New features in GIMP 2.6
New Shores
After more than eight years of planning, GIMP 2.6 finally includes the Generic Graphics Library.
Until recently, the feature-rich GIMP graphics program [1] was very much an acquired taste. Too complex for amateur users and lacking CMYK support, GIMP had a way of annoying professional photographers with a meager 8 bits per color channel. The developers took the criticism seriously and improved usability in version 2.4. The introduction of the new GEGL [2] version 2.6 brings GIMP a step closer to the promise of professional image processing. GIMP supports up to 32 bits per color channel and includes sorely missed support for CMYK (see the "GEGL" box).
If you are familiar with GIMP 2.4, you might not notice any major differences in version 2.6. The most obvious change is that the file window is displayed permanently; GIMP displays the window without first loading a file. Because the window has a menubar, the toolbox has become redundant, and the developers removed it to improve visibility.
When you load an image, the scale is shown as a percentage at the bottom of the screen (Figure 1). Whereas GIMP only offered fixed values previously, it now accepts keyboard input, thus letting users freely scale the image view.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Red Hat Releases RHEL 10 Early
Red Hat quietly rolled out the official release of RHEL 10.0 a bit early.
-
openSUSE Joins End of 10
openSUSE has decided to not only join the End of 10 movement but it also will no longer support the Deepin Desktop Environment.
-
New Version of Flatpak Released
Flatpak 1.16.1 is now available as the latest, stable version with various improvements.
-
IBM Announces Powerhouse Linux Server
IBM has unleashed a seriously powerful Linux server with the LinuxONE Emperor 5.
-
Plasma Ends LTS Releases
The KDE Plasma development team is doing away with the LTS releases for a good reason.
-
Arch Linux Available for Windows Subsystem for Linux
If you've ever wanted to use a rolling release distribution with WSL, now's your chance.
-
System76 Releases COSMIC Alpha 7
With scores of bug fixes and a really cool workspaces feature, COSMIC is looking to soon migrate from alpha to beta.
-
OpenMandriva Lx 6.0 Available for Installation
The latest release of OpenMandriva has arrived with a new kernel, an updated Plasma desktop, and a server edition.
-
TrueNAS 25.04 Arrives with Thousands of Changes
One of the most popular Linux-based NAS solutions has rolled out the latest edition, based on Ubuntu 25.04.
-
Fedora 42 Available with Two New Spins
The latest release from the Fedora Project includes the usual updates, a new kernel, an official KDE Plasma spin, and a new System76 spin.