Re: [Gimp-gui] Toolbox Groups

[Elle Stone <ellestone ninedegreesbelow com>]

On 10/16/2015 03:31 PM, Andrew Pullins wrote:

>     No matter how much I like the current UI, and no matter how much
>     Andrew doesn't like it, neither of us can speak for "most users".
>     That would require a very carefully done survey, which likely would
>     reveal that there's no such thing as "most GIMP users". But perhaps
>     there are "exemplar" types of users and workflows, with different UI
>     preferences.
>
>
> See everything you pointed out is exactly why I love GIMP.  GIMP enables
> you to make your own workflow.  You want multi window mode go for it,
> no? single window is there two. want the tool box on the right? want
> dialogs on top of each other, beside each other, blow or beside the
> toolbox?  don't like the tools that are showing by default or the order
> it is in? change it to fit your needs.
>
> You would be horrified to work in my environment as im am sure I would
> in yours.  This feature would make my workflow way better and the best
> part is you don't have to use grouped tools if you don't want to.  I
> have my suggestions on default groups based upon how I would set it up
> if this feature were to be implemented if the community were to like the
> default.  Obviously there are those who do not so I think it would be
> best not to set default groups.
>
> I am fine with that.  But let me modify my toolbox the way I want it. I
> am going to do that anyway and this would make my workflow even better
> for me.

It might not seem that way, but I think just about all of your 
suggestions are well-thought out and would work nicely to solve various 
problems with arranging the available screen real estate for 
accomplishing various editing tasks. It was the "most users" part that 
was troublesome. Which combined with some of Alexandre's comments on the 
Toolbox has motivated me to reiterate that surely some people are very 
happy with the current setup.

If someone were to make a survey on what works well for which users, 
maybe the very first questions should be "What's the screen diameter, 
what is the aspect ratio and number of pixels, and is the screen 
freestanding or attached to a tablet or laptop, and are there multiple 
screens, or just one?" Because what works well for a small screen is 
probably rather different from what works well for a large screen.

The next question might be "Do you prefer single or multiple window 
mode, and why?" This seems to be a "personal style" sort of choice.

Followed by "What editing tasks do you most often use GIMP for? What's 
your typical workflow?"

Followed by questions like "What tools from the toolbox do you use most 
often, and which ones do you seldom or never use? Which operations do 
you access through the drop-down/right-click menus, and which ones via 
shortcuts?"

And (perhaps including a screenshot), "Which dialogs do you regularly 
keep open, and which ones do you seldom or never use? How do you arrange 
the dialogs and Toolbox on the screen?"

What questions do you think might be good to ask in a survey, if the 
goal is to more efficiently and effectively accomodate various workflows 
on various display screens? Hopefully without accidentally throwing out 
what currently works well for at least some users (maybe the users least 
likely to subscribe to a mailing list about the GIMP UI are the users 
who like the current UI).