1<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> 2<!DOCTYPE sect1 PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.3//EN" 3 "http://www.docbook.org/xml/4.3/docbookx.dtd"> 4 5<!-- section history: 6 2102-05-22 j.h: reviewed 7 2012-05-05 Marco: created 8 --> 9<sect1 id="gimp-introduction-history-2-8"> 10 <title>What's New in GIMP 2.8? </title> 11 12 <para> 13 <acronym>GIMP</acronym> 2.8 is another important release from a 14 development point of view, even more that it was for 2.6. It 15 features a big change to the user interface addressing one of the 16 most often received complaints: the lack of a single window 17 mode. Moreover the integration effort of GEGL library had taken a 18 big step forward, reaching more than 90% of the 19 <acronym>GIMP</acronym> core, a new powerful transformation tool, 20 layer groups, new common options, new brushes, improved text tool, 21 and more. 22 </para> 23 24 <variablelist> 25 <title>User Interface</title> 26 27 <varlistentry> 28 <term>New single window mode</term> 29 <listitem> 30 <para> 31 With this new feature it will be possible to work with all 32 the <acronym>GIMP</acronym> dialogs inside one big window, 33 usually with the image(s) centered inside. No more floating 34 panels or toolbox but the dialogs could be arranged inside 35 this single window. This mode could be enabled or disabled 36 all the time, even while working, and the option will be 37 remembered through the sessions. 38 </para> 39 <figure> 40 <title>The new look of the single window mode</title> 41 <mediaobject> 42 <imageobject> 43 <imagedata format="PNG" 44 fileref="images/using/single-window-mode.png"/> 45 </imageobject> 46 </mediaobject> 47 </figure> 48 </listitem> 49 </varlistentry> 50 51 <varlistentry> 52 <term>New file save workflow</term> 53 <listitem> 54 <para> 55 Now Save and Save as work only with xcf formats. If you 56 want to export an image in another format, say jpg or png, 57 you have to explicitly Export it. This enhances the workflow 58 and lets you simply overwrite the original file or export to 59 various other formats. 60 </para> 61 <figure> 62 <title>The new image workflow</title> 63 <mediaobject> 64 <imageobject> 65 <imagedata format="PNG" 66 fileref="images/using/save-image-overwrite.png"/> 67 </imageobject> 68 </mediaobject> 69 </figure> 70 </listitem> 71 </varlistentry> 72 73 <varlistentry> 74 <term>New image bar</term> 75 <listitem> 76 <para> 77 A new useful image bar comes with the single window mode, 78 which lets you switch easily between open images through the 79 means of a tab bar with image thumbnails. 80 </para> 81 <figure> 82 <title>The new image bar</title> 83 <mediaobject> 84 <imageobject> 85 <imagedata format="PNG" 86 fileref="images/using/multiple-image-tabs.png"/> 87 </imageobject> 88 </mediaobject> 89 </figure> 90 </listitem> 91 </varlistentry> 92 93 <varlistentry> 94 <term>New arrangement options</term> 95 <listitem> 96 <para> 97 <acronym>GIMP</acronym> will make users working with two screens 98 (one for dialogs, the other for images) 99 happy: now it is possible to arrange the dialogs one over the other, 100 in tabs and in columns too. 101 </para> 102 <figure> 103 <title>Multi column docks</title> 104 <mediaobject> 105 <imageobject> 106 <imagedata format="PNG" 107 fileref="images/using/multi-column-docks.png"/> 108 </imageobject> 109 </mediaobject> 110 </figure> 111 </listitem> 112 </varlistentry> 113 114 <varlistentry> 115 <term>New resources tags</term> 116 <listitem> 117 <para> 118 <acronym>GIMP</acronym> Brushes, Gradients, Pattern and 119 Palettes can be filtered and searched via tags. Tags are 120 text labels that the user can assign to resources. With Tags 121 the user can easily find the resources by means of an input 122 text box. Tags can be manually assigned by the user with the 123 same input box used for searching tags, or they can be 124 automatically tagged using the directory name of the 125 imported items. 126 </para> 127 <figure> 128 <title>Resource tags</title> 129 <mediaobject> 130 <imageobject> 131 <imagedata format="PNG" 132 fileref="images/using/painting-resources-tags.png"/> 133 </imageobject> 134 </mediaobject> 135 </figure> 136 </listitem> 137 </varlistentry> 138 139 <varlistentry> 140 <term>Simple math in size entries</term> 141 <listitem> 142 <para> 143 Enhancements have also been made to the size entry widget, 144 which is used for inputting most of the x, y, width, height 145 parameters. For example, in the scale dialog it is now 146 possible to write <quote>50%</quote> in the Width field to 147 scale the image to 50% of the width. Expressions such as 148 <quote>30in + 40px</quote> and <quote>4 * 5.4in</quote> 149 work, too. 150 </para> 151 <figure> 152 <title>Math size entries</title> 153 <mediaobject> 154 <imageobject> 155 <imagedata format="PNG" 156 fileref="images/using/math-size-entries.png"/> 157 </imageobject> 158 </mediaobject> 159 </figure> 160 </listitem> 161 </varlistentry> 162 163 <varlistentry> 164 <term>Minor changes</term> 165 <listitem> 166 <itemizedlist> 167 168 <listitem> 169 <para> 170 The new <quote>Lock Pixels</quote> option in the layers 171 dialog can avoid undesired painting on a layer when 172 working with several layers. 173 </para> 174 <figure> 175 <title>The new Lock Pixels option</title> 176 <mediaobject> 177 <imageobject> 178 <imagedata format="PNG" 179 fileref="images/using/image-lock-pixels.png"/> 180 </imageobject> 181 </mediaobject> 182 </figure> 183 </listitem> 184 185 <listitem> 186 <para> 187 Now you can move between images in single and multi 188 window mode using the shortcuts 189<keycombo><keycap>Ctrl</keycap><keycap>Page Up/Page Down</keycap></keycombo> 190 or 191 <keycombo><keycap>Alt</keycap><keycap>Number</keycap></keycombo>. 192 </para> 193 </listitem> 194 195 <listitem> 196 <para> 197 Add support for F2 to rename items in lists. 198 </para> 199 </listitem> 200 201 <listitem> 202 <para> 203 You can now 204 <keycombo><keycap>Alt</keycap><keycap>Click</keycap></keycombo> 205 on layers in the Layers dialog to create a selection from 206 it. Add, subtract and intersect modifiers 207 <keycap>Click</keycap>, <keycap>Shift</keycap> and 208 <keycombo><keycap>Ctrl</keycap><keycap>Shift</keycap></keycombo> 209 keys work too. This makes it easy to compose contents of a 210 layer based on the contents of other layers, without 211 detours. 212 </para> 213 </listitem> 214 215 <listitem> 216 <para> 217 Since the keyboard shortcuts 218 <keycombo><keycap>Ctrl</keycap><keycap>E</keycap></keycombo> 219 and 220 <keycombo><keycap>Ctrl</keycap><keycap>Shift</keycap><keycap>E</keycap></keycombo> 221 have been redirected to image export mechanisms, new 222 keyboard shortcuts have been setup for <quote>Shrink 223 Wrap</quote> and <quote>Fit Image in Window</quote>, namely 224 <keycombo><keycap>Ctrl</keycap><keycap>J</keycap></keycombo> 225 and 226 <keycombo><keycap>Ctrl</keycap><keycap>Shift</keycap><keycap>J</keycap></keycombo> 227 respectively. 228 </para> 229 </listitem> 230 231 <listitem> 232 <para> 233 Added 234 <menuchoice><guimenu>Windows</guimenu><guimenuitem>Hide 235 docks</guimenuitem></menuchoice> menu item that does what 236 <quote>Tab</quote> does and also displays its state, which 237 is now persistent across sessions, too. 238 </para> 239 </listitem> 240 241 <listitem> 242 <para> 243 The layer modes have been rearranged into more logical and 244 useful groups based on the effect they have on layers. Layer 245 modes that make the layer lighter are in one group, layer modes that 246 make the layer darker in another group, and so forth. 247 </para> 248 </listitem> 249 250 <listitem> 251 <para> 252 In multi-window mode, you can now close the Toolbox without 253 quitting GIMP. 254 </para> 255 </listitem> 256 257 <listitem> 258 <para> 259 Allow binding arbitrary actions to extra mouse buttons. 260 </para> 261 </listitem> 262 263 <listitem> 264 <para> 265 Now it is possible to change the application language 266 directly from the preference menu. 267 </para> 268 </listitem> 269 270 </itemizedlist> 271 </listitem> 272 </varlistentry> 273 </variablelist> 274 275 <variablelist> 276 <title>Tools, Filters and Plug-ins</title> 277 278 <varlistentry> 279 <term>A new tool: Cage Transform</term> 280 <listitem> 281 <para> 282 With this new tool is now possible to create custom bending 283 of a selection just moving control points. 284 This is the result of one of our Google Summer of Code 2010 285 students. 286 </para> 287 <figure> 288 <title>Cage Transform</title> 289 <mediaobject> 290 <imageobject> 291 <imagedata format="PNG" 292 fileref="images/using/new-cage-tool.png"/> 293 </imageobject> 294 </mediaobject> 295 </figure> 296 </listitem> 297 </varlistentry> 298 299 <varlistentry> 300 <term>Improved Text Tool</term> 301 <listitem> 302 <para> 303 The text tool has been enhanced to support on canvas text 304 writing and make possible changing the attributes of a single char. 305 </para> 306 <figure> 307 <title>Improved text tool</title> 308 <mediaobject> 309 <imageobject> 310 <imagedata format="PNG" 311 fileref="images/using/improved-text-tool.png"/> 312 </imageobject> 313 </mediaobject> 314 </figure> 315 </listitem> 316 </varlistentry> 317 318 <varlistentry> 319 <term>New layer groups</term> 320 <listitem> 321 <para> 322 It is now possible to group set of layers and treat them 323 like an entity. It is possible to switch a group on or off and 324 to move the group in the layers dialog. It is easy to add / 325 remove existing layers to a group or to create / delete a 326 layer inside the group and it is even possible to create 327 embedded groups of groups. It is possible to apply a 328 layer mode to a group as you do with a single layer. All this greatly 329 improves the workflow with complex multilayer images making 330 them easier to manage. 331 </para> 332 <figure> 333 <title>New layer groups</title> 334 <mediaobject> 335 <imageobject> 336 <imagedata format="PNG" 337 fileref="images/using/image-layer-groups.png"/> 338 </imageobject> 339 </mediaobject> 340 </figure> 341 </listitem> 342 </varlistentry> 343 344 <varlistentry> 345 <term>Rotating brushes</term> 346 <listitem> 347 <para> 348 Brushes can now be rotated at will, acting on the brush 349 option <quote>Angle</quote>. 350 </para> 351 <figure> 352 <title>Rotating brushes</title> 353 <mediaobject> 354 <imageobject> 355 <imagedata format="PNG" 356 fileref="images/using/rotating-brushes.png"/> 357 </imageobject> 358 </mediaobject> 359 </figure> 360 </listitem> 361 </varlistentry> 362 363 <varlistentry> 364 <term>Minor changes</term> 365 <listitem> 366 <itemizedlist> 367 <listitem> 368 <para> 369 The default Quick Mask color is now configurable. 370 </para> 371 </listitem> 372 373 <listitem> 374 <para> 375 The RTL mode (right to left writing) has been improved in the Text 376 tool. 377 </para> 378 </listitem> 379 380 <listitem> 381 <para> 382 You can specify the written language in the Text 383 Tool. This helps choosing an appropriate font, or 384 appropriate glyphs for the selected language. 385 </para> 386 </listitem> 387 388 <listitem> 389 <para> 390 Added optional diagonal guides to the crop tool. 391 </para> 392 </listitem> 393 394 <listitem> 395 <para> 396 Added <quote>Rule of fifths</quote> crop guide overlay. 397 </para> 398 </listitem> 399 400 <listitem> 401 <para> 402 A Cairo based PDF exporter has been implemented. Although being 403 somewhat simplistic, the exporter saves text, embedding 404 fonts into the final PDF file, and attempts to convert 405 bitmaps to vector objects. 406 </para> 407 </listitem> 408 409 <listitem> 410 <para> 411 Brush dynamics improved. 412 </para> 413 </listitem> 414 415 <listitem> 416 <para> 417 Added plug-in for loading JPEG2000 images. 418 </para> 419 </listitem> 420 421 <listitem> 422 <para> 423 Added plug-ins for X11 Mouse Cursor import and export 424 support. 425 </para> 426 </listitem> 427 428 <listitem> 429 <para> 430 Added fundamental OpenRaster (.ora) import and export 431 support. 432 </para> 433 </listitem> 434 435 <listitem> 436 <para> 437 Added RGB565 support to the csource plug-in. 438 </para> 439 </listitem> 440 441 <listitem> 442 <para> 443 Added a new <quote>Create</quote> command that allows loading 444 a Web page directly into GIMP using Webkit. 445 </para> 446 </listitem> 447 448 </itemizedlist> 449 </listitem> 450 </varlistentry> 451 452 </variablelist> 453 454 <variablelist> 455 <title>Under the Hood</title> 456 457 <varlistentry> 458 <term><acronym>GEGL</acronym></term> 459 <listitem> 460 <para> 461 The porting of the <acronym>GIMP</acronym> core towards the 462 new high bit-depth and non-destructive editing GEGL <xref 463 linkend="bibliography-online-gegl"/> library has taken big 464 steps and now more than 90% of the task is already finished. 465 </para> 466 <para> 467 In addition to porting color operations to 468 <acronym>GEGL</acronym>, an experimental GEGL Operation tool 469 has been added, found in the Tools menu. It enables applying 470 <acronym>GEGL</acronym> operations to an image and it gives 471 on-canvas previews of the results. The screenshot below 472 shows this for a Gaussian Blur. 473 </para> 474 <figure> 475 <title><acronym>GEGL</acronym> operation</title> 476 <mediaobject> 477 <imageobject> 478 <imagedata format="PNG" 479 fileref="images/using/experimental-gegl-tool.png"/> 480 </imageobject> 481 </mediaobject> 482 </figure> 483 </listitem> 484 485 </varlistentry> 486 487 <varlistentry> 488 489 <term>Cairo porting</term> 490 <listitem> 491 <para> 492 Started with <acronym>GIMP</acronym> version 2.6, all tools rendering 493 on canvas is now completely ported to <xref 494 linkend="bibliography-online-cairo"/>. It provides smooth 495 antialiased graphics and improves <acronym>GIMP</acronym> look. Some 496 plug-ins have been upgraded to Cairo as well. Additionally 497 all tools now use an on-canvas progress indicator instead of 498 the one in the statusbar. 499 </para> 500 <figure> 501 <title>Progress indicator</title> 502 <mediaobject> 503 <imageobject> 504 <imagedata format="PNG" 505 fileref="images/using/cairo-progress-indicator.png"/> 506 </imageobject> 507 </mediaobject> 508 </figure> 509 </listitem> 510 511 </varlistentry> 512 513 </variablelist> 514 515 <variablelist> 516 517 <title>Miscellaneous</title> 518 519 <varlistentry> 520 <term>License change</term> 521 <listitem> 522 <para> 523 The GIMP license has been changed to (L)GPLv3+. 524 </para> 525 </listitem> 526 </varlistentry> 527 528 <varlistentry> 529 <term>New script API</term> 530 531 <listitem> 532 <itemizedlist> 533 <listitem> 534 <para> 535 A lot of GIMP APIs have been rebuilt to simplify 536 developing new scripts. 537 </para> 538 </listitem> 539 <listitem> 540 <para> 541 To further enhances scripting abilities, API changes to support 542 layer groups have been made. 543 </para> 544 </listitem> 545 </itemizedlist> 546 </listitem> 547 </varlistentry> 548 549 <varlistentry> 550 <term>Backwards Compatibility</term> 551 <listitem> 552 <para> 553 To allow migrating from the old tools presets 554 system to the new one, there is a Python <ulink 555url="http://wiki.gimp.org/index.php/Mindstorm:Preset_converter">script</ulink>, 556 which you can download from the <acronym>GIMP</acronym> wiki 557 site. However, the old tools presets are not 100% 558 convertible to the new tool presets. For instance, brush 559 scale from 2.6 can't be converted to brush size in 2.8. 560 </para> 561 </listitem> 562 </varlistentry> 563 564 <varlistentry> 565 <term>Known Problems</term> 566 <listitem> 567 <para> 568 Working with graphics tablets could be problematic due to 569 the GTK+2 library in use. If in this case either use the 570 older version 2.6 or wait for the up coming version 3.0 571 for the full GTK+3 support. 572 </para> 573 </listitem> 574 </varlistentry> 575 576 </variablelist> 577 578</sect1> 579
