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GIMP "GNU Image Manipulation Program"

GIMP is a free open source image editing program for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring.

As with all software licensed under the GNU GPL, it is completely free to download, use, share with others (distribute), and modify.

GIMP include many capabilities. It can be used as a simple paint program, an expert quality photo retouching program, an online batch processing system, a mass production image renderer, an image format converter, etc.

GIMP is expandable and extensible. It is designed to be augmented with plug-ins and extensions to do just about anything. The advanced scripting interface allows everything from the simplest task to the most complex image manipulation procedures to be easily scripted.

GIMP is written and developed under X11 on UNIX platforms. But basically the same code also runs on MS Windows and Mac OS X.

For the latest information about GIMP and to download the software, please visit the GIMP website (http://docs.gimp.org/). The site also has links to the GIMP User Manual and various GIMP tutorials.

How to Install GIMP

GIMP for Linux

It's very likely your Linux distribution already comes with a GIMP package. It is a preferred method of installing GIMP, as the distribution maintainers take care of all the dependencies and bug fix updates.

Install gimp 2.6.10 in ubuntu 10.04(Lucid)

• Open the terminal and run the following commands
• sudo add-apt-repository ppa:lucid-bleed/ppa
• sudo apt-get update
• sudo apt-get install gimp
• Instructions to install GIMP in other Linux versions are available in http://www.gimp.org/downloads/

GIMP for Windows

• Download GIMP and save it to any location on your computer.
• Run the installer - (gimp-help-2-2.6.11-en-setup.exe) from wherever you saved the download.
• Answer the installer's questions. This is a series of typical installer questions. All of the default selections will work fine.
• Review your selections in this next text box, then click "Install".

When the installation is complete, you'll have the option to launch GIMP for the first time.

Starting GIMP

The screenshot above shows the most basic GIMP user interface.

The Main Toolbox: Contains a set of icon buttons used to select tools. May also contain the foreground and background colors; brush, pattern, and Gradient; and an icon of the active image. Use Edit ? Preferences ? Toolbox to enable, or disable the extra items.

Tool options: Docked below the main Toolbox is a Tool Options dialog, showing options for the currently selected tool (in this case, the Crop tool).

The image window: Each image open in GIMP is displayed in a separate window. Many images can be open at the same time. You need to have at least one image window open. The image window holds the Menu of the main commands of GIMP (File, Edit, Select...), which you can also get by right-clicking on the window.

The Layers, Channels, Paths dock with the Layers Dialog open; note that the “dialogs” in the “dock” are tabs. This dialog window shows the layer structure of the currently active image, and allows it to be manipulated in a variety of ways. It is possible to do a few very basic things without using the Layers dialog, but even moderately sophisticated GIMP users find it indispensable to have the Layers dialog available at all times.

Brushes/Patterns/Gradients: The docked dialog below the layer dialog shows the dialogs (tabs) for managing brushes, patterns and gradients.

Tip for new users

Once you are happy with the layout of GIMP's various dialogue windows, go to the Edit > Preferences menu and under Window Management select 'Save Window Positions Now'. Next time you open GIMP, the windows will be positioned as you saved them. You can also choose to 'Save window positions on exit' so that it will open with however the windows were positioned last time you closed down. To restore the original settings, select 'Reset Saved Window Positions to Default Values'.