[Gimp-developer] Feature request: Improve the Open file dialog thumbnails

[Ryan Johnson <rj amdphreak gmail com>]

I've been using GIMP to play around with some lighting, color, and GEGL operations on images.
What I've noticed is that the "Open file" dialog is very poorly constructed and it has become a problem. I'm using Win7 x64.
Nicely put, it's unintuitive.

These are suggested fixes, and you can choose more than one if it permits.

1. Raise the file size limit for autogeneration of thumbnails.
Many of my JPEGs are just slightly over 3 MB or whatever the small current limit is. Many of my RAW NEF files are just under 10 MB, at a resolution of 10.2 Megapixels. Many dSLR's exceed my camera's resolution, so my recommended upper limit is 20 MB, but doing a progressive scan (priority queue) would work best. Start out with anything under 5 MB, then 10, then 20 MB, so it is a rough priority queue, instead of a fine-grain one.

2. Allow users to multiselect files and explicitly batch-generate thumbnails (just clicking on the thumbnail placeholder with multiple images selected should initiate the process).

3. Use the native "Open file" dialog.

Additional comments: I have seen no other modern program, even open source, that has such an unusable thumbnail generator. If I recall correctly, there is a free implementation in Evince Document reader for a regular thumbnailer (thumbnail grid) and Open file dialog.

Bigger Goal:
Improve the "Open file" dialog to include other viewing modes besides a detail list. It's a graphics program after all! Appeal to the senses!

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