(The following has only been observed with GIMP 2.6 in MS Windows. I
don't know if it's true for Linux too; I just haven't had time to
upgrade Linux GIMP from 2.4 yet.)
I don't recall this happening with GIMP 2.4. The problem, with the
exceptions afterward:
Except as noted later, a GIMP window which is wholly or partially
obscured by other windows (GIMP or non-GIMP, makes no difference) is
made active (e.g., ALT-TABbbing to it, clicking its title bar, clicking
the GIMP button on the taskbar, newly created by GIMP itself or opened
from the context menu of Windows Explorer or an application that has the
ability), it becomes active properly, however the windows in front of it
stay in front of it. Clicking on the title bar or taskbar repeatedly
does not bring it forward.
[In the cases of new or newly opened images, they should be in the
foreground automatically anyway. That should be addressed; however,
this problem is not about that.
When clicking on the taskbar button, Windows draws a moving title bar
for the window to be activated moving from the taskbar button to the
location of the window. That can be seen normally, but then, the window
is still hidden.]
However, switching to a different window AFTER the window in question
has been activated and then switching back does bring it forward. Once a
given window has been "unstuck" in this fashion, it stays so; it always
comes forward when activated thereafter, as far as I've been able to
observe so far.
When GIMP creates a new window (e.g., using the colors->decompose
function) the new window is usually behind the window of the image that
created it, but I have seen some exceptions. (That's another case where
that window should be forward automatically.)
I have not yet been able to test if this is also true in the case of
typing TAB to bring the GIMP toolbox and floating dialogs forward; so
far, every time any GIMP window is active, those things are always in
the foreground (which is good. :-) )
There are some bizarre special cases. One is this, and it's not
entirely consistent; I haven't yet figured out the exact behavior yet.
If I've just opened a new or existing image which is now behind
something, then click on a different application on the taskbar, then
again to toggle that button back again and then click the GIMP taskbar
button, it stays hidden, even when repeated. However, clicking on that
other application's taskbar button and then back to the GIMP button
without toggling the other application's taskbar button can bring the
GIMP window forward, but only after doing it more than once.
Anybody know anything about this?
Ray Simard
