carol.gimp.org GIMP2 basics Preferences Image Windows

TheGIMP's Image Windows have gotten to be quite robust since gimp-1.2, along with several preferences to set the behavior that works best for you. These are some of the very first preferences I change when the gimp reinstalls itself on my computer each new time.

General

Use "Dot for dot" by default

Even though I have read what this preference does to the display of your image in the Image Window -- truthfully, I think I asked about it and got an instant and thorough explanation from the gimp developers themselves. In spite of all of this, I did not retain any understanding of it for myself; and really not enough to pass it along to anyone reading these pages for information.

Marching ants speed:

This is how fast the little dashed lines move around your selections. The number is measured in milliseconds. If you would like it to work faster than the default, pick a number smaller than 300.

Zoom & Resize Behavior

These two options Resize window on zoom and Resize window on image size change are two of the most important defaults I change everytime I get a new gimp installation. These Preferences needed to be changed for gimp-1.2 to behave like gimp-1.0 did.

<rant>

Anyone with experience with gimp-1.2 might notice as I have that poor gimp, in an attempt to make all of the new users from all of the other operating systems happy, is no longer able to reliably draw nice little image windows where all there is showing is the image and the window decorations. Toggling the View Menubar option from the Image Window Appearance Preferences off (by default it is on) will help these two options work better. The additional canvas on smaller images and smaller views of larger images seems to be an inescapable fact in Gimp2.

</rant>

Mouse Cursors

Cursors are difficult to get screen shots of. I like and use the default values here. Sometimes when I am working on a large image or several large images it works best to not leave the cursor displaying a brush outline when I am not using it. Since this can so easily be changed to a cursor that is less demanding on the computer to display (for instance, by clicking on one of the rulers or by simply changing the tool via a button in the toolbox) it still works in all cases for me and my computer to leave these as the default behavior.

However, if you are constantly working with a lot of images or even a few very large images and you are having some problems with TheGIMPs speed, research these options for yourself and see what will work best for you and the hardware you have and your work flow. Seeing the brush outline is not as important as getting the job done.