Re: [libreoffice-users] GIMP - was: CNET is claiming the best free MSO alternative is not LO

Kracked_P_P---webmaster wrote:
> On 06/07/2013 03:50 PM, Girvin R. Herr wrote:
> > Kracked_P_P---webmaster wrote:
> > <snip>
> > > I need to relearn the interface for Paint Shop Pro X5, when I used 
> > > version 5 since the XP days.  But since I can not get v5 to install 
> > > on Win7 Home Premium that my laptop has, I had to upgrade it and 
> > > relearn the new interface.  Same with PSP 5 or X5 vs. GIMP.  The 
> > > time it takes to relearn how to do the things that comes very easily 
> > > to me with the old interface, well it is very frustrating to say the 
> > > least and has taken 2 to 5 times longer to do the things I want/need 
> > > to do.
> > Ahh!  The Gimp.  Great program and I do have some use for it. 
> > However, learning it has a _steep_ learning curve for me and, 
> > frankly, sitting at the screen and reading the online manual is not 
> > what I would prefer using my limited time for.  There are several 
> > "learning" books out there, but which one is the best one I need to 
> > learn The Gimp?  That is my problem with it.  Once or twice I fiddled 
> > with it and got it to do somewhat what I wanted, but it wasn't very 
> > intuitive and I feel it could do so much more for me.  If I could 
> > just get a good book on it and sit down and play with it...
> > Girvin Herr
> >
> > <snip>
>
> Yes GIMP has a steep learning curve.  As for learning curves, ever try 
> to use Photoshop?  
No.
> Now that has a steep learning curve if you have not dealt with such a 
> package before.  PSP5 was so easy to use and learn, plus it had 
> everything I wanted or needed for my work.
>
> Also GIMP does not have all of the "filters" that I had with Paint 
> Shop Pro 5 [or the new X5].
>
> If there was an easier and/or better graphics program that I could use 
> with Ubuntu 12.05, then I would give it a try.
>
> Sometimes the books I have seen in the stores, or online, seem to be 
> written by and for the graphic artist, and not those of us who need it 
> for the more simple things, like repairing old photos or dealing with 
> simple pixel-based graphics.  
Right on!  That's all I need it for.  A while back I tried to add arrow 
lines to a photo as an experiment to document where components were on a 
project.  I couldn't get The Gimp to do it, though I was sure it could.  
In The Gimp, I could add the lines, but since it was not a vector (two 
end points), I could not move those lines if I needed to squeeze in 
another line beside it, unless I erased each and every pixel.  I ended 
up using LO Draw, which is a vector drawing program, not a bitmap 
drawing program like The Gimp!  It did a fine job and I was even able to 
add an underlying, slightly wider white line to enhance the readability 
of the black line over dark photo imagery.  How many Gimp books must I 
buy and dispose of before I get one that is basic enough for me (i.e. 
"Gimp for Dummies?")
> for all [most] vector-based graphics, I use Inkscape.  I have not 
> really sat down and learned Draw for these things, yet.  I am so use 
> to Corel Draw 11, Inkscape is similar enough to use, is I am using 
> Ubuntu.  I have Corel Draw 11 on a Win7 laptop.
I am very familiar with LO Draw.  I use it a lot to draw diagrams in 
technical manuals.  Draw does have some quirks, but it is fairly easy to 
use and productive.  I am still learning things about it, such as 
freezing areas by putting them on a separate layer and making it 
unchangeable (unselectable?).  That is required to allow inner objects 
to be selected without selecting a larger outer object.  I generally use 
it as an embedded object in a Writer document, which has even more 
quirks.  For some reason, the embedded Draw is a subset of the 
stand-alone Draw.  For instance, zoom is not supported in the embedded 
version, so it gets difficult sometimes to work on a small object or 
grid.  I have also found some quirks about scaling and adjusting 
locations in the embedded version.  It can get really squirrelly 
sometimes.  For example, if I try to enlarge the drawing in the embedded 
Draw by dragging the tags, nothing will happen. Then all of a sudden, 
the drawing will greatly enlarge, clipping the edges, and I cannot get 
it back to full extents again.  As I said, squirrelly.  I discovered the 
adjustments in the object frame properties to be helpful there. 
> I just wish I really had the time to sit down and "play" with the 
> packages, GIMP, Draw, and others, with a good book of instructions to 
> help walk me through the processes.
Ahh!  There's the rub.  I have the same problem.  I usually start 
reading up on something to address a need, get distracted by something 
of higher priority, and then never get back to the book.  Sometimes the 
original need goes away and it isn't so bad. Other times, I just don't 
get back to the problem.  For example, I started reading up on Java a 
few months ago in order to learn enough about it to fix some non-fatal 
bugs in a database Report Generator (RG) I am using instead of the LO 
Base Oracle Report Builder (ORB), which I find too buggy to use.  I got 
into chapter 2, got torn away from it by other priorities, and now that 
book is still on my coffee table gathering dust.  I have no idea when I 
will ever get back to it.  Probably when I next use the RG and get 
irritated with the bugs.

Girvin Herr

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