On 12/19/2013 01:58 PM, SirCrow wrote: >> Hey SirCrow, >> >> I bet it would help if you were to name the old program you liked so >> much. That would provide a point of reference for the editing >> workflow that you're talking about. >> >> It's even possible that something like what you are describing is >> possible in the GIMP. If enough people like the idea of "sliders >> for everything" even that might eventually happen. >> >> :o) >> >> Steve > > Hi, Steve. Thanks for replying.
I have been very quiet on-list for a while, but that's what gimp-user and similar lists and forums are for: They are the GIMP's tech support system. That's part of the way Free Software works. I ain't no developer but as a way long time GIMP user I do take a more than casual interest in the project. > Logitech's FotoTouch Color is the old app that I loved, despite its > limitations. > Didn't mention it this time because none of my previous mentions of it ever > evoked the slightest recognition from respondents. I believe I'm the only one > on this planet who wishes GIMP had been based on FotoTouch rather than > PhotoShop. Comparisons are inevitable, but the GIMP is not 'based on' Photoshop or in competition with it - except in the sense that it does give people who work on photos and other "pixel map files" a real choice of programs, based on personal preference and practical requirements. Originally the "General Image Manipulation Program," the GIMP was created as an educational project and its early versions were quite primitive compared to what it has grown into. The GIMP is very much "a thing unto itself" following its own evolutionary path. > Apparently, nobody wants simple tasks to be.... well, SIMPLE. I > can't stress (there's a relevant word!) strongly enough how annoying and > frustrating it is when GIMP won't let me do a simple thing that clearly should > be possible without dealing with menus, layers, etc. And I'm still using > Windows Vista, which similarly infuriates me at times. There are two different version of "simple" that apply here: There's simple as in, obvious and easy to figure out. The GIMP ain't that, and probably never will be; its target audience is professionals and serious hobbyists who are happy to deal with some additional complexity in exchange for the power to do complicated things to pictures. But the GIMP simple as in, made of relatively simple parts that enable the user to do a wide range of tasks, including ones that the developers did not even anticipate. The GIMP is all about that kind of simplicity: A big box of simple tools, that can be combined to accomplish a wide range of tasks as required. This design approach is inherited from the UNIX philosophy: "Write programs that do one thing and do it well. Write programs to work together." http://www.faqs.org/docs/artu/ch01s06.html The large number of components that are checked and indexed every time the GIMP starts are programs like that. Most of these programs are under direct user control via the GIMP user interface. Thanks to the UNIX design paradigm, these small programs can also be combined in clusters for complex functions via scripts, i.e. Script Fu, Python Fu, and packages like G'MIC. > There, I've mentioned FotoTouch by name yet again and, as before, nothing will > come of it. Unless someone out there, as you seem to suggest, has or > acquires a > copy of FotoTouch and learns its layout and functionality and actually writes > a > lovely little script. It won't be in time for Christmas, but (hint) my > birthday's in February! No hurry, really; I'd just be happy to have it. Or > how about this: a plugin for Irfanview that allows more flexible selections, > as > well as feathering of edges. I use Irfanview more often than the GIMP. It looks like FotoTouch was a stand alone executable for Windows 3.1 and compatible systems. I could not find a copy, else I would have fired it up under WINE to see what it does. Alas, another "free as in beer" program, derelict and unmaintainable, sinks beneath the waves... Back when I had to use Microsoft operating systems Irfanview was one of my favorite things; IMO the GIMP without Irfanview on a Windows platform is an incomplete kit. In addition to being an image viewer and simple image library maintenance tool, Irfanview's basic editing functions are sufficient for most casual uses. But when a person starts to hit the limits of what Irfanview can do to pictures, the next step - moving to a professional strength image editor - is a big one. The GIMP seems to have recently turned a big corner in terms of both user uptake and the availability of user created tutorials and such. YouTube is fairly bursting with walk-throughs for both common and fancy tasks, and in comparision to the best tutorials on websites, my own "introduction to the GIMP" page is starting to look like an antique. (I still think it's useful though: http://pilobilus.net/gimp_tutorial.html ) I believe that somebody who went to the trouble of finding the gimp-user list and describing his problems in sensible language will not find learning to navigate the complexities of the GIMP nearly as difficult as it seems initially. > Thanks for reading and caring at all. :o) > (That's the same smiley I usually use.) Clown nose, honk honk! :o) Steve _______________________________________________ gimp-user-list mailing list List address: [email protected] List membership: https://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/gimp-user-list
