Re: [Gimp-user] gimp users matter

[Helen <etters h gmail com>]

> ( Can't work on an image that's now showing on the monitor)

(Is that a typo, e.g. "now" or "not"?  I need to make sure how I'm reading
the sentence before responding.  And yes, I've seen people actually make
that specific typo before.)

Yes, sorry.   Should say "not" showing.

>  - Duplicate the image (Image > Duplicate).  This blocks you from
accidentally saving the resized version over the XCF file.

this may be the best work around for me.

> 5 - You are done!  There is no need to re-open the PNG file.

Well, this may or may not be true.   When, six months or a year later I
want to look at a .png (check the resolution, see whether it
needs to be sharpened/signed/whatever) then I do, sometimes want to look at
(and maybe adjust in some way) a  png image.   I've
been spoiled with the ability to do that in 2.6 (open -- see that it's what
I want--close) but I'm just going to have to get used to another
way.    And the comments I get about not really having an image that I
think I have (several people say variations of that) is completely
over my head.  And wonder whether it has a practical significance or just a
semantic one.

Thank you for the ideas.









On Mon, Jan 13, 2014 at 12:07 PM, Richard <strata_ranger hotmail com> wrote:

> Short answer:  The problem is with your workflow, not GIMP.
>
> > Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2014 11:27:17 -0500
> > From: etters h gmail com
> > To: liam holoweb net; gimp-user-list gnome org
> > Subject: Re: [Gimp-user] gimp users matter
> >
> > First In gimp 2.6:
> > open or create new file. Name it.
> >
> > I now have (e.g.) village.xcf
> >
> > Work on it for weeks, saving every few minutes with
> >
> > file > save
> >
> > I now have village.xcf with all layers preserved
> >
> > I finish the picture, and do two steps:
> >
> > file > save, and then
> >
> > file > SaveAs > village.png
> >
> > I now have two copies of my creation, one with layers, and one flattened.
> >
> > The village.png is now the one I see on my screen; title bar confirms
> >
> > I then do
> >
> > Image > scale image > change X & Y resolution to 72 and pixel to some
> > small size
> >
> > and click Scale.
> >
> > I now have one large village.xcf with all properties preserved,and one
> > small flattened village.png for mailing or uploading.
> >
> > All is well.
>
> No, you don't.  According to these steps, you saved the PNG file *BEFORE*
> scaling it to a lower resolution, so unless you issue another Save command
> to the PNG file (possibly when closing the image and GIMP 2.6 asks you to
> "save changes?"), your PNG file is a flattened copy of the XCF file at its
> original HIGH resolution, not the lower resolution you want for
> distribution.  You should be resizing the image BEFORE outputting the PNG.
>
> > Now, in gimp 2.8
> >
> > open or create new file. Name it.
> >
> > I now have (e.g.) village.xcf
> > Work on it for weeks, saving every few minutes with
> > file > save
> >
> > I now have village.xcf with all layers preserved
> > I finish the picture, and do two steps:
> >
> > file > save, and then
> >
> > file > export
> >
> > I now have a flattened image named village.png
> >
> > So I need to scale it, make it small enough to email or upload
>
> Again - why are you exporting FIRST and resizing the image SECOND?  It
> should be the other way around.
>
> > But unlike in 2.6, I can’t simply proceed to do that. I have to re-open
> > village.png
> >
> > ( Can't work on an image that's now showing on the monitor)
>
> (Is that a typo, e.g. "now" or "not"?  I need to make sure how I'm reading
> the sentence before responding.  And yes, I've seen people actually make
> that specific typo before.)
>
> > So I go to
> >
> > File > Open Recent > and click village.png
> >
> > But of course when it opens it's no longer png
> > It opens as [village](imported)
>
> That is a titlebar display issue (which was pointed out earlier), when you
> open a non-XCF file in GIMP it doesn't display the file's extension (for
> what reason I don't understand either).  It does not actually affect the
> fact that GIMP knows this image was opened from a PNG file.  In other
> words, it's harmless and you shouldn't pay it any attention.
>
> > Now I can of course scale this one down, but I can't save it as png
> >
> > so I have to export it again after I scale it.
>
> Look on your File menu and you should notice the "Export" command has
> changed to "Overwrite [village.png]" - notice that yes, it does include the
> PNG extension.
>
> > But then I have to rename it because I already have a village.png.
> >
> > Is this the intended work flow for creating a small, flattened png copy
> of
> > a large multi-layerd xcf?
> >
> > It seems to be creating difficulties for a number of users. I don't think
> > we'd have had this mountain of complaints over something as trivial as an
> > unwanted save warning.
>
> You're right this is not the intended workflow.  The intended workflow is
> that Export should be the FINAL command in the process.  If you need to
> open the exported file, make FURTHER changes then export again, well, "ur
> doin it wrong".
>
> Now since you are specifically exporting a lower-resolution version than
> what you saved to the XCF file there IS a risk that you don't want to
> accidentally Save the resized version over the XCF after exporting it.  So,
> I guess your intended workflow should look something like this:
>
> 0 - Save the XCF as needed.  Then when it comes time to Export the image...
> 1 - Duplicate the image (Image > Duplicate).  This blocks you from
> accidentally saving the resized version over the XCF file.  You may notice
> the titlebar on this second window says "[Untitled]" rather than
> "village.xcf".  Don't concern yourself about that.
> 2 - Resize the image as needed.
> 4 - NOW export the image as a PNG.
> 5 - You are done!  There is no need to re-open the PNG file.
> 6 - Ignore what the titlebar looks like (e.g. "[village]" not
> "[village.png]").  That is not important.
> 7 - Close the image window.  You will be prompted if you want to save
> changes on this window but you can ignore it - it's just a copy of your
> image you made exclusively for resizing and exporting, and you do NOT want
> to save this over your original high-resolution XCF file (this is what step
> 1 was for).
> 8 - Since the resize command was issued to a duplicate of your image and
> not the original (which has no further changes), you can close the original
> image without being prompted to "save changes".
>
> -- Stratadrake
> strata_ranger hotmail com
> --------------------
> Numbers may not lie, but neither do they tell the whole truth.
> Short answer:  You have a workflow problem.


-- 
Helen Etters
using Linux, suse12.3