But how is it done? It takes 6 simple steps to do (there is an optional 7th step I will show you). In this article I am going to show you those steps.

Step 1: Create an empty image

Most likely you already have an empty image ready for your work. If not click on The GIMP main window File menu and select New. You will then have to select the size of the image you want to create. Once this blank image window is open you are ready to begin.

Step 2: Select the color for your circle

Figure 1

In the Toolbox window (see Figure 1) you will see the current colors for both foreground and background. You want to set your foreground color (in Figure 1 it is the black square) by clicking on said black square. When you click on this block it will open up the color palette window. From that new window select the color you want to use for your circle.

Step 3: Create a full circle

The first thing you do for this step is to select the circle tool. This is the tool second from the left in the top row (see Figure 1). Once you have selected that tool go to your new image window and left-click on the upper left corner to start your circle. By holding down the left mouse button and dragging the

Figure 2

mouse to the bottom right of the window you will create a circle. (see Figure 2) You will notice, after you let go of the left mouse button, there are four squares (one in each corner). You can click one of those squares and drag it around to resize your circle. Once you have the exact size you want click inside of the circle. After you click inside the circle the dotted line will become a solid line. You are now ready to move on.

Step 4: Fill in your circle

You now how to fill in your circle with color. Click on the bucket tool (first tool on the right, third row from the top – See Figure 1) and then click inside of your circle. Your circle should now be a large, filled-in circle. Proceed to step 5.

Step 5: Shrink the image

Figure 3

What you have to do now is shrink your circle. Right click anywhere inside of your circle and then click on the Select menu. Within the Select menu you will see the Shrink entry. Click on that entry to open up the Shrink window (see Figure 3). You want to set the amount to shrink to be the width of the line of your circle. This might take a bit of playing around before you get it right. As you can see, in Figure 3, I am shrinking my circle by 10 pixels.

Once you have this set, click OK and the shrinking will happen. Now, on to step 6.

Step 6: Cutting your image

Figure 4

Right click inside of your circle and go to the Edit menu. You will see an entry called “Cut”. Click the “Cut” entry and the center portion of your circle will disappear.

As you can see (in Figure 4) we finally have a circle. You could be finished at this point, however…

Step 7 (optional): Select only the circle

What if you want to lay your circle over another image? If you just copied the circle as-is you would select everything (including the white background). To avoid this you can use the color select tool (see Figure 1, top row 5th from the left). Click the color select tool and then click on the circle you have remaining. What happens then is that every color in your image that matches the color you clicked will be selected. Since there is only one color on your image, your entire circle will be selected. You can now copy that circle to the clipboard and paste it into another image.

Or you can just add to the circle you have created.

Final thoughts

You are probably saying “That’s a lot of work just to create a circle!” It might seem like it at first, but once you get the hang of it, it’s always a no brainer. By using this method you will always have unfilled circles exactly the size and thickness you want.

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In this article you will learn how to take screenshots with the help of The Gimp, the GNOME menu, the Print Screen button, and ImageMagick. Each way has its advantages, so it’ll be up to you to decide which method suits you best. With that said, lets’ dive in head first.

ImageMagick

I wanted to start with this method because it can be a little flaky. The primary issue is that ImageMagick has trouble with Compiz. If you’re not running Compiz, you won’t have any issues with this method. Otherwise you’d be best served to skip down to The GIMP.

One of the benefits of this method is you can use it to grab screenshots automatically. You could even set up a cron job to take screen shots at specific times, or log into a machine remotely and snap a shot. I won’t get into the “why” you would want to do this – decide that yourself.

The basic command for taking a snapshot with ImageMagick is:

import FILENAME.png

Pretty simple. The only catch with the above command is that you will have to specify what portion of the screen to grab. When you issue that command a cross-hair will appear which you click and drag to select what portion of the screen to grab. There is an easier way. If you want to take this screenshot without interaction you issue the command:

import -window root FILENAME.png

What the above command does is take a screenshot of the root window (that’s the entire screen basically.) The screenshot will be saved (in the case of the example above) as FILENAME.png

Print screen

This one is simple (and not much different than using the GNOME menu)  you press the Print Screen button. When you do a window will open (see Figure 1) asking you to give the file a name, decide on a destination, and click save.  You can save the screenshot in .jpg, .png (default), .tiff, .gif, and .bmp formats. From this same window you can also copy the image to the clipboard for later use.

GNOME Menu

If you look in the Accessories subment of the GNOME Applications menu you will see the entry “Take Screenshot”. If you click on this the same window will open that opened when you hit the Print Screen key. This works in the exact same way. If, for some reason, you have a different keyboard mapping or a Print Screen key that does not work, this menu entry is sure to work.

The GIMP

Figure 1

The GIMP is my standard means for snapping screenshots.  Within The GIMP click on the File menu and then click on the Create submenu. From within the Create menu click the Screenshot entry which will open up the screenshot dialog (see Figure 1).

There are three types of screenshots you can take:

Single Window: This will grab only the window you click on after you click the Snap button.

Entire Screen: This will grab the entire screen after you click the Snap button.

Select a Region: This allows you to select the portion of the screen you want to grab after you click snap.

You can also configure a delay (in seconds) which will allow you to open up menus or take an action to grab.

When using The GIMP for screenshots you will have to save the image manually. But you can also edit the image before you save it.

Final thoughts

As you can see there are a number of ways to grab a screenshot in the Linux desktop. Each method is simple and should have you snagging screenshots all day long.

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What are layers you ask? Image layers are like stacking transparent sheets on top of one another. You can create images on each layer and still see the layers underneath. Let me give you a simple example.

Figure 1

Layers tool

Figure 1 shows the tool which allows you to work with layers. If you need help getting used to The GIMPs interface, check out my “Getting to know The GIMP Interface” article. When you create a new image in The GIMP you automatically create the Background layer. If your image is flat (no layers) the only layer you will have is the Background layer. You can, effectively, work on this layer alone, but you won’t have nearly the flexibility you would with layers.

Background layer

When using layers the background layer, as you might think, is the base layer for your image. As stated earlier this this will be the default layer when you create a new image. Figure 1 shows this layer listed in the layer window.

Figure 2

Figure 2 shows our background layer. This layer was created with a nifty GIMP filter called Flame. This filter can be found in the Filters menu under Render  and then Nature.

In the layers window (Figure 1) you can see there is a tiny thumbnail of this layer shown. Now that we have our background layer done we will add something on top of that. Working with what we did in the previous article, let’s add a logo on top of this.

The first thing you need to do is add a new layer to what you already have. Click the New Layer button to open up a small window. This window will ask require you to configure a few options. These options are:

• Layer name: Give your new layer a name that will help you quickly know what this layer is.
• Width/Height: You can specify the size of this layer. Most always you will work with the same size layer as your background layer.
• Layer Fill Type: If you are wanting to see what is behind this layer, you will need to chose Transparency. This will be your choice most of the time.

With everything configured, click OK. Back in the main image window you won’t notice any difference. In the layers window you will see a new layer added.To work with this new layer you will click on the new layer. Whatever you do in the new layer will not directly effect the background layer.

Working with your new layer

Figure 3

Just like you were shown in the previous article, create a logo. Once you have created your logo take a look at the logo Layers window. You should see multiple layers in this window. What we are going to do is copy and paste our logo into our new transparent layer of our new image. To do this properly though we have to delete the background layer of the logo. If the background layer of the logo is not removed it will cover up the background layer of our new image. Figure 3 shows our logo with the background image removed. Now you will need to flatten the logo so it can be copied and pasted. Flattening the image merges all of the layers together. To flatten your logo you will need to click Ctrl-m and then click Merge. Now you can copy and paste the logo into the background.

Here are the steps to copy paste the logo into the new image layer.

• Go to the logo and click Ctrl-c
• Go to the new image (Make sure you are working on the new layer by selecting that layer from the Layers window) and click Ctrl-v
• Click on the move tool and move the pasted image to where you want it.
• Move your cursor around until you see an anchor and click your right mouse button to anchor the layer.

After you have anchored your new layer you can alter the opacity of the new layer by selecting the new layer and dragging the Opacity drag bar to the left or right. This comes in handy if you want to see more of the background image through the new image.

Figure 4

When the new layer is to your liking you can finish up your work on the image. For my example I am going to crop some of the image, flatten the image, and then save the image.

Figure 4 shows the final image.

Final thoughts

Although this was a very simplified example of using layers, you should now see how useful layers are. You should also have a working knowledge of how to work with layers. You can add as many layers as you like and get as creative as you need. The GIMP makes this easy.

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One of the easiest ways to simplify use is the minimize the amount of windows open when working with The GIMP. By default The GIMP 2.4 opens with two windows: Utility Window, and Toolbox. If you are a GIMP power user you know the tools in both windows can be necessary. But it is not necessary to have both windows open in order to take advantage of all of the tools. “How?” You ask? Simple…by docking tabs.

What I am going to show you is how to add utility tabs into the Toolbox window so you can close the Utilities window. This will clean up the user interface as well as keep the user less confused. I am going to be using The GIMP 2.4 because it is more widely used.

Utilities Window

The first thing you should do is check to see what tabs you use in your Utilites window. I almost always use the Layers tab and the Colors tab. As you can see (in the image to the left) the Utilities window is open with the Layers, Channels, Paths, and Undo tabs on top and the Colors, Brushes, Patterns, and Gradients tabs on bottom. Of those tabs the Layers and the Colors tabs are most useful to me. Naturally other tabs will be more or less useful to other users (depending upon your needs).

Once you know the exact tabs you need to use you can close the Utilities window because you are going to add those tabs to the Toolbox window.

Now, move on over to the Toolbox window (see the image to the right).

Toolbox

Near the center of the window you will see a right-pointing arrow. If you click this arrow you will see a sub-menu that offers an Add Tab option. Within the Add Tab sub menu you will find a long list of possible tabs you can add to the window. From that list select the tabs you want to add (one at a time) to the Toolbox window. Once you have configured this window exactly how you want it, it will open up that way every time you start up The Gimp.

Simpler GIMP

As you can see, in the image to the left, The GIMP can be used with only a single window open. In the lower section the utilities I need to work with all appear in their own tabs. Now I can work with The GIMP and only have a single window (outside of the working image window) open.

Final Thoughts

The GIMP (and its interface) has been much maligned over the years for being overly complex and busy. Many of these complains stem from a simple lack of familiarity. But even being unfamiliar with the interface doesn’t make The GIMP’s UI unfriendly. Because the interface can be configured to better suit your needs, I would venture to say it is one of the more user-friendly interfaces available. Some times it is just a matter of taking the time to get to know the UI and customizing it to fit your needs and your style. Once you have done this, you might find The GIMP to be one of the best image applications available.

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So let’s break The GIMP’s UI into its constituent pieces and make using this excellent application a snap to use.

When you open up The GIMP it defaults to three main windows: The Main Window, The Toolbox, and the Utility Window. These are the meat and potatoes of The GIMP. To get a better understanding of the whole we have to break it down into its pieces. We’ll start with the Main Window.

Main Window

Main Window

From the Main Window all actions can take place. But the main action with the Main Window is opening and saving images. If you were a user prior to 2.6 this is where you will notice the biggest changes. One of the issues new users had was that once an image was opened they didn’t realize there was a right click mouse menu they could use when they were working within images.

Mouse Menu

As you can see, in the image above, the Main Window now has a built in menu. Prior to 2.6 the Main Window didn’t include this menu. To get to this menu you had to click on the right mouse button. Now 2.6 has both. This menu contains pretty much everything you need to work with your image. But you don’t have to count on just these menus for your work.

The Main Menu has one other very nice feature. You can drag an image into this window to open the image. To do this open up Nautilus (or Dolphin, or Konqueror), select an image, and drag the selected image to the Main Window. When an image opens the Main Window seems to disappear. What really happens is the images opens up within the Main Window. When you close the image the Main Window returns to its former self.

Toolbox

The next window is the toolbox (as shown in the image to the right). This window allows you to quickly access all of the tools available.

Toolbox

When you click on a tool the lower half of the window will change according to the tool. This window is handy to keep open because it gives you fast access to every tool available. Another nice option with the Toolbox is, when you customize a particular tool you can save your customizations. The bottom left corner is the save button for saving tool customizations. You can also customize this window. The small left-pointing arrow near the middle is actually a menu. Click that and you will find other options you can play with. You can add tabs with this menu, lock the tabs to the dock, and save your options.

Utilities

The final window is the Utilities Window. This window is one of the more often overlooked tools of The GIMP. It shouldn’t be. This is where you deal with layers, channels, paths, etc. And you can add/remove as many tabs from this window as you like.

Utilities Window

One of the most powerful aspects of The Gimp is the ability to do layering, channels, and paths. The Utilities Window (shown at the left) allows you to add or remove tabs that relate to just about any task you need. By default the Utilities Window has four tabs open: Layers, Channels, Paths, and Undo History. You can add tabs by clicking the left-pointing arrow and then navigating through the Add Tab submenu. Each utility tab is different from the next depending upon the utility. The Layers tab, for instance, has six buttons near the bottom of the tab (which is actually near the center of the window): New Layer, Raise the selected layer, Lower the selected layer, Duplicate the selected layer, Anchor the selected layer, and Delete the selected layer.

You will also notice, at the top of the Utilities Window, a drop-down box. This allows you to select an image to work on when you have more than one image open.

Final Thoughts

And that’s it – the basics of The GIMP user interface. Once you get used to this interface you will find it very simple to navigate and much more user-friendly than you thought.

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The GIMP is a very powerful application that can handle most any image manipulation needs. Although The GIMP and read and write most every known graphic format, its native format, xcf, is not widely supported. But why would you want or need The GIMP? And who would best fit as a user of The GIMP?

Let’s first take a look at the feature list of The GIMP.

• Customizable interface
• Photo enhancement
• Digital retouching
• Wide range of hardware support
• Huge file format support
• Cross platform
• Plugin support
• Scripting language built in
• Built in file compression
• Layer support
• Masking
• Full alpha channel support
• Animation support
• Profession-level color management

That is just a sampling of what The GIMP has to offer.

As I stated before, I have used The GIMP for quite some time and for a great many projects. I have yet to find anything The GIMP can not do. And every time I use this application I am shocked that more people don’t use it. I am pretty sure the main reason why most don’t use The GIMP is familiarity. The masses simply do not know The GIMP exists. If they did they would gladly download and use a professional-quality graphics application that came free of charge.

But for those that have dabbled in The GIMP in the past, one of the biggest complaints has been the user-interface. The GIMP is not a clone of Photoshop. The interface is actually different. But is the interface difficult? No. The interface is actually one of the most intuitive interfaces I have used. And not only is it intuitive, it’s flexible. If there is something you do not like about the interface, change it! The complaints about the interface became all too obvious with the latest release (2.6). With this release came some minor changes to the look and feel of the UI. For the most part these changes not only made sense, they also enhanced the experience.

The GIMP Interface

For those who are unsure if they would like The GIMP it’s a win-win situation. You download the binary for the correct architecture from The GIMP website, you install it, and you try it. It’s not a demo that will time out…it’s free. And when you find yourself wondering “How can they give this away for free?” you’ll know you’ve found yourself a keeper.

The GIMP can be used by anyone in nearly any setting. It runs on practically any hardware (even older machines), can be employed for home, schoool, business, enterprise, professional graphics, you name it. And anyone that has used a graphics application before (be it Photoshop on down) will quickly figure out the interface.

If you haven’t given The GIMP a go you should. If you have a need, on any level, for graphics manipulation or creation, and you want a solid, reliable application (that won’t bring your machine either screeching to a slow painful crawl or crashing) The GIMP is where you should look.

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