I can since it's a lot faster, but Shellout (thanks RobA) is the bomb since it will launch many external programs (it even works with Photoshop believe it or not. lol) pass the layer that you want to be processed with external app, and then return the result back to the layer. You can go to the registry and look up shellout for details (got to have Python for GIMP installed. Pretty much all Linux users do but most Windows users like myself don't and even I installed it a litle over a year ago). :)

Bug_Sampson member for over 11 years Bug_Sampson 5 comments
over 11 years ago

Yeah, I realized he was the creator. If I read it right, it doesn't sound like he's maintaining, just hosting old files. I thought maybe somebody else might have taken over the project. Anyway, you answered my question. As long as they work is all that matters. Thanks again.

Lyle member for almost 12 years Lyle 91 comments
over 11 years ago

Tor is the creator and maintainer; if that's the latest on his site, then it is the latest. :)

Bug_Sampson member for over 11 years Bug_Sampson 5 comments
over 11 years ago

Lyle, I'm glad you brought up PSPI. I didn't know about it. Thanks. From what you say though, I'll wait to install it. Does 1.0.5 sound like the latest version depending on the distro? That's what I found on Tor's site.

Lyle member for almost 12 years Lyle 91 comments
over 11 years ago

Yeah; the export feature requirement is only a minor nuisance once you know that that is how you have to save. Can't waitl til 2.8.2 gets released since one of the patched bugs is the jpeg preview size fix (more important to me is the gimprc fix so PSPI and User filter will once again get along with each other). :)

RodDetmer member for almost 14 years RodDetmer 16 comments
over 11 years ago

Yes Gimp-2.8 will only EXPORT other image formats now. Save will always save the workspace file (XCF)
All other formats other than XCF can be accessed via export to.

-Rod

Bug_Sampson member for over 11 years Bug_Sampson 5 comments
over 11 years ago

Oh, plus you can always uninstall and reinstall an earlier version.

Bug_Sampson member for over 11 years Bug_Sampson 5 comments
over 11 years ago

@ Ebizjoey, Yeah, I saw your question below about the theme shortly after you posted it. I see it still hasn't been answered.

As for the Export/Save change, it's not a minor one. I've seen people threaten, demand, all kinds of silly behavior. I'm fine with it. I like it better than the old way.

@Cathy, you give up too easily. As Ebizjoey said, read #5. All the other file formats are still there. Just Export. They just separated the commands for various reasons. I don't know if you know about GAP but if you install that and learn how to use it, you can do even more with your gif's.

Ebizjoey member for over 11 years Ebizjoey 6 comments
over 11 years ago

Cathy,, I do know that you a big change is that now you should use Export for saving, give that a try and let me know what is up Okay? See rule #5 in article above, you may have overlooked some minor change, you know how picky computers are!

Ebizjoey member for over 11 years Ebizjoey 6 comments
over 11 years ago

Cathy sound like 2.6 works better for you than, but I bet someone has an answer. I have questions here that have NEVER got an answer and I wonder what the point of the site is, so just letting you know someone does really read this stuff although I do not have an answer, hoping "an" answer is cool!

Cathy
over 11 years ago

I'm not too pleased with the new extensions list that comes up when I go to save my drawings as a different file type... Yes, I do like the xcf image format, but a lot of times, places where I upload my art require only certain file types. They may say something like "Sorry, only GIF files are allowed in the following category." "The selected file is not of the required type." "Sorry, only JPEG, PNG, and GIF files are allowed in the following categories."

And when I have merge all of my layers and paste it to paint just so I can save it as the file I want, it gets frustrating. Especially with paint making my colors nice and messy. *note my sarcasm*

Gimp was the only program I could use to make gif animations, and now, I can officially say that gimp is not the only program I can use to make gif animations. It was the only program I could have used to make gif animations.
Emphasis on was.

Now, I can't make any gifs, I can't save anything as a png or a jpeg, and I can't use anything I make on Gimp anywhere anymore. No where at all.

So now I have to revert back to paint. Paint; which blurs all of my images. Paint; which does not let me use layers. Paint; which doesn't even work properly on the laptop I use.

So if you need me, I'll be sitting here.

Doing absolutely nothing.

Because my Gimp just isn't what it used to be.

Tom Hicks
over 11 years ago

In point 26, you mean "webpage", not "website". A site might have thousands of pages and that would make for a very LARGE screenshot.

Ebizjoey member for over 11 years Ebizjoey 6 comments rated this topic with 5/5
over 11 years ago

How did you "use or find" this theme of brown for how it looks?

Dave
almost 12 years ago

Unfortunately that variable didn't work either. Still get the same message.

Still searching and seeking.....

RodDetmer member for almost 14 years RodDetmer 16 comments
almost 12 years ago

Try the variable value of
C:\Program Files\gs\gs9.05\bin\gswin64c.exe

-Rod

Lyle member for almost 12 years Lyle 91 comments
almost 12 years ago

All I can tell you is that GIMP can both open and save eps files for me (GIMP 2.6.x as well as GIMP2.8). Not sure what the issue is with your configuration but maybe a guru with much more knowhow then me can bud in. :)

Dave
almost 12 years ago

Not sure why but I still get the same message:

Opening 'C:\Users\David\Desktop\Fiverr Gigs\Tough Mudder Shirt\BOOTCAMP_EFFECT.eps' failed:

Could not interpret Postscript file 'C:\Users\David\Desktop\Fiverr Gigs\Tough Mudder Shirt\BOOTCAMP_EFFECT.eps'

I uninstalled GS, downloaded it again and installed the latest version and used your variable listed with the latest version

C:\Program Files\gs\gs9.05\bin\gswin64.exe

Rebooted the computer to see if that made a difference. It didn't. So, not sure what the problem is.

Lyle member for almost 12 years Lyle 91 comments
almost 12 years ago

I have Ghostscript installed with the following Environmental variable defined:

GS_PROG=C:\Program Files\gs\gs9.02\bin\gswin64.exe

I suspect Ghostscript is still required in order to both open and save EPS files. I can do both in GIMP by the way so again, install Ghostscript from Sourceforge and add the Environmental variable to your system. :)

Dave
almost 12 years ago

I have another question for you guys/gals.

I have been trying to figure out how to open an eps file in Gimp but have not been able to get it to work so far. I downloaded and installed GhostScript gs9.05 64bit version and I updated my environment variables according to the directions I read on one lens but I still get the following message:

Opening 'C:\Users\David\Desktop\Fiverr Gigs\Tough Mudder Shirt\BOOTCAMP_EFFECT.eps' failed:

Could not interpret Postscript file 'C:\Users\David\Desktop\Fiverr Gigs\Tough Mudder Shirt\BOOTCAMP_EFFECT.eps'

Any idea what I am missing here?

Dave
almost 12 years ago

Well I did finally figure out what I was doing wrong when trying to justify the text to fill. I realized that once I type the text I then drag the box to the size I want and it justifies the text as I drag. I thought I could set the box width and then just type and it would justify as I typed line by line.

One thing from the list above that I am not seeing in my version of Gimp 2.8.0 is the new gradient choice VG Nach (#19). Is there an update that included that feature?

RodDetmer member for almost 14 years RodDetmer 16 comments
almost 12 years ago

Let me correct that a bit -
Instead of using center justify use the filled button just to it's right.
The area of the box text container should fill exactly to it's borders with text.
You may have to select all the text and then select the filled option.

RodDetmer member for almost 14 years RodDetmer 16 comments
almost 12 years ago

RC1 stands for Release Candidate #1.
Dave before you type your text choose the option in the tool options dialog window - justify (just under color) - 3rd button to the right.
Now type your text.

I normally select my size, justification, color, and face before i type anything.Then you can just select all the text with your mouse and change anything that way after.
Hope that helps.

Dave
almost 12 years ago

HI Ron,

I am running basically the same... 2.8.0 (no RC1, not sure what that stands for) on Windows7 home premium.

I did get the tool to work on a different drawing but maybe I just don't understand how it is supposed to work. If I am filling a box, such as a 160x600 banner with text only, how is the best way to get the text to justify in the box? Is there a character count that I should be setting or do I need to hit the return key when I get close to the borders? That is what I have been doing but the text doesn't come out fully justified the way I have seen some banner images.

Ron Burling
almost 12 years ago

Make that Gimp 2.8.0-RC1

Ron Burling
almost 12 years ago

Strange that three work and the fourth does not. I'd suggest (assuming you have not already done so) try it with a different drawing and see what the result is. If that does not work then you may need to try a re-installation as you said. I'm right out of ideas at this point.
For comparison with your setup, I'm using Gimp 2.8 on a PC running Windows 7 Home Premium.

Dave
almost 12 years ago

Thanks for the video link Ron. I figured that was how it worked but when I go back and follow the exact steps, it will justify left, right and center but when I select filled the text layer does not change at all.

Not sure what the problem could be unless I need to maybe reinstall Gimp.

Ron Burling
almost 12 years ago

Hi Dave.
Try this link for a video on YouTube that may help:
http://youtu.be/nCzZR3wbKs8

Dave
almost 12 years ago

I have tried that several times but can't seem to get it to work unless there is a trick to it that I don't understand.

Ron Burling
almost 12 years ago

Start a text entry.
In tool options select the fourth icon on the "justify" line.
Enter your text.

Dave
almost 12 years ago

Does Gimp 2.8 support justified text? I need a text box with the letters aligned on both the left and right sides and so far I am unable to find a way to do that in Gimp.

Lyle member for almost 12 years Lyle 91 comments
almost 12 years ago

Once you created your path, Add a text layer and type your text. Once your text is typed, right click on the text block and you will see the option Text along Path. :)

Aravind
almost 12 years ago

Where can I find, CREATE TEXT FROM PATH in version 2.8?

SuperMau
almost 12 years ago

I have tears of happiness in my eyes!!! I love you guys!!!

bindesh
almost 12 years ago

I do my all gaming, graphics work in Gimp,

1. sprites, tiles
2. Level maps (using my own layer position exporter, python plugin). I also create Menu in Gimp and export the layout using the plugin.
3. Polygon maps ( outline points around and image ) using Image map.
4. Fast digital'ization of scanned sketches using Colors -> levels, Threshold.
5. Daily use :-)

Nadav
almost 12 years ago

"Tutorial: GIMP 2.8: A review of the new features!
Written by devvv, translated by devvv · Created on Mar 31, 2010, last updated 2 days ago "

It was great if Gimp 2.8 realesed in 2010!!!

Steph
almost 12 years ago

Great job! The single-window interface is finally here! Thats the only thing that has always bugged me about the GIMP.

The 'calculations in image size' thing is amazing, what a great idea. I often get sent stage renderings and need to use them to estimate the size of various pieces of set, so I re-scale the drawing so 1 pixel is 10cm etc, this new feature means I can do it all in GIMP so easily!

Leonardo Molina
almost 12 years ago

Oh my...! awesome! great! :D I'll install it right now

mace
almost 12 years ago

So much goodness! Massive respect for your work.

Ominousicity
almost 12 years ago

Finally! Kudos to all the folks who put so much time and effort into delivering this massive leap forward. Very excited to dive in and get my hand dirty :) Thank you!

Ellis
almost 12 years ago

spell-check: "seperate" -> "separate" (several times on web page
http://www.gimpusers.com/tutorials/gimp-2-8-features-preview-april-2010)

Jayawarman
almost 12 years ago

As a heavy GIMP user, this is a Godsend!

Oxben
almost 12 years ago

Really nice overview of the new features. Thanks.
Better than the official release notes.

maciejewel member for over 14 years maciejewel 1 comment
almost 12 years ago

I have a Monoprice tablet that works very well when using the mouse with the new 2.8 GIMP. However, I had to uninstall the tablet software to get the stylus/pen to work.

Lyle member for almost 12 years Lyle 91 comments
almost 12 years ago

Just recently installed GIMP 2.8 rc1 too. Liked the backwards compatibility with 32-bit plugins since I went 64-bit GIMP so didn't loose my favorite plugins especially Mathmap (thanks too with for the help from Graechan). Also, may be off topic, but I do like the new GIMPUser's website interface. :)

Ron Burling
almost 12 years ago

Great to see the new Windows version. Download and change over were trouble-free on Windows 7 and it recognised my 64 bit OS.
I appreciate the work of the development team. A big thankyou people.

tsunni
almost 12 years ago

Happy to see the 2.8 windows release. I enjoy using GIMP, its a nice package.

Kevin Harney
about 12 years ago

Mehdi Kaleidoscope plugin not working. i keep getting a "memory access violation" and Mehdi's site says download the current version. but i am using the current version. this is one of my favorite plugins and i really want to get it to work. any help would be appreciated. thank you.

Kevin Harney
about 12 years ago

the new features sound great but when is a selection tool going to be added. i find it very odd that you can't right mouse click to select a layer and then move that layer around without having to select the layer from the layer dock. i have recently started using Gimp. good selection methods seem to be lacking. but i am looking forward to Gimp 2.8!

Ronbu member for over 13 years Ronbu 4 comments
about 12 years ago

I very much like what i've seen. Well done team!

spartan2276 member for about 13 years spartan2276 9 comments
about 13 years ago

Well yes that would be ideal but I'm not 100% about that feature. I'm pretty sure that the layer grouping will work great in the gimp format as for PSD I doubt it. The same can be said for the layer filters mainly since Photoshop does not have some of those filters. As for the Text layer thing that would be great, but honestly I hope they just fix it to the point that it works great on the GIMP and then have them throw in CMYK and done. No more need for Photoshop at least not for me.

kiki56
about 13 years ago

will layer group be compatible with photoshop psd layer groups ? Also, will gimp 2.8 support psd text layers ? when opening a psd file into gimp, would be nice to have a lot more supported stuff, and being able to save it again into psd to resend it to a photoshop user. I never use gimp own format.

spartan2276 member for about 13 years spartan2276 9 comments
about 13 years ago

Oh no sorry, it was an ad that I had clicked on...

redforce member for over 17 years redforce 230 comments
about 13 years ago

@spartan2276: Which video do you talk about?

spartan2276 member for about 13 years spartan2276 9 comments
about 13 years ago

Is it possible to put the video format in a non-proprietary xvid codecs? seriously not everyone that uses gimp runs Windows which can install an .EXE file. There are plenty of tools that will allow you to convert the video to OGG, FLA,MPEG but no yah chose xvid....

d4rk
about 13 years ago

Ya know, out of all the 24 improvements added, i'll only take advantage of 20...

I want GIMP 2.8 to surprise me, but this list is already a decent little surprise :D. But it's sad to see that Gimp only has 2 full time and 1 part time dedicated developers... But it's gonna be awesome to see if more than 20 dedicated developers pops up after this release. I wish i could donate... i just't can't. T_T ... I can't Program...

The only features that is missing, but would mostly affect me now is layer clipping and Layer Effects. 12bit and 16bit images would be a plus, but I (putting emphasis on the I) don't really need it... I'm just a hobbyist.

Spodeworld
about 13 years ago

Adjustment layers (like they have in Photoshop) would be awesome.

Webcomic Creator
over 13 years ago

Just the other day I was wishing that GIMP 2.6 had layer groups so I could easily manage my layers when creating webcomics. Thanks guys for putting the feature into GIMP 2.8.

Can't wait for the release!

mikethedj4 member for over 13 years mikethedj4 12 comments rated this topic with 4/5
over 13 years ago

So far I'm giving this a 4/5, I would give it a 5 if it had a layer effects filter instead of hafting to use the script, or bump mapping/lighting effects, as well as gaussian blurs, and I don't like the idea about brush dynamics being moved, but that may change later on when I give 2.8 a try when released. I was using 2.7.1, but my computers broke so no designing for me for awhile :(

Overall I LOVE all these updates, and I can't say what I love the most, their all extremely great, and a huge help. I mean layer groups, single window mode, the added brush dynamics, and so on. I really love these updates, and can't wait for it's release on December 27th. This is a HUGE step forward for Gimp, and I'M LOVING IT!!!!!!!

Robin
over 13 years ago

Is rotate brush the same as free rotate or rotate view- as in being able to rotate the canvas for drawing with a pen tablet without modifying the picture, a function available in photoshop which would be v helpful.

Christian
over 13 years ago

AWESOME!

Rod
over 13 years ago

masternetra there is a python plug-in out as well as a SCM if you do not have Python installed called Layer FX. This is a nice addon to Gimp.

adaliad
over 13 years ago

That's really good, but is there a tablet pressure sensitivity option? That would raise overall support.

masternetra
over 13 years ago

Would like to see layer effects, hopefully a version that can support a PS file's layer effects. Also anyone know where I can get a better organized web safe color pallet for gimp? I find it diffcult to find the color I want/need unless simlair colors are grouped... Brain wants to KO when trying to process the default pallet dunno why but does. :/

Bob
over 13 years ago

Good news! But will it finally support writing IPTC or XMP metadata? Or any metadata at all with .tiff?

daniel werle arenhart
over 13 years ago

good news!

Rod
over 13 years ago

rocktivity you can get duotone support through the Separate + plug-in suite for Gimp. =)

zaimon za rated this topic with 5/5
over 13 years ago

good

meh rated this topic with 4/5
over 13 years ago

It would be awesome if GIMP allowed mere users to define their own custom “layer blend modes” and shame photoshop devs for skipping over this feature for the prior DECADE

it is merely math, adobe!

Rod
over 13 years ago

I would also like to add, if i had a wish list it would be that the GIMP developers would concentrate a little more time on plug-ins for Paths manipulation (such as offsets) and add shapes to the menu list.

Rod rated this topic with 5/5
over 13 years ago

nice article, i have to say if you need 16bit that badly try Deep paint, also a FREE open source program. =)

i-art rated this topic with 5/5
almost 14 years ago

Great new features!
now we can say: we have a really PS alternative.
thenks a lot.

Amateur
almost 14 years ago

38 TomF

Do you know what professional mean? Most certainly it is not defined by the tools you buy. There are people who need 16 bit channel depths and then there are people who don't.

Thankfully gimp developers don't share your attitude. They probably are professional enough to understand the need for that feature. After 2.8 release they will start phasing out the the old 8-bit core in favor of the GEGL.

What comes to this feature adding cpu cycles. Please don't worry. It is not cpu cycles that are problem. Memory consumption on the other hand may be.

devvv member for over 17 years devvv 1475 comments
almost 14 years ago

afaik the preferences you set in single window mode are not saved currently. this will be not the case with the final version if it is released in Q1 or Q2 2011

Anon rated this topic with 5/5
almost 14 years ago

Can't wait for the release. But last time I checked, the single-window mode was very unstable: settings were forgot when gimp was closed, you lost all your dialogues and stuff. Is this still the case, or is it once again worth it to compile? By the comments it seems not really...

devvv member for over 17 years devvv 1475 comments
almost 14 years ago

as stated in the intro text: 2.8 should arrive to the general public in Q1 2011

hoang loi rated this topic with 1/5
almost 14 years ago

yep but now is may 2010... when ????

theDrain rated this topic with 5/5
almost 14 years ago

I frequently paint with gimp. I am looking forward to 2.8's single window mode and expanded tablet support!

Keep up the great work!

James5o5 member for almost 14 years James5o5 1 comment rated this topic with 4/5
almost 14 years ago

While it be able to read cfl file types?

Robertjm rated this topic with 4/5
almost 14 years ago

First off a little correction. In Point #14 you say to access the adjustments and properties by using EDIT|SETTINGS it's actually EDIT|PREFERENCES

As to the preview? Lot's of good stuff in there.

A big thanks for the change to allow us to edit text on the actual document window. It really helps for knowing what it will look like without having to edit, look, adjust, edit, look, etc.

I also applaud the Single Window Mode. Definitely not a big functional change, but a change for those who prefer the look. One thing that bugs me though is that EVERY TIME I open GIMP I have to go over and select Single Window Mode. I'd really appreciate it if you could modify this so that GIMP remembers a state it was left in and if someone sets it to Single Window Mode it will STAY in single user mode until I change it again weeks later!!

Not going to harp on the need for 16bit save support. You know you need it and others have already mentioned it. All I'll say is by the end of 2011 if possible. :-)

E1337ist
almost 14 years ago

YES! Single-window and layer groups!
I <3 previews!

LeslieCH rated this topic with 4/5
almost 14 years ago

Nice set of features, would love to see it released sooner, or even a nightly Windows build if possible. Any takers?

rocktivity rated this topic with 4/5
almost 14 years ago

What about duotone support? That's the ONLY thing I miss about Photoshop!

Steve
almost 14 years ago

@ TomF (#38): There are certainly pros and cons, I don't want to discuss this again because the Gimp team has recognized for years that 16bit is a needfully feature for those who are in photography.

But why do you point to PS - have you forgotten the Linux users ? There are quite a lot of other free or much cheaper Win/Linux "non-professional" applications which support 16bit already. For good reasons. And as a long-term Gimp user, I consider it a reasonable request to ask for 16bit support in Gimp now as this was promised for years with the integration of GEGL. See #19 above and read the Gimp-User-FAQ: http://www.gimp.org/docs/userfaq.html#16bit
!

Kind regards, Steve.

devvv member for over 17 years devvv 1475 comments rated this topic with 5/5
almost 14 years ago

bob: then it seems you're not using GIMP very often ;)

bob rated this topic with 2/5
almost 14 years ago

Absolutely none of this is useful to me, at all.

TomF member for almost 15 years TomF 2 comments
almost 14 years ago

Do people know what professional means?

I see some people complaining about not having 16 bit color depth (48bit). Gimp uses 24bit, that is 16million colors. Most people cannot tell the difference. Most monitors and printers won't be able to help here either. Now, what I don't want is 48bit support that will only add CPU cycles. Of course if you are printing prints for museums, showings ... then get PS. (Of course, you already have it). For web design you can not get any more "professional" output. Some people are worried about stats, others are concerned about results. A real professional can take great pictures with a simple camera. An amateur, with a "professional" camera, will take "amateur" photos, with an occasional happy accident.
A professional will buy the tools necessary for the job (no more no less).

PS is not our "target", an ever improving GIMP is what we are after. I gave my modest donation to help. Have you?
Thanks for the article. I was hoping for an earlier release, but considering some of the changes it is understandable.

devvv member for over 17 years devvv 1475 comments
almost 14 years ago

I can confirm, that this is not true.

GIMPs Single window mode will (and is already!) working on Windows OS.

Juhele
almost 14 years ago

is it true, that OS Windows users will not have single window mode?

If it is true, then it is a disappointment for me as in some cases (office etc.) I cannot migrate to linux. :-(

I though that GIMP uses GTK and so it should not be problem.

wilson member for almost 15 years wilson 2 comments rated this topic with 5/5
almost 14 years ago

I'm not well verse with GIMP, I do love its features. I hope new release would be able to run PS script in future.

david
almost 14 years ago

@31: just as well gimp isn't commercial software then. Besides, gimp weren't against implementing proper 16bpc support, they were against implementing improper support.

Also, I think graphic designers would disagree with your priorities.

Ivan
almost 14 years ago

16-bits per channel when?

Juhele rated this topic with 5/5
almost 14 years ago

perfect,
I am currently using some plugin to get something like sigle-window mode but this looks awesome!

Sella174
almost 14 years ago

Irrelevant improvements. If GIMP was a commercial product, it would have folded long ago due to reluctance in implementing proper 16-bit per channel image manipulation.

Dave rated this topic with 4/5
almost 14 years ago

I like how you glossed over text. As someone who works with text all the time, text needs to be more than glossed over. On the fancy text you are adding. Please, Please, Please put a text selection. You know something that recognizes the text there and selects it to edit it. Text manipulation should be easy. Then it will be a good tool. Also, make a layers window so that a user can work with the layers and know which one he is working on and can select the proper layer to add something. Name the layer. Layers should not be mysterious. These two tings would make it a great tool.

Frank rated this topic with 4/5
almost 14 years ago

Good preview article - thanks!

Seems, though, that a complete 16-bit color depth workflow will still not be implemented by 2011 and thus Gimps state will remain "unprofessional".

Mephisto
almost 14 years ago

I hope with grouped layers, the Layer Mask effect starts being rendered on GIMP. For web designers working on OSS over Adobe PhotoShop-generated arts, this is currently the biggest GIMP nuisance

Juan
almost 14 years ago

I think that is essential that GIMP should have an option to "save actions" as in Photoshop. Should also have a good tool for batch processes.
Bye.

devvv member for over 17 years devvv 1475 comments
almost 14 years ago

@Zereal: As you can see above the article is licenced under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/at/deed.en.

This means you can translate and reproduce it as long as you mention the authors name and put a link to the original source here!

Best regards.
Bernhard

Zereal member for almost 14 years Zereal 1 comment rated this topic with 5/5
almost 14 years ago

Dear Mr. Stockmann
My name is Elena and I'm newbie Linux user.
Surfing the Internet, I found your article about new features in Gimp 2.8.
I would be grateful for your permission to translate your article from English into Russian and publish here: welinux.ru (this is Russian social network resource for Linux users) or in my personal blog.

Thank you a lot in advance

Steve
almost 14 years ago

Thanks to the pointers by kevin and devvv I managed to build the preview from git and played a bit with it. Looks promising ...

New features I would love to use are on-canvas text editing, layer groups, resources management. Others are certainly helpful and increase usability, e.g. like Color Curves (#17).

I appreciate the planned RAW import feature but I'm afraid it just trims down images to 8 bit per channel. Like it still does with 16 bit Tiffs when opening them. Since I shoot RAW with 12/14 bit the missing 16 bit per channel are still a show stopper for me, unfortunately. YMMV, though.

Ashwyn Falkingham rated this topic with 4/5
almost 14 years ago

For anyone using Ubuntu 9.04 or above, there is a ppa that contains almost nightly builds of the devel version of gimp. Find the instructions at:
http://ubuntu-tweak.com/source/gimp-testing/

I've been using it in place of stable gimp for everything, although I've heard that's supposed to be a big no no, but I've experienced very few problems (mostly only with zooming on the wrong place) and the extra features like single window mode far outweigh the inconveniences.

ivanovichenco rated this topic with 5/5
almost 14 years ago

And Gimp Paint Studio? It is compatible with gimp 2.8?

Steve
almost 14 years ago

@kevin, devvv: Thanks for the pointers, I'll try that.
However, before I posted, I installed both babl and gegl 0.1.2. And I still think that version 0.1.2 is new than 0.0.22, isn't it ?

devvv member for over 17 years devvv 1475 comments rated this topic with 5/5
almost 14 years ago

Seze: vector layers were originally planned to be included in 2.8 - however it seems no one hat the time to merge the code into the master yet. hopefully someone will do that ;)

Seze rated this topic with 5/5
almost 14 years ago

That's very interesting, thanks!

I miss a feature: allow to flip the brushes, like they was viewed in a mirror. This will fit with resizing, ratio and rotation features.

Vector layers would be great also.

quidam
almost 14 years ago

You should correct the point 20, since the changelog says: Changed licence to (L)GPLv3+, meaning dual license under LGPLv3 and GPLv3. Also, most of the code is just GPL3, the LGP is only used in certain libraries.

alvare rated this topic with 5/5
almost 14 years ago

WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT

devvv member for over 17 years devvv 1475 comments
almost 14 years ago

Steve: We've a nice instruction here: Step by step and easy to follow:

http://www.gimpusers.com/news/2009-04-23/gimp-master-for-ubuntu-9-04.html

Abe rated this topic with 5/5
almost 14 years ago

Mind boggling awesome. I can see huge adoption by numerous new users. I can't wait.

kevin rated this topic with 5/5
almost 14 years ago

Steve, gegl depends on babl, so install that from SVN first :-) there's a howto here:
http://cubelogic.org/act/166
(for mac, but should be about the same under gnu/linux)

Love the new features, especially rotating brushes, simple export and layer groups =D

drag
almost 14 years ago

>>The "Save" and "Save as" function is now only used to store GIMPs own file format XCF.<<
What about PSD format? PSD is closely integrated in Maya workflow ... for example. Grouped layers will be nice for this.

Martin rated this topic with 5/5
almost 14 years ago

I am looking forward to it

Steve
almost 14 years ago

Fetched it from SVN, compiled it, started it:
BABL version too old!
GIMP requires BABL version 0.0.22 or later.
Installed BABL version is 0.1.2.

Huh ???

Jose Hidalgo rated this topic with 5/5
almost 14 years ago

All seems good, but I think it will be better to release this new features one by one, I don't see the point in waiting for years to have a lot of things, instead of having more releases that will help people learn about the features with more time and QA.

Ben H rated this topic with 5/5
almost 14 years ago

All of this looks great, very nice work!

I'm also a big fan of the changes to the save/export functions, but I do have one concern: is it known whether or not plugins that add new 'save as file type' functionality will still work in GIMP 2.8? (I rely on an old plugin that allows GIMP to save to .plt format.)

Thanks.

someone rated this topic with 5/5
almost 14 years ago

really nice features.

ramon miranda rated this topic with 5/5
almost 14 years ago

Hi all
Congrats for the hard work, you are great, lot of interesting things to be tested and made to make our lifes easier .¿? ¬¬ for sure this 2.8 will be a very good release. and very important on the road og gimp.

greets to all and respects for devs.

SChurchill
almost 14 years ago

Would prefer GIMP to be able to to handle 48 bit TIF instead of all the above.

a_c_m rated this topic with 5/5
almost 14 years ago

What about a native mac version? I really dont like X11 on OSX.

paurullan rated this topic with 5/5
almost 14 years ago

Gorgeous work! Thank you for the summary.

mahvin rated this topic with 5/5
almost 14 years ago

I'm always happy to hear about upcoming features of GIMP. WTG devs, you're the greatest!

august mezzetta rated this topic with 5/5
almost 14 years ago

I've been a user of GIMP for two years. You continue to make improvements on the most wonderful artist tool on the net. Every time I think you have completed your master work, you surprise me with new and dynamic add ons. Bravo GIMP developers. I am so happy I found you.

Zen00 rated this topic with 5/5
almost 14 years ago

Can you say hooray for previews? I can! Thanks for the let in!