Installing GIMP in Linux

• Installing the GNU Image Manipulation Program in Linux is usually a simple process. In any Debian or Ubuntu distribution, all you have to do is search for it in Synaptic Package Manager, usually found under the "Administration" menu. In Fedora you will do the same in YUM, and in OpenSUSE, you will find it in Yast. In modern systems in 2011, many distributions already have GIMP installed as part of the default packages, and other distributions have created "Software Center" to simplify the install of new software for new or amateur Linux users. Search for GIMP under the graphic design category.
  
  

The Panels and Workspace in GIMP

• When GIMP starts up, you will see three windows. The center window is the workspace, where images appear and where you will do your editing and photo manipulation.The left-side window is the "Toolbox" panel, where you will find selection tools, re-sizing tools, fill and gradient tools, paint brushes, an eraser and several others including color selectors. The right-side window is titled "Layers, Channels, Paths, Undo - Brushes, Patterns, Gradients" and it contains small panels for each of these items. Like many commercial applications, GIMP relies heavily on layers in graphic design.
  
  

GIMP's Specialized Tools

• In the Toolbox, GIMP provides a color selection tool, a unique tool that makes deleting monochromatic backgrounds a breeze. In the image manipulation (center) window, even more tools are available in the menus -- tools like "Invert" to switch not only colors but selections, flips and rotations, layer masks, alpha channels and layer filters. GIMP provides a library of filters and special effects like emboss, soft glow, drop shadow, sketch, cartoon, fuzzy border and coffee stain.
  
  

File Formats Supported by GIMP

• GIMP also works well as a conversion program. Since it supports many common image file types, opening an image of one type and saving it as another is simple. You can "Save As" and either select the new file type from a drop down menu, or you can simply type it into the file name box, appending it to the name of the image. GIMP does the rest.