[Gimp-developer] "File -> Page Setup" missing in 2.8, why it matters



I know other people have noticed it, but the (Windows at least) Print plug-in in GIMP 2.8, while generally improved from GIMP 2.6, is missing one very important thing:  The "Page Setup" command.

This is a problem, and regression, for a few reasons:

1 - Unable to specify Landscape orientation.

Yes, I know we can just rotate the whole image by 90 degrees but that is an extra (and possibly unwanted) step for the user.  And yes, a printer provides its own Portrait/Lanscape option in its printer preferences, but it's a known bug that the latter isn't reflected in GIMP's print preview (thus, the user has no confirmation that it actually works) and more importantly ISN'T remembered between print sessions (even from the same source image).  If I'm fine-tuning my settings for an exhibition-quality photo print, I DON'T want to have to specify Landscape option every. single. time. I make a test print.

2 - Unable to control/specify page margins.

What is the point of having an "Ignore Page Margins" option (which actually works right in 2.8, unlike 2.6) on the Image Settings tab when you don't even know what those margins are?  There is also the issue of bug #659740, where the image's print position (and/or centering) do not actually work in Windows.  In GIMP 2.6, me setting a two-inch Left margin (via Page Setup) worked, but setting a two-inch Left offset position (via Print > Image Settings) did not, and unfortunately this has not changed in 2.8 .

3 - Violates a common design convention.

"Page Setup" and "Print" as a pair of adjacent commands is present on a large majority of applications -- like how "Save" is placed right next to "Save As", or how an application menubar is always arranged in the specific order of "File", "Edit", "View" ... "Tools", "Windows", "Help".  Yes, it has little to no effect programmatically, but it's a convention that a user can just expect to be there.

-- Stratadrake
strata_ranger hotmail com
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Numbers may not lie, but neither do they tell the whole truth.


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