6 ms·

I’ve been using GIMP as long as I can remember, more or less. Say what you will about the UI/UX but it remains top tier free software. So glad to see this.

by Carrok 2y ago

shadowgovt 2y ago
How do you get it to paste without popping a new layer into existence that you have to deal with and decide to anchor or tear off into its own thing?
- balamatom 2y ago
  C-v C-h
  - blooalien 2y ago
    Kudos! Am a huge proponent of learning the most useful hotkey combinations for any software one uses even semi-frequently. Such a massive time-saver.
    - stuaxo 2y ago
      The removal of hotkeys and icons from menus was an act of vandalism. You used to be able to learn a program by simply running the mouse across the menus to see the hotkeys and icons too.
      - balamatom 2y ago
        PSA: It's not vandalism when it's the people in power who are destroying the nice things - that's called design.
  - shadowgovt 2y ago
    Excellent! How did you find that key combo?
    - balamatom 2y ago
      By an ancient and forbidden science: I looked. (Not sarcastic.)
      - shadowgovt 2y ago
        What I mean is: looked where? It's not in the popup tooltip when you give the button in the UI.
        balamatom 2y ago
        You're right. I looked again and... it wasn't there. Turned out to be a real doozy: You know how pasting creates this special "floating" layer? While in this mode, the "Layer->Merge Down" menu command is replaced by "Layer->Anchor Layer" - which has the keybind. "New Layer" also becomes "To New Layer". While I can see how it makes sense on some level, it's also a whole new kind of counterintuitive.
        shadowgovt 2y ago
        Yeah, that's mostly my issue with it. IIUC it's no longer the default behavior in version 3, so good choice on the team's part. The problem with it is that we've had a good UX understanding of how modal behavior works for ages, and if you're going to do something modal, you need to make clear to the user that the mode has changed (especially to the naive user, who has no reason to anticipate paste enters a novel mode). The indicators that mode has shifted are too subtle: one is the buttons going green on the layer panel (which I think can be hidden at that point? I'd have to check), and the other, I have now learned, is some menu options changed. No dialog box, color switch, or text indicator to say "PASTE MODE: choose how this pasted data should be added to the image." And when it's so high on the critical path of using the software (how long does the average user use an image editor before they try to paste something?), it's a huge hit to the overall experience and makes the user feel like this tool is too complicated.
- idle_zealot 2y ago
  What would you prefer it do? That "new layer" is how it asks whether you meant to paste the contents of your clipboard into an actual new layer or merge it into an existing one (anchor). The relevant docs for the temporary floating layer that's created on paste are here: https://docs.gimp.org/en/gimp-selection-float.html https://docs.gimp.org/en/gimp-selection-float.html
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - shadowgovt 2y ago
    I'd prefer it to paste into the current layer. If I want to paste into a new layer, I can create a layer before pasting. Barring that, I'd also prefer it to surface anything to tell the user what's going on. Pasting subtly switches modes into a context where a lot of the UI isn't working right until you make a decision on what to do with the floating layer. That kind of mode-switch should be signalled loudly to a user. The signal Gimp chose? Two small buttons in the layer panel highlight green.
- ponorin 2y ago
  From the release note: > Copying and pasting now creates a new layer by default rather than a “floating selection”, which many users found confusing. Floating layers can still be created with the “Paste as Floating Data” option for those who prefer that workflow. so it's solved now.
  - dangisautism 2y ago
    [dead]
wombatpm 2y ago
Been a user since 0.48 running on a SGI Indy with IRIX 7.x because I needed something with a UI for my undergrads to mark up image. Amazing how far it has come along.
Diti 2y ago
I’d say the winner in this category is Krita.
- balamatom 2y ago
  Again with the competitions, haha. But I mean, yeah - in a scenario where you only have one shot to recommend a piece of free software to someone, and are trying to avoid their startled retreat back into the walled garden, I'd also give 'em Krita. Nevertheless, both are wonderful pieces of software! I'm not a graphics pro but do find myself editing images quite regularly, and I usually reach for GIMP as it's more familiar to me. Krita on the other hand has a great brush engine, so if I feel like drawing something, I go for that. Also, of course, whichever one has GMIC on that particular day! Some of the stuff in that plugin is absolutely wild. Usually that means Krita again, though iirc at some point it was broken there for some time, but I found it for GIMP... Btw, anyone know if there's a Rebelle Mixbox-style color mixing feature for either of the two?
- flykespice 2y ago
  Does it have the same freature set as gimp? Genuine question because I have heard people saying Krita err much more to artistic creation side than photo editing capabilities that gimp does.
  - HKH2 2y ago
    No, you can't print in Krita. Also, GIMP's transform tools are more powerful.
  - vekatimest 2y ago
    Krita still doesn't have a usable text tool or a way to change an image's color space.
    - kuschku 2y ago
      What? Krita had proper color space handling and conversions for many years, probably a decade now. GIMP is the one that's still missing proper colorspace handling, especially regarding CMYK. And Krita has had vector layers with text support for quite a while as well.
roenxi 2y ago
> Say what you will about the UI/UX but it remains top tier free software. Just don't mention the name.
- Lammy 2y ago
  Call it GNU IMP if it bothers you
  - balamatom 2y ago
    Some classic FOSShead contrariness on their part. They shoulda used the major release to officially rename it to GNU IMP, if you ask me. GNU could use the publicity and an "imp" is definitely cuter than a "gimp".
  - TylerE 2y ago
    Imp isn't much better, especially south of the Bible Belt.
    - the_af 2y ago
      How do they feel about unix daemons or the FreeBSD mascot?
      - GuinansEyebrows 2y ago
        They use Windows Server.
      - solardev 2y ago
        And never mention chmod 666 or fsck...
      - flykespice 2y ago
        When I was a teenager I wanted to try FreeBSD but got turned away by the daemon mascot. I didn't want my christian conservative parents to keep berating at me as if I turned in to the devil for choosing a OS that has a mascot that resembles one.
dxdm 2y ago
What I want to say about the UX is that it is so annoying to me that I don't like dealing with the program at all. If something is so clunky that it seems to get in the way more than enabling me as a user, then I will find alternatives that let me get things done more easily and with less frustration, and all the functions and features of the GIMP do nothing for me. But then again, it's a free program and I'm not owed anything by its authors and contributors. It's just a little... sad, maybe, to have all their work UXed into relative obscurity, at least from my point of view, and probably that of a few other people who share my frustration. And even so, if this is the way they want to make the GIMP and they're happy with it, then more power to them - and less to me.
- spicybright 2y ago
  Full agree. Tried it for a while as a general image editor replacement but there were too many annoyances. Ex, this update introducing editing text after you place it in is pretty ridiculous. That's been a thing for 15 years at least with commercial editors.
  - ponorin 2y ago
    > Ex, this update introducing editing text after you place it in is pretty ridiculous. idk what you're referring to but gimp has also supported editing text after it's been placed. what's new is non-destructive filters and non destructive outlining of text (despite what some may claim you were able to draw an outline of a text even before gimp 3, by converting it to a vector path.)
- Velorivox 2y ago
  Sometimes when I have the need to do something with images, I wonder whether I could use GIMP. I go look at a Youtube tutorial showing me how I can do what I need to do, using GIMP, and that usually cures me of any desire to use it. Here's a funny one from my history, 12 years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G13TXE9agYM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G13TXE9agYM
jwrallie 2y ago
I did not know any other similar software, I learned Gimp first, so I have no previous bias. I use GIMP for simple things like fixing bad lighting in a picture, cropping or removing backgrounds. I think the most complicated thing I did was using the resinthesizer plugin to remove some objects in a photo. Unpopular opinion, but I think the UI/UX works just fine? It never got in the way of what I wanted to do, and now I am familiar with where all the options are.
- djmips 2y ago
  I agree with yah
- wizzledonker 2y ago
  It's genuinely not that bad
- tap-snap-or-nap 2y ago
  The reward for learning free and open source software is great value long term, while people addicted to Adobe ....
  - jwrallie 2y ago
    I definitely agree. I think this is something that is not so obvious at first glance, specially for software that is seen as less capable. The fact something is a well known free software program ensures a few extra features: it’s more likely to still exist in 5 years, you will still have a license to use it in 5 years, you can have it available on all of your computers and it is likely just one package manager command away from being available. I just saw the other day a coworker fighting up with an MS Excel that refused to open a .csv file because it could not find a license. I asked him why not use LibreOffice in the meanwhile. He looked to me like I was crazy and asked if it had better features. Well, yes, it does have more features than Excel without a license and yes, the .csv importer has more features and will help you select the limiters with a nice preview and organize the column width automatically after importing.

I’ve been using GIMP as long as I can remember, more or less. Say what you will about the UI/UX but it remains top tier free software. So glad to see this.

by Carrok 2y ago

I’ve been using GIMP as long as I can remember, more or less. Say what you will about the UI/UX but it remains top tier free software. So glad to see this.

shadowgovt 2y ago

How do you get it to paste without popping a new layer into existence that you have to deal with and decide to anchor or tear off into its own thing?

balamatom 2y ago
C-v C-h
- blooalien 2y ago
  Kudos! Am a huge proponent of learning the most useful hotkey combinations for any software one uses even semi-frequently. Such a massive time-saver.
  - stuaxo 2y ago
    The removal of hotkeys and icons from menus was an act of vandalism. You used to be able to learn a program by simply running the mouse across the menus to see the hotkeys and icons too.
    - balamatom 2y ago
      PSA: It's not vandalism when it's the people in power who are destroying the nice things - that's called design.
- shadowgovt 2y ago
  Excellent! How did you find that key combo?
  - balamatom 2y ago
    By an ancient and forbidden science: I looked. (Not sarcastic.)
    - shadowgovt 2y ago
      What I mean is: looked where? It's not in the popup tooltip when you give the button in the UI.
      - balamatom 2y ago
        You're right. I looked again and... it wasn't there. Turned out to be a real doozy: You know how pasting creates this special "floating" layer? While in this mode, the "Layer->Merge Down" menu command is replaced by "Layer->Anchor Layer" - which has the keybind. "New Layer" also becomes "To New Layer". While I can see how it makes sense on some level, it's also a whole new kind of counterintuitive.
        shadowgovt 2y ago
        Yeah, that's mostly my issue with it. IIUC it's no longer the default behavior in version 3, so good choice on the team's part. The problem with it is that we've had a good UX understanding of how modal behavior works for ages, and if you're going to do something modal, you need to make clear to the user that the mode has changed (especially to the naive user, who has no reason to anticipate paste enters a novel mode). The indicators that mode has shifted are too subtle: one is the buttons going green on the layer panel (which I think can be hidden at that point? I'd have to check), and the other, I have now learned, is some menu options changed. No dialog box, color switch, or text indicator to say "PASTE MODE: choose how this pasted data should be added to the image." And when it's so high on the critical path of using the software (how long does the average user use an image editor before they try to paste something?), it's a huge hit to the overall experience and makes the user feel like this tool is too complicated.
idle_zealot 2y ago
What would you prefer it do? That "new layer" is how it asks whether you meant to paste the contents of your clipboard into an actual new layer or merge it into an existing one (anchor). The relevant docs for the temporary floating layer that's created on paste are here: https://docs.gimp.org/en/gimp-selection-float.html https://docs.gimp.org/en/gimp-selection-float.html
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- shadowgovt 2y ago
  I'd prefer it to paste into the current layer. If I want to paste into a new layer, I can create a layer before pasting. Barring that, I'd also prefer it to surface anything to tell the user what's going on. Pasting subtly switches modes into a context where a lot of the UI isn't working right until you make a decision on what to do with the floating layer. That kind of mode-switch should be signalled loudly to a user. The signal Gimp chose? Two small buttons in the layer panel highlight green.
ponorin 2y ago
From the release note: > Copying and pasting now creates a new layer by default rather than a “floating selection”, which many users found confusing. Floating layers can still be created with the “Paste as Floating Data” option for those who prefer that workflow. so it's solved now.
- dangisautism 2y ago
  [dead]

wombatpm 2y ago

Been a user since 0.48 running on a SGI Indy with IRIX 7.x because I needed something with a UI for my undergrads to mark up image. Amazing how far it has come along.

Diti 2y ago

I’d say the winner in this category is Krita.

balamatom 2y ago
Again with the competitions, haha. But I mean, yeah - in a scenario where you only have one shot to recommend a piece of free software to someone, and are trying to avoid their startled retreat back into the walled garden, I'd also give 'em Krita. Nevertheless, both are wonderful pieces of software! I'm not a graphics pro but do find myself editing images quite regularly, and I usually reach for GIMP as it's more familiar to me. Krita on the other hand has a great brush engine, so if I feel like drawing something, I go for that. Also, of course, whichever one has GMIC on that particular day! Some of the stuff in that plugin is absolutely wild. Usually that means Krita again, though iirc at some point it was broken there for some time, but I found it for GIMP... Btw, anyone know if there's a Rebelle Mixbox-style color mixing feature for either of the two?
flykespice 2y ago
Does it have the same freature set as gimp? Genuine question because I have heard people saying Krita err much more to artistic creation side than photo editing capabilities that gimp does.
- HKH2 2y ago
  No, you can't print in Krita. Also, GIMP's transform tools are more powerful.
- vekatimest 2y ago
  Krita still doesn't have a usable text tool or a way to change an image's color space.
  - kuschku 2y ago
    What? Krita had proper color space handling and conversions for many years, probably a decade now. GIMP is the one that's still missing proper colorspace handling, especially regarding CMYK. And Krita has had vector layers with text support for quite a while as well.

roenxi 2y ago

> Say what you will about the UI/UX but it remains top tier free software. Just don't mention the name.

Lammy 2y ago
Call it GNU IMP if it bothers you
- balamatom 2y ago
  Some classic FOSShead contrariness on their part. They shoulda used the major release to officially rename it to GNU IMP, if you ask me. GNU could use the publicity and an "imp" is definitely cuter than a "gimp".
- TylerE 2y ago
  Imp isn't much better, especially south of the Bible Belt.
  - the_af 2y ago
    How do they feel about unix daemons or the FreeBSD mascot?
    - GuinansEyebrows 2y ago
      They use Windows Server.
    - solardev 2y ago
      And never mention chmod 666 or fsck...
    - flykespice 2y ago
      When I was a teenager I wanted to try FreeBSD but got turned away by the daemon mascot. I didn't want my christian conservative parents to keep berating at me as if I turned in to the devil for choosing a OS that has a mascot that resembles one.

dxdm 2y ago

What I want to say about the UX is that it is so annoying to me that I don't like dealing with the program at all. If something is so clunky that it seems to get in the way more than enabling me as a user, then I will find alternatives that let me get things done more easily and with less frustration, and all the functions and features of the GIMP do nothing for me. But then again, it's a free program and I'm not owed anything by its authors and contributors. It's just a little... sad, maybe, to have all their work UXed into relative obscurity, at least from my point of view, and probably that of a few other people who share my frustration. And even so, if this is the way they want to make the GIMP and they're happy with it, then more power to them - and less to me.

spicybright 2y ago
Full agree. Tried it for a while as a general image editor replacement but there were too many annoyances. Ex, this update introducing editing text after you place it in is pretty ridiculous. That's been a thing for 15 years at least with commercial editors.
- ponorin 2y ago
  > Ex, this update introducing editing text after you place it in is pretty ridiculous. idk what you're referring to but gimp has also supported editing text after it's been placed. what's new is non-destructive filters and non destructive outlining of text (despite what some may claim you were able to draw an outline of a text even before gimp 3, by converting it to a vector path.)
Velorivox 2y ago
Sometimes when I have the need to do something with images, I wonder whether I could use GIMP. I go look at a Youtube tutorial showing me how I can do what I need to do, using GIMP, and that usually cures me of any desire to use it. Here's a funny one from my history, 12 years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G13TXE9agYM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G13TXE9agYM

jwrallie 2y ago

I did not know any other similar software, I learned Gimp first, so I have no previous bias. I use GIMP for simple things like fixing bad lighting in a picture, cropping or removing backgrounds. I think the most complicated thing I did was using the resinthesizer plugin to remove some objects in a photo. Unpopular opinion, but I think the UI/UX works just fine? It never got in the way of what I wanted to do, and now I am familiar with where all the options are.

djmips 2y ago
I agree with yah
wizzledonker 2y ago
It's genuinely not that bad
tap-snap-or-nap 2y ago
The reward for learning free and open source software is great value long term, while people addicted to Adobe ....
- jwrallie 2y ago
  I definitely agree. I think this is something that is not so obvious at first glance, specially for software that is seen as less capable. The fact something is a well known free software program ensures a few extra features: it’s more likely to still exist in 5 years, you will still have a license to use it in 5 years, you can have it available on all of your computers and it is likely just one package manager command away from being available. I just saw the other day a coworker fighting up with an MS Excel that refused to open a .csv file because it could not find a license. I asked him why not use LibreOffice in the meanwhile. He looked to me like I was crazy and asked if it had better features. Well, yes, it does have more features than Excel without a license and yes, the .csv importer has more features and will help you select the limiters with a nice preview and organize the column width automatically after importing.