After an impressive seven years of development, GIMP, a highly popular cross-platform image editor, has officially released version 3.0—an update many users have been eagerly anticipating.
The main highlight – GIMP 3.0 is built upon GTK3 as the devs touch nearly every aspect of its code to align it with GTK3 conventions. As a result, you get:
- Better UI scaling on HiDPI screens: People who once wrestled with tiny icons in earlier versions will find that the interface now effortlessly adapts to various screen resolutions.
- Improved tablet input: Drawing tablet users can expect smoother interactions and fewer driver quirks when using GIMP.
- CSS-based theme system: With themes now relying on CSS, theming and customization have become more approachable.
- Wayland support: While it continues to work on X11, GIMP 3.0 natively supports Wayland on Linux, paving the way for a more modern display experience.
Additionally, the old GTK2 library had several bugs that could not be addressed due to backporting limitations. By transitioning to GTK3, many deep-seated UI and usability issues have finally been addressed.
Another important addition is the introduction of non-destructive filters. In prior versions, once you applied a filter, it instantly merged into the layer, forcing you to undo multiple steps if you wanted to tweak its settings.
GIMP 3.0 flips that by letting you preserve your active filters, which you can revisit at any time. This functionality opens a whole world of flexibility:
- Toggle filters on or off: Quickly see how your project looks with or without certain filters.
- Selective deletion: Remove just one or two filters if they are no longer needed without reverting everything.
- Merging options: A simple “Merge Filters” option is still available for those who prefer the classic “flattened” look.
These new filters are stored in XCF files and remain editable after reloading, even if someone else sends you a project file. Third-party filters take advantage of this flexibility, too, as long as you install those particular filters.
Next stop: color accuracy. GIMP 3.0 now supports a wider range of RGB color profiles, such as AdobeRGB, and it lays the groundwork for other color modes like CMYK and LAB. Consequently, you can maintain your chosen color profile without fear of involuntary conversions mid-edit.
Furthermore, soft-proofing has been refined to use a consistent internal approach with the babl color library.
Users will also notice a friendly new Welcome Dialogue that offers two main categories:
- Create: Instantly open a blank canvas or load an existing file.
- Personalize: Quickly tailor key preferences like icon themes (Symbolic, Color, or Legacy) and user interface styles (Light, Gray, or Dark). You can also decide whether to condense tool icons or merge menus into a single bar to maximize screen real estate.
On top of that, the development team has also tackled several longstanding pain points in the GIMP workflow, introducing improvements to layers, channels, and paths:
- Layer set organization: Searching and grouping layers become effortless, which is invaluable for complex, multi-layered projects.
- Multiple selections: Using standard keyboard shortcuts, you can now select and manipulate more than one layer, channel, or path at once.
- Repositioned layer locks: They’ve moved from the dockable header into a more accessible pop-over menu near each layer’s visibility icon.
Off-canvas editing is another innovative enhancement. You can paint beyond a layer’s boundaries and optionally expand the layer automatically as you draw. This helps those who like to work with areas that go off the edge of the canvas, especially when designing composites with large backgrounds or patterns.
Plus, GIMP has thoughtfully refined many interface elements:
- Customizable shortcuts: Wayland’s middle and right-click actions and tablet button mappings can be tweaked to suit a user’s needs better.
- Right-to-left language support: Includes improved widget layouts for users in Hebrew or Arabic.
- Reduced motion: GIMP respects the user’s operating system settings to minimize animations, which can be a relief for those susceptible to motion sensitivity.
Regarding supported file formats, macOS ICNS and Windows CUR/ANI are now fully supported. Importing Amiga IFF-based images (ILBM), DCX, PAM, and WBMP has also been added. Moreover, new additions like QOI and JPEG XL, plus advanced DDS compression for gamers and 3D artists, expand GIMP’s range of relevant use cases.
Under the hood, GIMP’s text tool has received a thorough update. The new system recognizes and labels typefaces more accurately, shedding the awkward method of listing them by obscure ID numbers. Users can also disable or enable “faux” bold/italic styles when a true version of that font family is available.
Finally, the tool now supports non-destructive text outlines, letting you specify stroke width, color, and pattern without permanently altering your text layer. Advanced editing is also easier with a toggle to show or hide the on-canvas text editor, making it more convenient to refine when zoomed in.
For more information, see the release announcement. For those eager to try out the brand new GIMP 3.0, you can now download it from the project’s downloads page.
