GIMP for Mac

1.0 stars

"hardly works"

February 8, 2013  |   By mowliv

Version: GIMP 2.8.2

Pros

Looks like it would be very feature rich, if it worked

Cons

Lion version is unusable for me. Can't click on buttons, menu choices, drop downs. Thus couldn't do something as simple as open a file and export into a different format. Very frustrating.

Summary

Don't waste your time.

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5.0 stars

"Photoshop by another name?"

December 2, 2012  |   By Chinngis

Version: GIMP 2.8.2

Pros

Does pretty well all that Photoshop can
Version 2.8.2 is a lot easier now
Very good export
Massive support
I've just saved over £500

Cons

Still working on .eps and CMYK
If you're used to Photoshop then some actions, terminologies and (especially) shortcuts will throw you initially but a quick glance at the manual sorts out all the queries. Mind you, there's a lot to said to just play around and find where things are and how certain tasks can be done - definitely the best learning aid!

Summary

Contrary to some reviews I have no problem with the manual (opens in browser) and its very comprehensive. Been using GIMP for some years and this is the best version by far. It also enables me to upgrade to Mountain Lion as I don't have the worry about what will replace my Adobe CS as I now have open source equivalents for the three core apps and trimmed my software bill massively!

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4.0 stars

"Very good and comparative with Photoshop"

December 1, 2012  |   By 65Johan

Version: GIMP 2.8.2

Pros

Easy to correct light, contrast and colours, rotate and crop

Cons

The manual is complex. It would be better whith two manuals, one for beginners working with just a few most importent tools and the second for experienced users

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4.0 stars

"Version 2.8.2 Works on 10.7.4 (Its not just for 10.8)"

August 31, 2012  |   By PaulKB

Version: GIMP 2.8.2

Pros

Ignore the review which wrongly stated (and many other aspects of GIMP) that version 2.8.2 only works on Mountain Lion 10.8. I am using an iMac 24" (late 2006) running 10.7.4 Lion and GIMP 2.8.2 runs just fine. The first time I attempted to launch GIMP 2.8.2 the program did crash before it finished launching. It open and ran as expected when I launched it a second time.

Also the help menus do indeed work and are not broken as the previous reviewer stated. It is a good program and finally written natively for the Mac and no longer requires X11.

Cons

AS GIMP has just been rewritten to natively use the Mac user interface (UI) there are some quirks and bugs to iron out. Most things work but not always in the way expected. As an example GIMP will not quit using the menu item from the Dock, to quit GIMP I have to go to the menu at the top of the screen and select quit. Eventually these quirks will be ironed out.

Summary

It is good to have GIMP now written natively for the Mac and far outweighs any of the cons. I look for GIMP's new natively UI to improve with future releases. GIMP has only gotten better with each new release. BTW my stars rating for GIMP is based on 2.8 as I have not used this version long enough to give it a proper rating.

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4.0 stars

"X11 No Longer Required!! Geekware with growing pains."

August 30, 2012  |   By zunipus

Version: GIMP 2.8.2

Pros

At last, GIMP goes Mac native! It's a terrific free open source image editor / pixel graphic design app that's cross-platform. It has lots of power and trickery. Just keep telling yourself 'This Is FREE!' Patience pays off.

Cons

The 2.8 series is having growing pains that include BOMBING bugs. The GUI is geeky/clunky Windows/Linux in nature. There's NO built-in help, despite the menu items. The learning curve can be a bit steep. The annoyance level may be beyond the tolerance of those only used to working with the user-friendly joy that is Mac.

Summary

First off: Be certain that you've downloaded and installed the CORRECT VERSION of GIMP for your version of OS X. There is a version ONLY for 10.8 Mountain Lion. It's not going to work elsewhere.

It's well worth getting to know GIMP as it is the single best graphics app you're going to find for FREE. It has a learning curve and does not look like a typical Mac app due to its heritage. You'll be performing some contortions to get it to work for you, but it's worth the effort.

What's super kewl about the latest versions, the 2.8 series, is that GIMP now no longer requires X11/XQuartz to be running when you boot it. It runs all on its own as a Mac native application.

Unfortunately, the series has so far had a BOMBING bug that is guaranteed to take it out the first time you boot it. Report the bug and restart it again and you're likely to find it now works. This of course sucks, but I consider it a growing pains compromise of the moment as the developers get a better handle on how to optimize the code for Macs.

Also weird for Mac users is the REQUIREMENT that you keep one window open in GIMP at all times. Otherwise, it automatically QUITS itself. This is a Windows/Linux thing to do, is counter-intuitive and sucks. After you boot GIMP you'll see a central window entitled "GNU Image Manipulation Program". Abbreviate that name and you get GIMP. It's your work window. If you close it, you QUIT GIMP. Just live with it uselessly sitting there and get to work.

The GUI still looks craptastic for a Mac app, as if you're living in an old color Disney cartoon. But you get used to it. There is clunky 'hot help', but you'll figure out how to get it to work for you. (Hint: You have to click on the tool windows to get it to work properly, annoying I know). You have to do some bashing around to figure out how to get all the tools to work as you'd like.

For now, there is NO built-in manual, no Help, no Context Help, despite the menu items. That sucks. Manuals and Help tend to be the very last things written for open source apps. Beats me why. The result is a consistent GEEKINESS feel that fundamentally disregards user needs and hand-holding. The developers act as if they expect you to be a geek who is used to this level of incompleteness and who knows they'll have to go searching into obscure corners of the universe to learn how to use the app. That's just part of the geek territory and is unlikely to change.

You'll also find it annoying that every new window gets jammed into the upper left corner, BEHIND the Toolbox. This is what I've come to expect from cross-platform apps that have not been totally Mac optimized.

Further clunkiness/annoyances abound. But remember that GIMP is free and powerful! Get that tough skin against geekiness and bash on through, putting GIMP to work for you.

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