Why Does GIMP Suck So Much?

Question

It's just terrible! Nothing works right, and everything is completely nonsensical! Here's a short list of examples:

If you Stroke Path and choose Stroke Line, the line's color is light orange rather than the foreground or background color in the toolbox. Choosing Stroke With a Paint Tool, however, uses the toolbox color.

If you use the paintbucket tool on a transparent area, nothing happens.

GIMP does not support the standard windows shortcuts for zoom in/out (ctrl+ and ctrl-)

Making a selection, choosing the move tool, and dragging the selection moves the entire layer and has no effect on the selection.

The Color Picker Tool samples from the selected layer, not from what is visible. Good luck sampling anything that includes any kind of transparency, especially since...

You can't select more than one layer at once.

Pressing Delete while in the path tool and editing a path will delete the selected layer rather than the path.

The save dialogue box is absolutely horrendous.
-There is no option to see all image thumbnails.
-You have to click to see the list of file types
-There is a drop-down box of file types that does not actually change what type the file is saved as. This is there as a decoy just to confuse you.
-After getting to the real list of file types to save as, the program tries to let you search by name, rather than the standard method of listing options whose name starts with the letter you're pressing.
-If you make a typo but still find what you want, it doesn't let you click on it until you erase what you've typed, then scrolled back down and found it on your own.
-You can't even resize the file type list to see everything at once, unlike a simple drop-down menu which shows everything by default.

Answer 1

Your first problem is because you are trying to edit an image in indexed colour. That won't work in GIMP or Photoshop. You need to convert to RGB mode to edit colours properly - otherwise your colours will try to match the list of colours in the indexed colour mode palette.



CTRL+ and CTLR- are not standard Windows shortcuts. These are shortcuts for programs, not for Windows. The equivalent in GIMP is Shift+ and Shift- or you can use CTRL+centre mouse wheel to zoom in and out. All the shortcuts in GIMP are listed beside the options in the menus. If you can't read, or have memory problems - then that's not GIMPs fault. Also, you should know that all GIMPs shortcuts are customizable. So you can change them to whatever you want.



In GIMP image thumbnails need to be generated - you just click where it says "click to create preview" - if you want to view files as thumbnails - use Windows Explorer to find your image. GIMP is not an image viewer. The developers of GIMP assume people already know how to use their computers.



Yes you have to click to see the list of file types - exactly the same as in every other image editing software including Photoshop.



The paint bucket does fill transparent pixels - you probably have the wrong layer selected, or you forgot to expand the layer to fit the image size, or you forgot to click Select > None.



"Making a selection, choosing the move tool, and dragging" - doesn't work in GIMP. You need to copy and paste the selection BEFORE you move it. Then you choose the move tool. GIMP is not the same as Photoshop - ITS A DIFFERENT APPLICATION.



The colour picker tool has an option in the Tools Options to sample "merged"



There is no need in GIMP to select more than one layer at once. GIMP has a link icons in the layers dialog, and the newest version has Layer Groups.



To delete a path you right click it in the paths dialog and choose delete.



To save files in GIMP in a different format you need to choose File > Export. You don't even need to select the file type in GIMP, you can simply type the file extension directly after the file name, and GIMP will automatically save it in the correct format - something Adobe could surely learn from.

Answer 2

I enjoy the responses of 'Freeware'.



It's not free. It takes time and energy to use, learn, and even to promote.



If it was free, donations would not be accepted.



To all the bogus users out there who believe 'free' is justifcation for Gimp to completely suck... well.. you're bogus.



Gimp sucks because the options are thrown up (puked out) and not organized by any sensible means.



Any time I've redownloaded the program in an attemp to 'try again', I am met with more errors and confusion than any program I've ever looked at.



Considering old programs are free as well, even old Photoshop, the idea that this powerful 'engine' being free is a fallacy. Gimp is garbage, no matter how many people have found ways to work around it's inefficiencies.



Photoshop is king, all the way. Even simple things in Photoshop can be understood and fixed within moments. Gimp?



Gimp automatically does things, that from what I've seen, no person on the planet enjoys.



Currently my entire GIMP program locks images after I save them, telling me the layer is locked. It seems to be removing all the additional layers I create, and when an image is only a single layer it doesn't let me edit a single thing. (Before you mention anything, I've reinstalled the program 5 times now with new ideas that settings may be able to be changed)



GIMP is a half-baked program and should be discarded before anyone else suffers the stress it instigates.

Answer 3

Why is it hard to get used to a program? Well, most professionals in the fields using graphics programs know that it takes months to get the hang of it. Years to get good at it.



Some people seem to be able to jump into programs and understand how to use them quickly.



Gimp is fine. I have used Gimp and it is different than Photoshop, but works just fine. I appreciate it being around since it gives a good software option to those who can not afford Photoshop. But learn it before complaining. Some things are easier than on Photoshop, such as creating gifs. But essentially they're two different animals.



Currently using latest version Gimp 2.8. Nice!



InDesign has a decent cousin in Scribus, but there it also takes time to get used to the different shortcuts and abilities. Have fun.

Answer 4

Let me guess- you're used to Photoshop.



Here's a little secret for you- Both products are great, best-of-breed software. They're just vastly different from one another. As a GIMP user myself, I've got a few complaints about how Photoshop doesn't make sense (the few times I used it). For example, it keeps creating layers without me telling it to. I have a mild disliking for programs that do things without me asking them to.



Right. Several, if not most of your complaints stem from not being familiar with the product. To name a few-



To zoom in/out on GIMP you use ctrl-scrollwheel, like in any other cross-platform application. In my mind, much more practical than step-wise ctrl+ or ctrl-.



The color picker tool can either sample from the selected layer OR from what is visible by checking "sample merged". Extra flexibility, see?



I'm not disputing that at points, the user interface leaves a thing or two to be desired. But it's actually quite well thought-out once you get used to it. Make no mistake, the exact same applies to Photoshop. Whatever you do, don't mistake being unfamiliar with a program for it sucking maggots through a straw.



Now here's the good news. If you dislike open source software such as GIMP, you can write the author and he'll personally give you all the money back that you paid for it to use it legally (nothing).

Point is, you're getting something for free and you still have the audacity to ***** about it. Which is fine, as far as I'm concerned- but instead of bitching, make it constructive criticism. And instead of complaining on Yahoo Answers, try writing to the authors. You may well find that they're more perceptive to improving the product than you think, and it *still* won't cost you a thing. I doubt Adobe will ever give you that kind of support, even if you have paid for a legal copy.



Oh, and guess what? If nobody makes the changes you want, you're actually encouraged to make them yourself. The full source code of the program is available online. You're free to improve anything you want to it. Nobody's gonna stop you.



By the way, have you tried the alternative user-interface to GIMP? If you're used to Photoshop, the GimpShop interface on top of it might make the transition more smooth for you.



Hope this helps!

Answer 5

Just because something is "free" doesn't invalidate anyone's right to point out what's wrong with it. The UI stinks for the most part. It's clumsy and oafish. I put it in the category of "it gets the job done". But to say people can't complain because it's free is plain dumb. There is plenty of freeware out there that IS excellent and comparable to profession products. LibreOffice, FooBar, TrueCrypt, FilZip, NetBeans, 7Zip, etc are examples of free software with decent UIs. gimp just happens to be written by people who have no UI design sense. All that said it's an economic choice whether the $700 for PhotoShop is worth getting away from a kludgy UI. It's not to me.



I actually own a copy of PhotoShop but I use gimp because it is faster, smaller, and like I said, it gets the job done for the most part.

Answer 6

This Site Might Help You.



RE:

Why Does GIMP Suck So Much?

It's just terrible! Nothing works right, and everything is completely nonsensical! Here's a short list of examples:



If you Stroke Path and choose Stroke Line, the line's color is light orange rather than the foreground or background color in the toolbox. Choosing Stroke With a...

Answer 7

If you need to download Gimp you can get it for free here http://bit.ly/1wDsywI



Gimp is a great software that allows you to create and edit images, you should definitly try it.

Answer 8

you forgetting its completely free?

You cant expect it to be equal or better to photoshop, which is $700...



But for being free, its by FAR the best photo editing software available, and for novice users, you are better off going with gimp then spending money on photoshop.

Answer 9

heres a few things

GIMP wasnt made for windows, but for unix to start with



also GIMP is compleatly free, i dare to you make a better program yourself and then see how easy it is to please everyone and even less when a lot of people probably dont even know how to use it and then try to explain to people that **** happens and dont always work, they are called bugs.



and again, its free. dont like it dont use it, why complain about a free product no one is forcing you to use?

if you want to give them feedback then send it to them http://www.gimp.org/bugs/

Answer 10

Don't whine! GIMP is a open source software, so it you don't like something correct it yourself