On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 02:28:55 +0000 (UTC) user1 wrote:

I would like to insert several small rectangles of text with a certain background and foreground color with a stroke around.

E.g. black text on white background color and a selection stroke around each rectangle.

Each text piece should be inserted in one go.

I mean the above items should be part of the text tools options.

When I e.g. have a green forest, it is difficult to make a text color stand clear against the green leaves.

As it is now I have to make a selection and stroke it, and then fill it with white, and then insert the text with black.

Is there a way to do this already?

Why use black text? Change the color of the text to suit.

See Fig 6.5.2 in http://docs.gimp.org/2.6/en/gimp-tool-text.html

Owen

Quoting user1 :

I would like to insert several small rectangles of text with a certain background and foreground color with a stroke around.

E.g. black text on white background color and a selection stroke around each rectangle.

Each text piece should be inserted in one go.

I mean the above items should be part of the text tools options.

That would be a rather aggressive change to the Text Tool, but if you wish to suggest it as an enhancement, I would advise that you figure out precisely how you would envision it being implemented before proposing it to the developers. For example, you would have to add controls for specifying a background color, border width, and offsetting the text both vertically and horizontally within the text layer (currently only the horizontal placement can be specified, and that limited to left, center, and right). My personal opinion is that adding such controls to Text Tool would be of negligible value, and tend towards making its interface more confusing.

When I e.g. have a green forest, it is difficult to make a text color stand clear against the green leaves.

As it is now I have to make a selection and stroke it, and then fill it with white, and then insert the text with black.

Is there a way to do this already?

I have mashed up a Script which might prove helpful. Instructions appear in comments in the script. I hardcoded the width of the border ("2") in the script because it seems as though you wish to streamline your editing as much as possible, and presenting a dialog to allow a selectable width would prove a hindrance. You are free to edit the script to change this default.

http://flashingtwelve.brickfilms.com/GIMP/Scripts/sg-backdrop-layer.scm