In my opinion, a better solution to the "copy visible to new layer" functionality would be to add an option to Merge Visible Layers which would retain the original visible layers. This approach would seem more intuitive and would not entail an additional menu command. It would also be more flexible because the newly created layer wouldn't need to be the image size (the user would have available the expansion/clipping options of Merge Visible).

The proposed Add Border script doesn't provide the same functionality as the existing one (it doesn't provide the same 3-D effect) and, in my opinion, if considered at all, it should be as an additional script, not a substitute. As a minor nit, if the feathering option is chosen along with increasing the canvas size, the result is a border with semi-transparent regions (which hardly seems of any use whatsoever).

Personally, I don't find the proposed script worth adding to the GIMP base. The result it achieves can readily be accomplished with a couple of additional (and intuitive) steps being performed after running the current Add Border script. The gradient options are more flexibly handled manually (doing an alpha to selection or lock alpha on the border layer and blending) and feathering is trivially accomplished with a Gaussian blur.

Adding an option to the existing Add Border script which would permit specifying whether it is an inside border or outside seems reasonable and shouldn't affect too many (if any) existing scripts (none of GIMP's scripts seem to rely upon its present behavior).

=========================================================

Quoting "Alchemie foto\\grafiche" :

i know that many good scripts are not included to preserve the Gimp code essential and easy to maintain..a excellent reason .

But in this case the script fill a basic missed feature often required by many users

The feature in Photoshop is called "apply imagine" APPARENTLY in gimp that may be accomplished by 3 steps (copy visible-paste -add a new layer )

APPARENTLY .. because those 3 steps will lead often to unwanted results,and there is not any warning about: if was a selection that will get lost in the process ... then to recover selection would be needed Undo.. that means no too experienced users risk to loop forever without solve

Solution would be use 6 steps instead then 3 (save selection to a channel-select "all" -copy visible-paste-add new layer-reload previous selection from channel) and that is very unfriendly, as is unfriendly force users to deal with "floating selection " for a such basic and simple task

The script solve all this with a single click

I'm not the author of the script anyway is released under GPL and i'm sure the author will have not objections to its inclusion and that many users will be happy to have it available out of the box of next gimp 2.6

DOWNLOAD LINK HERE

http://www.deviantart.com/download/72552828/Copy_Visible_and_Paste_Script_by_fence_post.scm

###################################################

then i will like also propose a replacement for a old script "add border" that is now in Filter/decor

"add border" script is quite limited while there is another similar but more flexible , offers more useful options but does not look more complex to users (and even avoid some "problems" that the default script may create)

"problems" are : is easy overlook the fact that the script will increase the imagine size
(..i replied to several messages of users surprised that gimp "enlarge" imagines without asking
first time was very hard trace the reason of the problem...was ,as in the other cases ,that overlooked side effect of the script the root of the problem )

in the alternative script i propose that is a option, and when evaluating a option come more natural evaluate its obvious side effects,

other simple but useful added options are

blur the frame (user may chose blur amount ) use gradient instead then a solid color merge down -don't merge down the "frame layer"

Also for this i'm not the author, but i know he will have no objections

DOWNLOAD LINK HERE http://www.deviantart.com/download/71646868/Add_Border_Script_by_Insanity_Prevails.scm ############################################################### I suppose 2.6 is in features freeze, but even then i believe add/replace those few lines of code should not be a problem

Also because first script will solve the problem of a basic feature missed and increase usability

,the second seems a better replacement for a old and somehow "tricky" script

PhotoComix

Posta, news, sport, oroscopo: tutto in una sola pagina. Crea l'home page che piace a te! www.yahoo.it/latuapagina

On Tue, Aug 5, 2008 at 11:10 AM,
wrote:

In my opinion, a better solution to the "copy visible to new layer" functionality would be to add an option to Merge Visible Layers which would retain the original visible layers. This approach would seem more intuitive and would not entail an additional menu command. It would also be more flexible because the newly created layer wouldn't need to be the image size (the user would have available the expansion/clipping options of Merge Visible).

I do miss 'Apply Image', which allows you to either:

1. Apply any RGB/CMYK/spot channel or all RGB/CMYK channels from one image to another (if they are the same size) using any of the blending modes available (multiply, screen, etc). Selections remain active during the procedure.

2. Apply any channel to any other channel within the image using available blending modes. Selections remain active.

It's a nice feature that opens up a lot of possibilities, esp if you are working with spot channels.

Chris

Hi,

On Tue, 2008-08-05 at 11:41 -0500, Chris Mohler wrote:

I do miss 'Apply Image', which allows you to either:

It would help a lot if you guys would not assume that everyone knows all Photoshop features. If you are missing a particular feature, then please take the time to explain exactly what it does and how this is useful for you.

Sven

On Tue, Aug 5, 2008 at 12:45 PM, Sven Neumann wrote:

Hi,

On Tue, 2008-08-05 at 11:41 -0500, Chris Mohler wrote:

I do miss 'Apply Image', which allows you to either:

It would help a lot if you guys would not assume that everyone knows all Photoshop features. If you are missing a particular feature, then please take the time to explain exactly what it does and how this is useful for you.

Sorry if my explanation wasn't very clear.

Here's an example of in-image use of "Apply Image":

You're printing a red and white design on a black garment. Create three channels named "spot red", "white", and "white base" - set the opacity on each to around 70%. Go back to RGB channels and select red parts of your image, select the spot red channel again and fill with black. Repeat for white portions - add them to the white channel. Now 'Image->Apply Image', select "spot red" as the source, "white base" as the target, and "Multiply" as the blending mode. Repeat the last step, but choose "white" as the source channel. Now you have combined "white" and "spot red" to form a white base that you can then choke down - and see the result on the screen before going to press by hiding the RGB channels.

That's a pretty simple case - sometimes you want to subtract all of a channel that overlaps another (blending mode "Add", "Invert" checked), or selectively mix portions of channels.

The idea is similar to the Channel Mixer dialog in GIMP - but the different blending modes makes it very powerful.

Does that make sense?

Chris

Hi,

On Tue, 2008-08-05 at 14:10 -0500, Chris Mohler wrote:

It would help a lot if you guys would not assume that everyone knows all Photoshop features. If you are missing a particular feature, then please take the time to explain exactly what it does and how this is useful for you.

Sorry if my explanation wasn't very clear.

Here's an example of in-image use of "Apply Image":

[...]

Thanks. Now I have a nice example of how "Apply Image" can be used. I still have no clue though what this "Apply Image" thing is. Is it a tool, a dialog, a plug-in? What exactly does it do? Perhaps you can point us to them online documentation or a tutorial or illustrate this with some screenshots?

Sven

On Tue, Aug 5, 2008 at 2:29 PM, Sven Neumann wrote:

Hi,

On Tue, 2008-08-05 at 14:10 -0500, Chris Mohler wrote:

It would help a lot if you guys would not assume that everyone knows all Photoshop features. If you are missing a particular feature, then please take the time to explain exactly what it does and how this is useful for you.

Sorry if my explanation wasn't very clear.

Here's an example of in-image use of "Apply Image":

[...]

Thanks. Now I have a nice example of how "Apply Image" can be used. I still have no clue though what this "Apply Image" thing is. Is it a tool, a dialog, a plug-in? What exactly does it do? Perhaps you can point us to them online documentation or a tutorial or illustrate this with some screenshots?

It's a dialog, that lets you blend channels from one or two images.

Here's one tutorial in which two images are blended (at the beginning): http://www.digitalscrapbookplace.com/university/tutorials/ps_beginnercollage2.shtml

Here's a general description of the dialog with screenshots: http://www.graphics.com/modules.php?name=Sections&op=viewarticle&artid=381

Chris

Hi,

On Tue, 2008-08-05 at 15:10 -0500, Chris Mohler wrote:

It's a dialog, that lets you blend channels from one or two images.

Here's one tutorial in which two images are blended (at the beginning):
http://www.digitalscrapbookplace.com/university/tutorials/ps_beginnercollage2.shtml

Here's a general description of the dialog with screenshots: http://www.graphics.com/modules.php?name=Sections&op=viewarticle&artid=381

Thanks for the pointers. I had a look at this and some other tutorials and to me this looks like going back to GIMP version 0.54 where you had to use a dialog to blend images together simply because GIMP at that point did not yet have layers.

I might be wrong, but it appears to me that everything that "Apply Image" does can be done using layers. It's just another way of using layer modes and it seems quite akward to use an extra dialog for that.

Sven

On Tue, Aug 5, 2008 at 3:31 PM, Sven Neumann wrote:

Hi,

On Tue, 2008-08-05 at 15:10 -0500, Chris Mohler wrote:

It's a dialog, that lets you blend channels from one or two images.

Here's one tutorial in which two images are blended (at the beginning):
http://www.digitalscrapbookplace.com/university/tutorials/ps_beginnercollage2.shtml

Here's a general description of the dialog with screenshots: http://www.graphics.com/modules.php?name=Sections&op=viewarticle&artid=381

Thanks for the pointers. I had a look at this and some other tutorials and to me this looks like going back to GIMP version 0.54 where you had to use a dialog to blend images together simply because GIMP at that point did not yet have layers.

I might be wrong, but it appears to me that everything that "Apply Image" does can be done using layers. It's just another way of using layer modes and it seems quite akward to use an extra dialog for that.

Except for one thing: layers don't print out as solid. For example on a spot red channel if the channel is 100% opaque red it will print out solid black. 100% opaque red on a layer will print out as some % of gray.

I'm not suggesting that this be implemented anytime soon - but it would be nice to have better channel mixing abilities once GIMP is using GEGL for composition...

Chris

Hi,

On Tue, 2008-08-05 at 15:51 -0500, Chris Mohler wrote:

I might be wrong, but it appears to me that everything that "Apply Image" does can be done using layers. It's just another way of using layer modes and it seems quite akward to use an extra dialog for that.

Except for one thing: layers don't print out as solid.

As far as I can see the result of "Apply Image" is a layer.

I'm not suggesting that this be implemented anytime soon - but it would be nice to have better channel mixing abilities once GIMP is using GEGL for composition...

Now we are getting to a point. So your post is not actually about "Apply Image", but about missing channel mixing abilities. It would help if you could point out exactly what it is that you can't do in GIMP. Otherwise we will never enhance the channel mixing abilities, using GEGL or not.

As far as I can see the point you are trying to make is that GIMP doesn't allow you to use channels for layer blend operations. I've tried to reproduce your example using channels and layers and indeed it appears impossible. I can easily copy a spot channel to a new layer by dragging it from the channels to the layers dialog, but the result will be the grayscale channel. Perhaps it would help if we would change that so it creates an RGBA layer that represents the spot channel. This layer would be filled with the channel spot color and the grayscale mask of the channel would be transferred to the layers' alpha channel. Does that make any sense? Would such a change break other workflows?

Sven

I like this idea. I would use it frequently. In fact, I would suggest calling it "Duplicate Visible" in the menu, and also adding it to the buttons at the bottom of the layers dialog with a description of "Duplicate visible layers as single new layer" on mouse-over. As far as real estate on the bottom of the layers dialog goes, I would eliminate the raise/lower layer buttons .... I don't ever use them since it is easier to drag the layer itself to the new location than to select the layer with one mouse click and then find and click on the raise/lower button.

Hi,

On Wed, 2008-08-06 at 11:31 -0700, vabijou2 wrote:

I like this idea. I would use it frequently. In fact, I would suggest calling it "Duplicate Visible" in the menu, and also adding it to the buttons at the bottom of the layers dialog with a description of "Duplicate visible layers as single new layer" on mouse-over.

It would be easy to add this. I would even add it as a core function, not as a script, as it is much easier to implement in the core.

I am not sure about the name though. "Duplicate Visible" doesn't quite hit it. Perhaps someone has a better idea?

As far as real estate on
the bottom of the layers dialog goes, I would eliminate the raise/lower layer buttons .... I don't ever use them since it is easier to drag the layer itself to the new location than to select the layer with one mouse click and then find and click on the raise/lower button.

I often use the up/down buttons. Clicking a button is much easier than doing drag and drop. We would need to do some user observations to decide this. Without such data I'd vote for keeping the buttons.

Sven

Sven Neumann wrote:

It would be easy to add this. I would even add it as a core function, not as a script, as it is much easier to implement in the core.

I am not sure about the name though. "Duplicate Visible" doesn't quite hit it. Perhaps someone has a better idea?

Maybe call it "New layer from visible" or "New from visible" in layers context as an analogue to "Copy visible"?

Sven Neumann wrote:

Hi,

On Wed, 2008-08-06 at 11:31 -0700, vabijou2 wrote:

::snip? SNIP!::

As far as real estate on
the bottom of the layers dialog goes, I would eliminate the raise/lower layer buttons .... I don't ever use them since it is easier to drag the layer itself to the new location than to select the layer with one mouse click and then find and click on the raise/lower button.

I often use the up/down buttons. Clicking a button is much easier than doing drag and drop. We would need to do some user observations to decide this. Without such data I'd vote for keeping the buttons.

To add a single data point, I always use the buttons and never use DND for layer ordering.

--xsdg

2008/8/7 Omari Stephens

Sven Neumann wrote:

Hi,

On Wed, 2008-08-06 at 11:31 -0700, vabijou2 wrote:

::snip? SNIP!::

As far as real estate on
the bottom of the layers dialog goes, I would eliminate the raise/lower layer buttons .... I don't ever use them since it is easier to drag the layer itself to the new location than to select the layer with one mouse click and then find and click on the raise/lower button.

I often use the up/down buttons. Clicking a button is much easier than doing drag and drop. We would need to do some user observations to decide this. Without such data I'd vote for keeping the buttons.

To add a single data point, I always use the buttons and never use DND for layer
ordering.

I use DND at all times when using a Tablet. But with a mouse, click is more easier to me.

Hi,

On Thu, 2008-08-07 at 10:13 +0300, Alexander Rabtchevich wrote:

Maybe call it "New layer from visible" or "New from visible" in layers context as an analogue to "Copy visible"?

That's what we did. This is now in SVN. Together with a new procedure gimp-layer-new-from-visible in the PDB.

Oh, and I also added Edit->Paste as->New Layer.

Sven