It often happens that newer versions of software don't work as well as
previous ones. GIMP is unfotunately no exception.
I have two versions: GIMP 2.4.0-rc3, installed on an old laptop running
under Ubuntu 7.10, and GIMP 2.10.14 installed on a desktop running under
LinuxMint 19 Cinnamon 32 bits. I chosed the latter because, after my
problem with GIMP is solved, I plan to install the same sytem on the
laptop as on the desktop, and I am not sure that the laptop processor
can accommodate a 64 bit system.
There are some tasks that are much easier or much quicker to perform
with GIMP 2.4 than with GIMP 2.10. For some serious image editing, I
still therefore need using the old version, and this prevents me from
updating the system on the laptop. Which would also be a need, because
its old version of Firefox, for instance, cannot access some sites, so
that I cannot use the laptop on travel. Its only use at the moment is
image editing with GIMP 2.4 when the latter is more efficient than
GIMP 2.10.
What works better on the old GIMP version:
- The freehand selection tool: I need it very much to correct defects on
scanned slides. See attached example.
Closing the selected area on GIMP 2.4 takes only a release of the mouse
button. On GIMP 2.10, you need reaching the very pixel you started from,
and failing to do this puts you in trouble, difficult to escape from.
Using many times the tool for fully correcting one picture requires much
more time, and implies more potential errors, on GIMP 2.10 than on GIMP
2.4. It is not better when you need closing the selected area with a
straight line. On GIMP 2.4 you still need only releasing the mouse
button. On GIMP 2.10, it takes two of three clicks. On GIMP 2.4, when
you have performed some task (e.g. brightness or contrast editing) on a
freehand selected area, you just need clicking elsewhere for being able
to freehand select another area. On GIMP 2.10, it does not work. The
only solution I have found is switching to another selection tool
(square), clicking somewhere to close the freehand selected area, then
revert to the free-hand selection tool.
- The text tool: On GIMP 2.4, you can directly and continuously adjust
the font size so that it fits to the background. On GIMP 2.10, you have
to adjust the size of the layer. In practice, you make it too large for
beginning, try a reduction, find that it is not convenient, revert to
the larger size, try another reduction, and so on. As a result, what
takes about 5 seconds with GIMP 2.4 may take up to 3 minutes with GIMP
2.10.
I have produced this picture:
http://merleblanc-brest.org/images/planmax.jpg
on the laptop with GIMP 2.4. Because of the drawbacks, both with the
freehand selection tool and the text tool, it would have been
unpractical to perform the task with GIMP 2.10.
- Saving pictures: With GIMP 2.10, this can be done only to .xcf, which
is recognised by no other software, so that such images cannot be used
on the web or included in documents. In addition, this flavour of .xcf
is not recognised by earlier versions of GIMP. You have to export the
final result of editing to other formats, and this does not always work
properly to TIFF files. With GIMP 2.4, on the other hand, you can
directly save pictures to other formats, including the one of the input
file (TIFF from my scanners). In addition, the colour space in GIMP 2.4
is the same as on my scanners, which is not the case in GIMP 2.10.
- CTRL-F: In GIMP 2.4, it repeats the last filter, in GIMP 2.10 it
repeats the last tool with the same settings, which is rarely
appropriate. This also slows down the kind of image editing I use to
perform.
On the other hand, GIMP 2.10 has some useful features lacking in
GIMP 2.4, such as the abilty to edit separately highlights and shadows.
I would therefore like to install both versions on the same system. I am
reluctant to try newer versions of GIMP, because these are provided
through flatpak. And an unsatisfactory piece of software from that
source cannot be uninstalled otherwise than reformatting the hard disk
and reinstalling everything else. This is what I plan to do if I have to
rely only on GIMP 2.4 and get rid of GIMP 2.10.
I have recovered from the GIMP site the source code for GIMP-2.4.0,
GIMP-2.4.3 and GIMP-2.4.7, but I failed to compile any of them, while I
have successfully compiled other software (e.g. scanner drivers) from
TAR archives. This may be because GIMP archives are tar.bz2 rather than
tar.gz, or because some pieces of software are lacking in the TAR archives.
CONCLUSION. I would therefore be happy with:
- A .deb file that would enable me to easily install GIMP 2.4 on
LinuxMint 19. Or at least a TAR archive I could compile
- Clear and complete instructions for also installing GIMP 2.10 (or a
more recent version) on the same system, if this is possible (otherwise
than importing it from flatpak). If not, my choice is using only
