carol.gimp.org GIMP2 basics Preferences Window Management

TheGIMP tells its windows to work the way it is suggested to at Freedesktop.org. With an application that works on so many different operating systems, it is easy to see the reason for this. One look at the dialog, and you can clearly see that TheGIMP passes just two promised behaviors to the Window Manager and it is up to you and your window manager to work through the rest of the details on how these behaviors are handled. A problem with this "how-to" is how much I go with the defaults found here, please forgive the incoherent and fragmented information I authored here. Also, I have often read of the expectations of people new to using gimp and from an operating system not gnu/linux so if you do not understand the editorial comments here -- they were perhaps not directed at you.

Window Manager Hints

Normal Window

The default is for TheGIMP to work the same way that you (or your desktop manager) have configured your windows to work. I say this because these defaults have worked for me along with the way I have set my desktop to work. All of my softwares default actions work well for me.

Utility Window

On my desktop, setting any of TheGIMP's windows to this utility setting causes the gimp to not respond to some of the desktop shortcuts that I have. I have my desktop configured to have a Taskbar at the top. Clicking on the instance of gimp showing there will cause it to hide or return for action. This works well for me, I am using gnu/linux software for a very long time now and I prefer to have a text editor, a handful of consoles and a browser running all of the time. One click on the taskbar and the application or instance of console that I need arrives to the top of the stack.

[=]- gimp 2.2.3 available at ftp://ftp.gimp.org/pub/gimp/v2.2/               [=]
09:52 (carol) what is the difference between a utility window and a normal 
          window?
09:55 (drc) "_NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE_UTILITY indicates a small persistent utility 
          window, such as a palette or toolbox. It is distinct from type 
          TOOLBAR because it does not correspond to a toolbar torn off from the 
          main application. It's distinct from type DIALOG because it isn't a 
          transient dialog, the user will probably keep it open while they're 
          working. Windows of this type may set the WM_TRANSIENT_FOR hint 
          indicating the main application window."
09:55 (drc) From http://standards.freedesktop.org/wm-spec/wm-spec-1.3.html
09:56 (carol) drc: thanks, last time i poked around freedesktop, the wiki did 
          not seem to be working
09:56 (drc) Yeah, they were cracked a while ago.
10:02 (carol) oh, i see. as a utility that thing at the top does not hide the 
          window when i click it ...
10:03 (carol) thing being taskbar
[=]-(10:03)-(@carol (+i))-(2:#gimp (+lnt 223))-(Act: 9,10,11)-               [=]
#gimp> 

I did not like this behavior. It worked as promised and I did not like it.

Keep above

This causes TheGIMP to keep its Toolbox and/or Docks always on top. Probably this option is there to emulate behavior found on other operating systems -- it lasted about two minutes for me. Probably it is more useful if you maintain many of the qualities from the first time you open it. Or perhaps if you come from an operating system in which the application that is running commands the whole desktop and disables the other applications. I tried it and I did not like it. These preferences are there for all of the new users and is the way of preferences -- your option.

The gimp users that keep asking for the MDI stuff, this option along with a desktop configured to contain just gimp should satisfy most of your needs.

Focus

Focus behaviour is again, the job of the window manager. All TheGIMP can do is to put the image you have focused on into its dialogs or not. The rest is up to the window manager.

Window Positons

Save window positions on exit

TheGIMP can (and by default, will) remember where it was when the application is "Quit". You might find it works better with your workflow to spend some time with your gimp set up on your desktop, make sure that all of the windows are what you like to see when you first open TheGIMP -- all of the docks docked and tabbed nicely and their location on the desktop are to your liking. Save this set up by pressing the Save Window Positions Now button found in this preference and toggle this "Save window positions on exit" off. This is the best way to have no suprises in your layout the next time you start TheGIMP up.

Save Window Positions Now

Pressing this button (or engaging it with the suggested key) will write your current layout to the ~/.gimp-2.2/sessionrc and TheGIMP might use it (if you have toggled the Save window positions on exit option off.

Reset Saved Window Positions to Default Values

It is here for when you need to start over.