6 ms·

As a user of Gimp of 10+ years and counting, here's some thing that have bitten me several times: * The multi-window interface. I know you can change this, but

As a user of Gimp of 10+ years and counting, here's some thing that have bitten me several times: * The multi-window interface. I know you can change this, but there's no good reason for not being the default since the beginning. God help you if you close the layers window and don't know how to bring it back. * That you cannot save to any format that it's not XCF, but that you have to export to them. * The sliders to select tool properties, such as brush width. I can slide them (but not all the way from 100 to 0, that requires 6 slides!), I can use the up-down arrows, and I can type a value. But if I want to slide and I click it wrong, I have to enter a number. So now I have to click somewhere else first, and try again. It's frustrating. * Overlap in functions between different tools. For instance, the perspective tool and the cage tool. * Fine-tuning a digital tablet. I doubt anyone knows the difference between "screen", "window", and "deactivated".

miffe 10y ago
> The sliders to select tool properties, such as brush width. I can slide them (but not all the way from 100 to 0, that requires 6 slides!) Sliders are split, so the top slides over the full range and the bottom is for fine adjustments.
- nine_k 10y ago
  This is totally not obvious. No visual clue hints at this, except maybe the changing cursor shape, not very helpful.
AgentME 10y ago
>God help you if you close the layers window and don't know how to bring it back. Assuming you even know you need to bring it back! I've had the experience of starting up GIMP for the first time, realizing I want to use it later instead, while trying to close it I close each individual panel first, and then the next time I opened it, it apparently remembered that I had closed all of the panels last time and helpfully didn't open them again. Took me a long time to figure out how I was supposed to do anything because I didn't realize anything was missing. I hope whoever has decided that UIs should be in many accidentally-closable-and-forgettable panels has seen the error of their ways or retired by now. See also: every single IDE...
nine_k 10y ago
In the Window menu you can now select one-window interface. Works great.
lillesvin 10y ago
* Multi-window interface, yeah, that's the first thing I change whenever I use a freshly installed Gimp. Using i3 with multi-window Gimp is a recipe for frustration. * Only save XCF and export everything else — I was infuriated by that too at first but when you think about it it actually makes a lot of sense. People hit save with the expectation that they can continue their work later, but "saving" to a PNG (or similar) won't preserve your layers, paths, undo history, etc. That particular design decision has really grown on me even though I still hit Save every now and then when I really want to export. * Sliders being split and acting non-standard, I'll give you that it takes some getting used to. I don't think it's terrible, but maybe enabling Ctrl for fine tuning or something would be better than splitting the slider in the middle without much except a small and somewhat ambiguous cursor change to indicate it. * I don't think overlap in tool functions is a Gimp only thing. I would expect that in most software that doesn't exclusively operate on the lowest level possible. * For tablet/screen mode, that's a part of Gimp that I've never used so I obviously have no idea.
pessimizer 10y ago
I have a complete lack of understanding of the preference for a single-window interface other than to make GIMP look like Photoshop. I can't stand the single-window interface. Inkscape has been nothing but pain for me to try to use (and I can hand-write SVG just fine, so it isn't a lack of understanding of the format), so I must be on a different wavelength than many. edit: > God help you if you close the layers window and don't know how to bring it back. This is true and awful.
ghostly_s 10y ago
> That you cannot save to any format that it's not XCF, but that you have to export to them. Every. single. time. I. use. Gimp. I. Open. The. Wrong. Save. Window.
prokoudine 10y ago
> The multi-window interface. I know you can change this, but there's no good reason for not being the default since the beginning. There is. It has bugs. > God help you if you close the layers window and don't know how to bring it back. You mean god help those people who don't see the Window menu in the menu bar? > Overlap in functions between different tools. For instance, the perspective tool and the cage tool. There is no overlap between those two whatsoever. None. Nada. Zilch. > doubt anyone knows the difference between "screen", "window", and "deactivated". Everyone who understands English?
- DonHopkins 10y ago
  Everyone who understands English knows that "gimp" is an offensive term.

miffe 10y ago

> The sliders to select tool properties, such as brush width. I can slide them (but not all the way from 100 to 0, that requires 6 slides!) Sliders are split, so the top slides over the full range and the bottom is for fine adjustments.

nine_k 10y ago
This is totally not obvious. No visual clue hints at this, except maybe the changing cursor shape, not very helpful.

AgentME 10y ago

>God help you if you close the layers window and don't know how to bring it back. Assuming you even know you need to bring it back! I've had the experience of starting up GIMP for the first time, realizing I want to use it later instead, while trying to close it I close each individual panel first, and then the next time I opened it, it apparently remembered that I had closed all of the panels last time and helpfully didn't open them again. Took me a long time to figure out how I was supposed to do anything because I didn't realize anything was missing. I hope whoever has decided that UIs should be in many accidentally-closable-and-forgettable panels has seen the error of their ways or retired by now. See also: every single IDE...

nine_k 10y ago

In the Window menu you can now select one-window interface. Works great.

lillesvin 10y ago

* Multi-window interface, yeah, that's the first thing I change whenever I use a freshly installed Gimp. Using i3 with multi-window Gimp is a recipe for frustration. * Only save XCF and export everything else — I was infuriated by that too at first but when you think about it it actually makes a lot of sense. People hit save with the expectation that they can continue their work later, but "saving" to a PNG (or similar) won't preserve your layers, paths, undo history, etc. That particular design decision has really grown on me even though I still hit Save every now and then when I really want to export. * Sliders being split and acting non-standard, I'll give you that it takes some getting used to. I don't think it's terrible, but maybe enabling Ctrl for fine tuning or something would be better than splitting the slider in the middle without much except a small and somewhat ambiguous cursor change to indicate it. * I don't think overlap in tool functions is a Gimp only thing. I would expect that in most software that doesn't exclusively operate on the lowest level possible. * For tablet/screen mode, that's a part of Gimp that I've never used so I obviously have no idea.

pessimizer 10y ago

I have a complete lack of understanding of the preference for a single-window interface other than to make GIMP look like Photoshop. I can't stand the single-window interface. Inkscape has been nothing but pain for me to try to use (and I can hand-write SVG just fine, so it isn't a lack of understanding of the format), so I must be on a different wavelength than many. edit: > God help you if you close the layers window and don't know how to bring it back. This is true and awful.

ghostly_s 10y ago

> That you cannot save to any format that it's not XCF, but that you have to export to them. Every. single. time. I. use. Gimp. I. Open. The. Wrong. Save. Window.

prokoudine 10y ago

> The multi-window interface. I know you can change this, but there's no good reason for not being the default since the beginning. There is. It has bugs. > God help you if you close the layers window and don't know how to bring it back. You mean god help those people who don't see the Window menu in the menu bar? > Overlap in functions between different tools. For instance, the perspective tool and the cage tool. There is no overlap between those two whatsoever. None. Nada. Zilch. > doubt anyone knows the difference between "screen", "window", and "deactivated". Everyone who understands English?

DonHopkins 10y ago
Everyone who understands English knows that "gimp" is an offensive term.