GIMP 2.8

[jana]

Have you seen this article about GIMP 2.8 (in the comments you'll find, of course, the usual "Gimp sucks" opinions...)? What do you think about the single-window-mode? Like it, hate it? I can't say that I'm thrilled about the idea, but that might change once I've had a chance to see and test it for myself. I'm much more excited about the fact that you can tag your brushes in GIMP 2.8 (have read it somewhere else), which is going to be phenomenally useful. Hopefully we'll be able do the same with fonts...

Comments

[ewx]

It’s just what I wanted, especially in click-to-focus window managers. Like the article says it’s a work in progress but I like the direction it’s going.

One thing I didn’t see mentioned in the article is you can press TAB to quickly hide (and restore) all the toolboxes, allowing more efficient use of the screen.

[jana]

One thing I didn’t see mentioned in the article is you can press TAB to quickly hide (and restore) all the toolboxes, allowing more efficient use of the screen.

This sounds pretty useful. I'll probably install the development version and test the whole thing a bit for myself (maybe that'll tie me over until they release 2.8...)

[dragonwolf]

The key word here is optional, which is huge, in my opinion. One of my biggest pet peeves, not just as a user, but as tech support, is when a development group decides to make major UI changes and not give the option to have the old UI style. *cough*MSOffice*cough*

From a conversion standpoint, this is a really good move, as it not only gives people options to emulate more what they're used to, but also provides an interface more like some of the other programs. Both of these will help ease the switchover from a different program (as one of the major target conversion audiences is people already using a different program).

I'm still of the opinion, though, that Gimp's biggest hurdle right now is lack of true support for layer grouping (a la Photoshop), not only for conversion reasons, but compatibility reasons. The sooner they can implement that, the easier they'll be able to viably compete with Photoshop, especially in a team, mixed-software environment.