Re: [Gimp-user] Next gotcha

[Gene Heskett <gheskett shentel net>]

On Saturday 23 July 2016 08:34:28 Cindy-Sue Causey wrote:

> On 7/22/16, Gene Heskett <gheskett shentel net> wrote:
> > Greetings all
> >
> > I did, after 20 minutes of screwing around, finally get it to use a
> > selected foreground color for the text.
> >
> > But when I hit the help menu, up pops the help for 2.6!  So I fire
> > up synaptic and check to see if I am out of date, because the
> > "context help" doesn't work at all.  Yup, I'm up to date allright,
> > got gimp-2.8.2 but the doc files are for 2.6.x.  Debian wheezy at
> > your service, NOT.
> >
> > Anyway, the next problem is that I can't find a tool that will let
> > me draw freehand lines so I can make a few arrows that point from a
> > line of text to a feature in the image.  Or maybe even draw a
> > balloon around the text pointing at the feature.
>
> Hi.. CC'ing GIMP User, but I don't know if it will go through. So if
> this does go through.. Hey All, HUGE FAN for *MANY* years, #ThankYou!
> That said, I JUST yesterday stumbled on something that mostly
> accomplished this although it wasn't quite what I was looking for
> myself.
>
> In the one toolbar that pops up with "CTRL-B (I think that's it, not
> near that laptop to verify), I double click on the pen icon which
> brings up selections of various pen types, shapes. For me in whatever
> version is in Sid Unstable, there's a horizontal line choice near the
> top of the pen shapes.
>
> Once clicked, I was offered the option to change its horizontal
> thickness (not its length that I noticed, anyway). For what I was
> doing, I liked its effect because its final thickness varied with how
> you dragged it across screen. If that doesn't fit your need, maybe one
> of the other shapes while get you what you need.

I tried that exact sequence, several times, but when I tried to click on 
the path points, I never did get the bar drawn because I could not find 
a way out out the click points mode, getting all sorts of zig-zag-zig 
lines that were never drawn, but could be undone.

I suspect there is a way, but with the docs so damned ancient, was it 
worth trying to read that lengthy tome from the top to find it. At my 
age, 81, I am conscious of makeing something of my remaining time, 
whether its another 25 years or another 5 minutes.

However, the arrow script someone sent me a link to (thank you someone!)  
had an option to delete the path when it was drawn, so with it checked, 
I could click the ending and starting points of the arrow, call the 
script and click OK, and it was done, so I could move to the next place 
I wanted an arrow, set the two points using the path tool, wash, rinse 
and repeat,  Nice.  I was able to finish the last of about 17 pix in 
half an hour this morning.

gimp should work that way "out of the box".

And I just found the 2.8.2 docs online, with the gimp browser. But it 
won't let me download them so I can update mine.  That, seriously needs 
fixed.  OTOH, firefox was also able to locate a tar.bz2 of 152 megs so 
its pouring in now.  Done in fact.  Now to see if it has an install 
script. This may take a few, so I'll snip and send

> That last little popup after double clicking the pen was a
> hit-and-miss find in last couple years. Kind of a hail Mary deal where
> that little window no longer was present where I remembered it used to
> just be there by magic ages ago. May be a preference setting I'm just
> missing. The hail Mary was I double clicked that icon as a desperate
> last play, and that window popped up = WOOHOO! :D
>
> Good luck!
>
> Cindy (Sue)

It might be getting better Cindy, take care now.

Cheers, Gene Heskett
-- 
"There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty:
 soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order."
-Ed Howdershelt (Author)
Genes Web page <http://geneslinuxbox.net:6309/gene>