GIMP

The GNU Image Manipulation Program, better known by the acronym GIMP, is the world's most famous free and open source image editor. Pointed as one of the best alternatives to the expensive Photoshop , the application brings together a number of features ideal for both home and amateur use, as well as for business and professional applications.

The program has just gained a new stable release, bringing a host of news to anyone looking for an advanced and completely free application to create images for various purposes. Among the new features, it is worth highlighting the native option for the single window view movement.

In addition, another question that has always been asked about the program, which has been solved, concerns the possibility of grouping layers, a function that allows greater organization when working with advanced photo processing. Meet now the other news of the new GIMP.

Single window

When you first open GIMP, it continues to offer the same traditional split window mode. However, simply go to the Windows> Single Window Mode menu to activate the new mode. Here you see everything together on a single screen, which should make it easier to navigate between the application tools and the editing window.

Multi-column windows

Also new to the arrangement of windows displayed in GIMP is multi-column support. You can now bring together several dialog boxes for different program features on a single dock, side by side. This makes it easier to navigate between all functions displayed there.

Exporting images

From now on, to save your creation in a conventional image format, JPG, GIF or PNG, among others, you must use the export function present by the path File> Export or by using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + E There, simply select the output format for the program to perform all necessary conversions and compressions.

Layer Groups

Starting with version 2.8, GIMP has support for grouping open layers in the editor. This way you can bring all similar layers together into one folder, making it easy to organize all the content viewed in these entries.

New text and drawing tools

All of the app's canvas rendering features have been ported to Cairo. Thus, the edges of edited images become smoother, avoiding overexposure aliasing and making edited images more natural. The text tool has also been revamped, offering more features conveniently in the edit window.

Main features

Creations

The editor has a complete suite of image creation tools - both bitmaps and vector - such as: Brush , Pencil , Airbrush , Clone etc. In addition, it has a high quality anti- aliasing system and a powerful tool for applying gradient and blend effects, allowing you to apply incredible effects to any image.

It also supports the use of fully customizable textures and brushes. It's great for amateurs and professionals alike, as in-depth knowledge of each tool depends directly on how much you will explore them.

Advanced handling

As it is an advanced image editor, it has a number of professional features, so that the results achieved meet your expectations very much. See some of them:

• Full alpha channel support (transparency);
• Fully manipulable layers and channels;
• Multiple undo / redo, limited only by free disk space;
• Editable text layers;
• Advanced transformation tools, selection etc .;
• Modelable selections and masks.

Extensions

Like interactive use, GIMP can be inserted into scripts and system calls in compiled programs. For this you can use Scheme (or ScriptFu), Perl, Python, Tcl, Ruby and other programs capable of executing UNIX commands. In addition, it supports over one hundred plugins.

Animations

As if not just creating and editing images, you can also generate animations from the software. It is worth mentioning some features:

• Loads and saves animations in a convenient format, preserving layers;
• MNG support;
• Browser of frames , Onion Skin and Bluebox , contained in GAP (Gimp Animation Pack);

Compatibility practicality

• It supports various image formats: BMP, GIF, JPEG, MNG, PCX, PDF, PNG, PS, PSD, SVG, TIFF, TGA, XPM and more;
• Upload, save, display and convert various file formats;
• Saves / imports the SVG path.

Due to the wide variety of options the program offers, utilizing your creativity and knowledge will be key to unlocking all of its features. Now you have everything and a little more to create and treat images professionally and the best: without paying anything for it!

If there was still any doubt about the continuity of the program, the new version shows that developers are firmly in the project of keeping GIMP at the point of reference when it comes to free image editing. In addition to being free to use, the open source application has enhanced several features since its last major update.

The main highlight of the new version is the single window mode, finally sticking to the application natively. However, the more traditionalists are also contemplated here, as it is still possible to use GIMP in separate windows. This means that, at least in the organization of the interface, the software appeals to "Greeks and Trojans".

The new features may not have met all the needs of a high-end image editor, such as the ability to work with the CMYK color system (for printing), but they are not to be missed either. Bug fixes and adding new details, such as drawing and text tools, ensure that GIMP is on track.

Overall, GIMP is still working well and deserves attention for installing everything you need at once, without the need for previous installation of file libraries. This makes it more practical from the time you install it to use itself.

• Full editor
• Single window mode
• Layer Grouping
• Advanced Features

• No CMYK color system support