gimp-web r1807 - in trunk: . release-notes

[martinn svn gnome org]

Author: martinn
Date: Fri Sep 19 22:17:58 2008
New Revision: 1807
URL: http://svn.gnome.org/viewvc/gimp-web?rev=1807&view=rev

Log:
* release-notes/gimp-2.6.htrw: Added an Introduction paragraph and
copied most of the notes from gimp-2.5.htrw to here, and also did
some restructuring.


Modified:
   trunk/ChangeLog
   trunk/release-notes/gimp-2.6.htrw

Modified: trunk/release-notes/gimp-2.6.htrw
==============================================================================
--- trunk/release-notes/gimp-2.6.htrw	(original)
+++ trunk/release-notes/gimp-2.6.htrw	Fri Sep 19 22:17:58 2008
@@ -8,13 +8,163 @@
 src="images/2.4-releasesplash.jpg" width="640" height="200" />
 </div>
 
+
+
 <h1>GIMP 2.6 Release Notes</h1>
 
-<h2>General Improvements</h2>
 
-<h3>Eeeeek!</h3>
 
-<p>Start adding release notes here.</p>
+<h2>Introduction</h2>
+
+<p>
+  GIMP 2.6 is an important development milestone for two reasons. It
+  contains user interface changes addressing some often recieved
+  complaints, and it is the first version of GIMP that has a hard
+  dependancy on <a href="http://www.gegl.org/";>GEGL</a>, the engine that
+  will eventually bring high bit-depth and non-destructive editing to
+  GIMP.
+</p>
+
+
+<h2>User Interface Changes</h2>
+
+<h3>The Empty Image Window</h3>
+<p>
+  A major change is the appearance of an "empty image window". This window
+  is a placeholder where your image will eventually open, also a drop zone
+  into which you can drag-and-drop your file and  start working.
+  You will also notice that the Toolbox menu is gone: it has
+  been merged into the image window menu. Toolbox and docks are treated as utility
+  windows, so if your window manager supports it, then your problems with
+  docks and toolbox getting lost under other windows are over. Unfortunately,
+  at this moment utility window hints only work correctly in metacity, the
+  GNOME default window manager.
+</p>
+
+<h3>Lockable Docks</h3>
+<p>
+  There are also a couple of nice usability changes concerning docks.
+  Have you ever been aggravated to no end because you accidentally closed your 
+  neatly set up dock and had to build it from scratch again? 
+  That is no longer a source of stress, because the Window menu now holds a list of
+  recently closed docks, and just one click can bring your carefully constructed
+  setup back to you. Another common annoyance is incidentally dragging tabs out
+  of docks. Now GIMP lets you lock your tabs to make sure that does not happen. 
+</p>
+
+<h3>Scroll Beyond Image Border</h3>
+<p>
+  One of the most desired changes over the years has been "overpanning": the ability to pull
+  those pesky corners, that are so hard to reach with just the right point of 
+  the brush, to the front and center. This is now finally available. Panning does not
+  have to stop when the image edge reaches the window edge. You can go on panning,
+  and position the area you work on where it is comfortable for you.
+</p>
+
+<h3>Improved help system</h3>
+<p>
+  Ever been bothered by the fact that you need a single page of help but 
+  can't get it because you don't have the whole large help docs package 
+  installed? Despair no more. GIMP now supports online help. All you need 
+  is a network connection and that particular page opens in your browser 
+  when you ask for help anywhere in GIMP.
+</p>
+
+
+<h2>Tools</h2>
+
+<h3>Improved Freehand Select Tool</h3>
+<p>
+  The freehand select tool has been enhanced to support polygon segments
+  in selections. Selection segments are all independently adjustable. This 
+  significant improvement fills the need for making polygonal selections 
+  without creating yet another tool.
+</p>
+
+<h3>Brush dynamics</h3>
+<p>
+  Brush dynamics let you map different brush parameters, commonly at least 
+  size and opacity, to one or more of three input dynamics: pressure, 
+  velocity and random. Velocity and random are usable with a mouse. The Ink tool, 
+  that supported velocity before, has been overhauled and now handles 
+  velocity-dependent painting much better.
+</p>
+<p>
+  Brush dynamics have enabled a new feature in stroking paths. There 
+  is now a check box under the "paint tool" option, for emulating brush 
+  dynamics if you stroke using a paint tool. What this means is that when your 
+  stroke is being painted by GIMP, it tells the brush that its pressure and 
+  velocity are varying along the length of the stroke. Pressure 
+  starts with zero, ramps up to full pressure and then ramps down 
+  again to no pressure. Velocity starts from zero and ramps up to full 
+  speed by the end of the stroke.
+</p>
+
+<h3>Preset saving for color tools</h3>
+<p>
+  Now you can save presets in all color tools for color 
+  adjustments you use frequently.
+</p>
+
+
+<h2>Under the hood</h2>
+
+<h3>GEGL</h3>
+<p>
+  Most notable of under-the-hood changes are the first steps of 
+  <a href="http://gegl.org";>GEGL</a> integration. Right now the effect
+  on user experience is minimal, but it is an important development
+  for the future. Once GEGL integration is complete, GIMP will finally 
+  get support for higher color depths, more color spaces and eventually
+  non-destructive editing.
+</p>
+
+<h3>Cairo For UI Elements</h3>
+<p>
+  Peeking out from under the hood are subtle differences in the way the UI 
+  draws its elements. These changes are due to internally making use of the
+  Cairo library to draw UI elements. This is visible for example in the 
+  drawing of Layers and Paths docks and Curves dialog.
+</p>
+
+<h2>Installation</h2>
+<p>
+  GIMP 2.5 must <strong>not</strong> be installed in the same prefix
+  as other GIMP 2.x versions. If you want to keep your GIMP 2.4
+  installation in parallel to GIMP 2.5, you have to choose a separate
+  installation prefix at compile-time and ensure that you use different
+  library search paths for each version. If you do not set up your
+  environment differently for each version, you will experience
+  conflicts with the libraries and at least one version is likely to
+  fail.
+</p>
+<p>
+  You install the new version into a separate prefix, say /opt/gimp-2.5
+  by passing <kbd>--prefix=/opt/gimp-2.5</kbd> to the configure
+  script. Then, in order to run the binary installed there, you change
+  your environment to look for executables in /opt/gimp-2.5/bin by
+  setting <kbd>PATH=/opt/gimp-2.5/bin</kbd> and you tell your linker to
+  pick up libraries from /opt/gimp-2.5/lib by setting
+  <kbd>LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/opt/gimp-2.5/lib</kbd>.  Do not forget to
+  <kbd>export</kbd> both variables.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+  You can use a tiny wrapper script called gimp-2.5 and place it into
+  /usr/local/bin or elsewhere in your PATH. The script would look
+  something like this:
+</p>
+
+<pre class="code">
+#!/bin/sh
+
+PATH=/opt/gimp-2.5/bin:$PATH
+export PATH
+LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/opt/gimp-2.5/lib
+export LD_LIBRARY_PATH
+
+/opt/gimp-2.5/bin/gimp-2.5 "$@"
+</pre>
 
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