Looking at 2.6
By mjhammel ~ January 2nd, 2009. Filed under: Commentary.
I just upgraded my laptop to Fedora 10 this past week and, as I prepare my next article for Linux Format magazine, I noticed that I now have GIMP 2.6.3 as my default version of GIMP. As a long time user of GIMP I don’t have much of a problem picking up on the changes from one release to the next (even with major releases like 2.4 to 2.6) but I think it would benefit the popular Linux distributions to offer both 2.4 and 2.6 to users until 2.6 finally does something useful with GEGL. The newest version has some nice features, but to be honest I’m not crazy about the direction the UI team is headed.
The 2.6 toolbox no longer sports a menu bar.
There are a few important UI changes you’ll need to deal with in 2.6. The first is that the Toolbox no longer has a menu. That’s been replaced by a goofy partial image of Wilber, the GIMP mascot. All menus have been moved to the Canvas window. GIMP developers call this the Image window but they just don’t understand how overloaded that term is – so you’ll hear me refer to it as the Canvas window in my blog but as the Image window in other published writings in order to remain canonical. Along with the menu changes you now get a blank, somewhat oddly shaped Canvas window opened at startup time. I say odd shaped in that it is wide but short. I’m not sure why that choice for the default Canvas, but it’s something that can be changed in the Preferences.
I can’t help but feel these changes are to silence the hordes of Windows users who think the only way things should work is the way they were brought up – brain dead, also known as “Photoshop Users”. However, I have only opinions and no real influence in the project. So I live with things as they are.
And where the hell did the Acquire menu go to? I would have thought it would move into the File menu on the Canvas, but it’s not there. Ah, it’s content has been moved under File->Create, lumping it in with the rest of the otherwise useless Button, Logo and Web Page Theme plugins. Create vs Acquire? Really? You think that’s an improvement? Oh well. Let’s get back to the menu changes and the new default canvas window.
This window has no layers, not even a background layer. So you can select menu items, such as Colors->Levels but nothing happens. Actually, the Tool Options dialog (placed in one of the default docks) is updated but no dialog is shown for the feature selected. Without a layer to work on it makes sense not to have the dialog pop up. After all, what are you modifying? But then, if you have no layers, why do you have canvas window? Just to show the menu? Then why not put the menu in the toolbox and not open a canvas window? Better still, just put a white background layer in the default canvas. As it is now, you have a menu that does nothing until you do precisely the right thing: open a new canvas window, which seems silly since I already have a canvas window open. New users beware – you might be searching awhile before you can play with your new toy.
The default canvas provides access to the menu bar - without also providing a default canvas to work on!
The Script-Fu menu has returned in 2.6.3, with a single entry for saving layers and individual files. This top level menu was removed in older versions and the Script-Fu filters were moved under more meaningful menu locations. This one must have slipped through somehow. It just needs to be moved under the Layers top level menu. There are also language-specific submenus under the Filters top level menu. Note to UI team: no one cares what language it was written in, even if it’s a debug console for that language. In fact, debug consoles for lanugage binding support probably shouldn’t be enabled unless the user is a developer (even if just a developer of simple scripts). Make that a Preference item to show language consoles. And starting a language specific server should also be a Preference item. It’s definitely not a “Filter”.
I’ll have more things to say about 2.6 later. These are just some first glances at the UI as I migrate my own work processes from 2.4. Eventually, I’ll be working on an update to my book for 2.6. Or at least that’s the plan.
Everyone agreed the UI needed improving, so instead of improving it they decided to shuffle stuff around like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. Acquire was fine where it was, putting it in Create makes no sense. And if you don’t have a scanner correctly configured you don’t get Acquire at all (it should be present but grayed out in this situation).
I wasn’t crazy about the shuffling myself, especially the loss of the menu from the Toolbox. It changed my work habits. But like with most software I just learn to adjust.
The scanner problem I can understand. If the scanner plugin is not present then there will be no item in the menu (assuming Linux – windows and macs might be different but I don’t use them so can’t say with confidence). If the scanner plugin is available (and GIMP can find it) then you’ll get the menu item. It’s up to the scanner plugin software (SANE) configuration to determine if the scanner will work. GIMP doesn’t manage that. Since GIMP does not have built in scanner software and such software is not included in the desktop software (KDE or GNOME) then there is no way for GIMP to know scanners are available unless that plugin can be found.
So while I don’t think the menu item needs to be there and grayed out, it should always be in the same place from one release to the next. Therefore I hope they finalize the menu structures with this UI redesign soon so we don’t have to go through another long search finding features with each new release.
I highly recommend you visit the UI Redesign team and offer input on upcoming changes (whatever those might be). They are always open to input from the community.
Loss of the menu from the Toolbox, and extra canvas window are bug for our 3D pipeline. Our fallback is v2.4.7 now. We are trying us Cinepaint (16bit) for textures too. We have not time for sentiments.
I wasn’t happy with the changes to the Toolbox menu either, but I’m grown use to them. You should be sure to post your feedback on the GIMP Developer mailing list too. There is a working group devoted to UI evolution in the GIMP that would probably like to hear how these changes affected your use of GIMP.