Not exactly a new feature, but a more accessible one. The original AMIGA IFF/ILBM plug-in required an external library to import images.
Unfortunately, the library is no longer maintained, and we've had several security reports against it. Also, we could only build it on Windows and flatpak.
I finally ported the plug-in to process IFF files without an external library. This means that GIMP can open IFF files on *any* supported platform now!
A very cool thing - not done by me, though I helped a bit in review.
Ryan McDonald implemented non-destructive text transforms! You can now apply standard 2D transforms (scale, rotate, etc) and still edit the text afterwards. Now all our vector-type layers can be transformed non-destructively!
Now I need to update a few of our vector export plug-ins like SVG and PDF to support exporting text with transforms. :)
Latest Shape Tool updates:
It's now multi-layer aware when drawing destructively. You can select multiple layers/masks/channels and draw the same shape on each one all at once.
There's now a Spiral shape type!
The GUI is starting to take shape (ha!). It still needs review and feedback by designers, but it's looking more organized and less like I slapped it together as I added features. :)
More progress on the shape tool. Now you can draw polygons and stars - with the power of MATH!
There's also an option to change the stroke width, though I realize the label is currently missing. Easy to fix as I keep working on this.
For reference, the earlier WIP: https://fosstodon.org/@CmykStudent/116455148076446506
I started developing a Shape tool WIP earlier this year, but paused it when a new contributor expressed interest in developing it.
Since that never materialized, I decided to update my in-progress code with some new things I've learned since - like how to show a preview on the canvas as you drag to move the shape!
Still plenty to do to get it ready to use, but it's beginning to look like an actual feature now. :)
With help and test images from @akkana, we now have a functional [Camera RAW import] fallback plug-in as a dev branch!
Right now it just imports the image with some default values. We'll see if it makes sense to provide some GUI options on import (though again, this is just a fallback - using the existing #darktable, #rawtherapee, or #ART plug-ins would be better for more control!)
As a follow-up to https://fosstodon.org/@CmykStudent/117032759794405478, the stroke/fill properties for PSD vector layers are now imported as well!
(I actually discovered a small bug in our public API while working on this, so fixing that was a bonus)
A screenshot from :inkscape: #Inkscape this time! I'm updating our SVG export to include guides if you select the "Inkscape SVG" option, so those will be carried over if you reopen the project for further editing.
The Inkscape <sodipodi:namedview> tag has attributes for several other features shared by GIMP and Inkscape, so I'm hoping to expand this further!
More PSD compatibility work - adding support for importing vector layers. Step 1 was loading the paths for the layers (which are stored separately from the image-level paths we already loaded). That code's now merged.
Next will be reading in the vector stroke/fill settings from the descriptors, which is now possible after Jacob Boerema's work.
It'll also be the first use of the public vector layer API for imports, so hopefully it'll be a good reference for plug-in developers too!
Jacob Boerema's work on PSD Descriptors is the gift that keeps on giving. Thanks to it, I was able to add initial support for importing PSD text as editable text layers!
This was first requested in issue report 94, back in 2004(!). It's also marked as a "Newcomer" issue, which it decidely was *not* before Jacob's work on Descriptors.
There's still plenty to improve, but I think this update will be really helpful for people working with PSDs.
Recently I've been transcribing interviews with free software artists that @zemarmot conducted years ago.
It's really cool to hear about artistic workflows and how people are using GIMP as part of theirs. It's also neat to hear about it being used with other libre software such as Inkscape, Scribus, Krita, MyPaint, and Blender!
I've restarted work on implementing vector masks in GIMP (which I began towards the end of 3.2's development).
As part of the updates, the layer mask invert option now works and cuts out anything *inside* the path area.
You can also use non-destructive filters on layer masks, which allows you to smooth out the edges a bit.
Still some work to do, but it's coming along nicely. :)
I did a quick test implementation of adding horizontal docks to GIMP's layout. The code itself was very simple. The necessary UI/UX work, not so much. :)
Something I might explore further a little later in 3.3's development cycle (unless someone else is interested in doing it of course!)
I'd been planning to add import support for :krita: Krita's KPL palettes for a while, ever since we added export support in GIMP 3.2.
I finally did it, and it turned out to be very similar to our Swatchbooker code (both formats are zipped XML files). Hopefully this'll make it easier for people who use both programs to share settings in-between them!
This time it's not my work - but someone implementing one of *my* feature requests!
When I worked on porting GIMP to the v2 MyPaint Brush API, I didn't implement the optional Spectral Blending feature. If turned on, the blending mimicks "real world" pigment mixing - so for instance, painting yellow on blue creates a green color around the edges instead of grey-ish yellow.
I posted a feature request, and a new contributor took me up on it. See the video for a quick demo of how it works!
I came across a #TheCuttingRoomFloor article about a game asset in the Nintendo 3DS Camera being edited in GIMP (https://tcrf.net/Nintendo_3DS_Camera#Test_Photo).
Really cool!
...Except that we don't have native support for MPO images...
Seeking to correct this travesty, I tracked down a third party 2.0 plug-in that may have been used for the editing and ported it to GIMP 3.2. :)
There's more sophisticated approaches that use APP2 markers, but their work is a good starting point for import support.
Early work on porting @gwidion 's 2006 patch for "free angle" guides to GIMP 3's API. A lot has changed in the code since then!
For reference, the first UI can be seen in this screenshot: https://fosstodon.org/@CmykStudent/115476312437909719
Another project I didn't quite get finished for GIMP 3.2 was non-destructive filters on layer masks.
The limit itself was easily removed - the challenge was making a good interface for editing filters on both the layer and its mask.
My first version used tabs, but @aka_reju suggested I show both groups of filters on the same screen. The video shows a demo of how this works. Once I get it finished and update the merge request, we'll see what people think of it!