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<!DOCTYPE gimp-tips SYSTEM "gimp-tips.dtd">

<gimp-tips>

<!-- This is a list of tips for the GIMP.  Every time the GIMP is          -->
<!-- started, one tip will be selected from this file and will be          -->
<!-- displayed in the "Tip of the day" dialog.                             -->
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<!-- Tips in this file have been contributed by Zachary Beane, Mo Oishi,   -->
<!-- Raphael Quinet, Sven Neumann, Carey Bunks and other people on the     -->
<!-- gimp mailing lists and newsgroup (comp.graphics.apps.gimp).           -->
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<!-- The tips parser supports a very basic markup language. You may use    -->
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<!-- The first tip should be a welcome message, because this is the        -->
<!-- first thing that a new user will see.                                 -->
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  <tip level="start">
    <_welcome>
      <big>Welcome to The GIMP !</big>
    </_welcome>
    <_thetip>
      Nearly all image operations are performed by right-clicking
      on the image.  And don't worry, you can undo most mistakes...
    </_thetip>
  </tip>

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<!-- Tips for beginners start here                                         -->
<!-- (for people who are not familiar yet with layers and image formats)   -->
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  <tip level="beginner">
    <_thetip>
    You can get context-sensitive help for most of the GIMP's features by
    pressing the F1 key at any time.  This also works inside the menus.
    </_thetip>
  </tip>
  <tip level="beginner">
    <_thetip>
    The GIMP uses layers to let you organize your image.  Think of them
    as a stack of slides or filters, such that looking through them you
    see a composite of their contents.
    </_thetip>
  </tip>
  <tip level="beginner">
    <_thetip>
    You can perform many layer operations by right-clicking on the text
    label of a layer in the Layers dialog.
    </_thetip>
  </tip>
  <tip level="beginner">
    <_thetip>
    When you save an image to work on it again later, try using XCF,
    the GIMP's native file format (use the file extension <tt>.xcf</tt>).
    This preserves the layers and every aspect of your work-in-progress.
    Once a project is completed, you can save it as JPEG, PNG, GIF, ...
    </_thetip>
  </tip>
  <tip level="beginner">
    <_thetip>
    The layer named &quot;Background&quot; is special because it lacks
    transparency. This prevents you from adding a layer mask or moving
    the layer up in the stack.  You may add transparency to it by
    right-clicking in the Layers dialog and selecting
    &quot;Add Alpha Channel&quot;.
    </_thetip>
  </tip>
  <tip level="beginner">
    <_thetip>
    Most plug-ins work on the current layer of the current image.  In
    some cases, you will have to merge all layers (Image-&gt;Flatten Image)
    if you want the plug-in to work on the whole image.
    </_thetip>
  </tip>
  <tip level="beginner">
    <_thetip>
    Not all effects can be applied to all kinds of images.  This is
    indicated by a grayed-out menu-entry.  You may need to change
    the image mode to RGB (Image-&gt;Mode-&gt;RGB), add an alpha-channel
    (Layers-&gt;Transparency-&gt;Add Alpha Channel) or flatten it
    (Image-&gt;Flatten Image).
    </_thetip>
  </tip>

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<!-- Tips for intermediate users start here                                -->
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  <tip level="intermediate">
    <_thetip>
    You can drag and drop many things in the GIMP.  For example, dragging
    a color from the toolbox or from a color palette and dropping it into
    an image will fill the current image or selection with that color.
    </_thetip>
  </tip>
  <tip level="intermediate">
    <_thetip>
    When using a drawing tool (Paintbrush, Airbrush, or Pencil),
    <tt>Shift</tt>-click will draw a straight line from your last drawing
    point to your current cursor position.  If you also press <tt>Ctrl</tt>,
    the line will be constrained to 15 degree angles.
    </_thetip>
  </tip>
  <tip level="intermediate">
    <_thetip>
    The file selection dialog box has command-line completion with
    <tt>Tab</tt>, just like the shell.  Type part of a filename, hit
    <tt>Tab</tt>, and voila, it's completed.
    </_thetip>
  </tip>
  <tip level="intermediate">
    <_thetip>
    You can use the middle mouse button to pan around the image, if it's
    larger than its display window.
    </_thetip>
  </tip>
  <tip level="intermediate">
    <_thetip>
    Click and drag on a ruler to place a Guide on an image.  All
    dragged selections will snap to the guides.  You can remove
    guides by dragging them off the image with the Move tool.
    </_thetip>
  </tip>
  <tip level="intermediate">
    <_thetip>
    You can drag a layer from the Layers dialog and drop it onto the
    toolbox.  This will create a new image containing only that layer.
    </_thetip>
  </tip>
  <tip level="intermediate">
    <_thetip>
    A Floating Selection must be anchored to a new layer or to the last
    active layer before doing other operations on the image.  Click on the
    &quot;New Layer&quot; or &quot;Anchor Layer buttons&quot; in the Layers
    dialog, or use the menus to do the same.
    </_thetip>
  </tip>
  <tip level="intermediate">
    <_thetip>
    The GIMP supports gzip compression on the fly.  Just add <tt>.gz</tt>
    (or <tt>.bz2</tt>, if you have bzip2 installed) to the filename and
    your image will be saved compressed.  Of course loading compressed
    images works too.
    </_thetip>
  </tip>
  <tip level="intermediate">
    <_thetip>
    Pressing and holding the <tt>Shift</tt> key before making a selection
    allows you to add to the current selection instead of replacing it.
    Using <tt>Ctrl</tt> before making a selection subtracts from the
    current one.
    </_thetip>
  </tip>
  <tip level="intermediate">
    <_thetip>
    You can press or release the <tt>Shift</tt> and <tt>Ctrl</tt> keys
    while you are making a selection in order to constrain it to a perfect
    square or circle, or to have it centered on its starting point.
    </_thetip>
  </tip>
  <tip level="intermediate">
    <_thetip>
    You can adjust and re-place a selection by using <tt>Alt</tt>-drag.
    If this makes the window move, your window manager uses the
    <tt>Alt</tt> key already. Try pressing <tt>Shift</tt> at the same
    time.
    </_thetip>
  </tip>
  <tip level="intermediate">
    <_thetip>
    You can draw simple squares or circles using Edit-&gt;Stroke Selection.
    It strokes the edge of your current selection. More complex shapes
    can be drawn using the Path tool or with Filters-&gt;Render-&gt;Gfig.
    </_thetip>
  </tip>
  <tip level="intermediate">
    <_thetip>
    If you stroke a path (Edit-&gt;Stroke Selection), the paint tools can
    be used with their current settings.  You can use the Paintbrush in
    gradient mode or even the Eraser or the Smudge tool.
    </_thetip>
  </tip>
  <tip level="intermediate">
    <_thetip>
    You can create and edit complex selections using the Path tool.
    The Paths dialog allows you to work on multiple paths and to convert
    them to selections.
    </_thetip>
  </tip>
  <tip level="intermediate">
    <_thetip>
    You can use the paint tools to change the selection.  Click on the
    &quot;Quick Mask&quot; button at the bottom left of an image window.
    Change your selection by painting in the image and click on the button
    again to convert it back to a normal selection.
    </_thetip>
  </tip>
  <tip level="intermediate">
    <_thetip>
    You can save a selection to a channel (Select-&gt;Save to Channel) and
    then modify this channel with any paint tools.  Using the buttons in
    the Channels dialog, you can toggle the visibility of this new channel
    or convert it to a selection.
    </_thetip>
  </tip>

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  <tip level="advanced">
    <_thetip>
    After you enabled &quot;Dynamic Keyboard Shortcuts&quot; in the
    Preferences dialog, you can reassign shortcut keys. Do so by bringing
    up the menu, selecting a menu item, and pressing the desired key
    combination. If &quot;Save Keyboard Shortcuts&quot; is enabled, the
    key bindings are saved when you exit GIMP.
    </_thetip>
  </tip>
  <tip level="advanced">
    <_thetip>
    If your screen is too cluttered, you can press <tt>Tab</tt> multiple
    times in an image window to hide or show the toolbox and other dialogs.
    </_thetip>
  </tip>
  <tip level="advanced">
    <_thetip>
    You can adjust the selection range for fuzzy select
    by clicking and dragging left and right.
    </_thetip>
  </tip>
  <tip level="advanced">
    <_thetip>
    <tt>Shift</tt>-click on the eye icon in the Layers dialog to hide all
    layers but that one.  <tt>Shift</tt>-click again to show all layers.
    </_thetip>
  </tip>
  <tip level="advanced">
    <_thetip>
    <tt>Ctrl</tt>-click on the layer mask's preview in the Layers dialog
    toggles the effect of the layer mask.
    </_thetip>
  </tip>
  <tip level="advanced">
    <_thetip>
    <tt>Alt</tt>-click on the layer mask's preview in the Layers dialog
    toggles viewing the mask directly.
    </_thetip>
  </tip>
  <tip level="advanced">
    <_thetip>
    You can use <tt>Alt</tt>-<tt>Tab</tt> to cycle through all layers in
    an image (if your window manager doesn't trap those keys...).
    </_thetip>
  </tip>
  <tip level="advanced">
    <_thetip>
    <tt>Ctrl</tt>-click with the Bucket Fill tool to have it use
    the background color instead of the foreground color.
    </_thetip>
  </tip>
  <tip level="advanced">
    <_thetip>
    <tt>Ctrl</tt>-drag with the Rotate tool will constrain the
    rotation to 15 degree angles.
    </_thetip>
  </tip>
  <tip level="advanced">
    <_thetip>
    To create a perfect circle, hold <tt>Shift</tt> while doing an
    ellipse select. To place a circle precisely, drag horizontal and
    vertical guides tangent to the circle you want to select, place
    your cursor at the intersection of the guides, and the resulting
    selection will just touch the guides.
    </_thetip>
  </tip>
  <tip level="advanced">
    <_thetip>
    If some of your scanned photos do not look colorful enough, you can
    easily improve their tonal range with the &quot;Auto&quot; button in the
    Levels tool (Layer-&gt;Colors-&gt;Levels).  If there are any color casts,
    you can correct them with the Curves tool (Layer-&gt;Colors-&gt;Curves).
    </_thetip>
  </tip>

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</gimp-tips>
