[EvanMinn]

Change default file save type.

Yeah, yeah, yeah: I know there are advantages to the xcf file format but it plain and simply is not what I need.

I understand people want to push that format's acceptance in the wider world but refusing to let knowlegable users to default to another format and forcing me to type my desired format's extension literally dozens and dozens of times a day time is so heavy handed and anti-user I am seriously considering abandoning the program.

The desired goal may be to get users to use the format more but I am so frustrated at this today that goal is not going to be acheived, instead, I am seriously considering moving to PhotoShop which doesn't treat it's users like little children that can't decide for themselves what it best for them.

Is there any chance at all that the Gimp developers will ever add what is a pretty basic feature (every single other serious graphics program I have ever used has this feature) or, if it is must-have feature for me, I should just give up on Gimp and move to another program?

I used to be a Paint Shop Pro user and when Adobe, in my opinion, ruined it, had to make a decision whether to go to PhotoShop or not. I decided to try Gimp and have been using it for a couple of years now but this rinky-dink way of trying to push the format is going to drive me away if there is not an easy way of changing it.

This post has been edited by EvanMinn: 23 March 2012 - 06:26 PM

[ofnuts]

EvanMinn, on 23 March 2012 - 06:05 PM, said:

The desired goal may be to get users to use the format more but I am so frustrated at this today that goal is not going to be acheived,

The goal is not to push the XCF format down your throat. The goal is to make sure that "Save" means "Save everything". All advanced Gimp users have been bitten once by saving an image as JPG/PNG, then quitting and then figuring out they just lost all the layers/selections/paths and that if they want to change something again they have to restart from scratch. The behavior up to 2.6 is a bit as if a programmer's "save" button would compile the code, but throw the source away, or if the "Print" choice in a word processor would erase the .DOC after printing it.

Writing a script that saves the image under its original type and resets the "dirty" flag shouldn't be that hard, and I expect this kind of script to show up on the Gimp registry pretty quickly after the 2.8 release.

This post has been edited by ofnuts: 23 March 2012 - 06:31 PM

[EvanMinn]

ofnuts, on 23 March 2012 - 06:28 PM, said:

EvanMinn, on 23 March 2012 - 06:05 PM, said:

The desired goal may be to get users to use the format more but I am so frustrated at this today that goal is not going to be acheived,

The goal is not to push the XCF format down your throat. The goal is to make sure that "Save" means "Save everything". All advanced Gimp users have been bitten once by saving an image as JPG/PNG, then quitting and then figuring out they just lost all the layers/selections/paths and that if they want to change something again they have to restart from scratch. The behavior up to 2.6 is a bit as if a programmer's "save" button would compile the code, but throw the source away, or if the "Print" choice in a word processor would erase the .DOC after printing it.

Writing a script that saves the image under its original type and resets the "dirty" flag shouldn't be that hard, and I expect this kind of script to show up on the Gimp registry pretty quickly after the 2.8 release.

So the answer is: I cannot be trusted to understand the implications of changing the default file type so Gimp will protect me from myself. That is insulting and heavy-handed.

You would only have an issue with Save not being Save everything if you change the default. If you have a problem with that DON'T CHANGE THE DEFAULT! But just because you do, why should NO ONE be able to?

No other program I have used has required me to write a script for such a basic feature. I have zero interest in learning what's involved in that. I want to edit graphics not dink around with code.

The reason this came up is that I was just today reading an article about a new version of Photoshop coming out and then started doing a lot of work in Gimp. Having to type the same extension over and over and over and over again literally dozens of times and multiple times forgetting and having to resave and then go clean up the shared folder really has me fed up with Gimp.

It is just so frustrating and rinky-dink I am having a hard time figuring out why I should stay with a program that treats me like a child who can't be trusted to understand what changing the default type will do. I understand others don't mind being treated like an idiot but I do.

This post has been edited by EvanMinn: 23 March 2012 - 08:41 PM

[RobA]

EvanMinn, on 23 March 2012 - 07:16 PM, said:

ofnuts, on 23 March 2012 - 06:28 PM, said:

EvanMinn, on 23 March 2012 - 06:05 PM, said:

The desired goal may be to get users to use the format more but I am so frustrated at this today that goal is not going to be acheived,

The goal is not to push the XCF format down your throat. The goal is to make sure that "Save" means "Save everything". All advanced Gimp users have been bitten once by saving an image as JPG/PNG, then quitting and then figuring out they just lost all the layers/selections/paths and that if they want to change something again they have to restart from scratch. The behavior up to 2.6 is a bit as if a programmer's "save" button would compile the code, but throw the source away, or if the "Print" choice in a word processor would erase the .DOC after printing it.

Writing a script that saves the image under its original type and resets the "dirty" flag shouldn't be that hard, and I expect this kind of script to show up on the Gimp registry pretty quickly after the 2.8 release.

So the answer is: I cannot be trusted to understand the implications of changing the default file type so Gimp will protect me from myself. That is insulting and heavy-handed.

You would only have an issue with Save not being Save everything if you change the default. If you have a problem with that DON'T CHANGE THE DEFAULT! But just because you do, why should NO ONE be able to?

No other program I have used has required me to write a script for such a basic feature. I have zero interest in learning what's involved in that. I want to edit graphics not dink around with code.

The reason this came up is that I was just today reading an article about a new version of Photoshop coming out and then started doing a lot of work in Gimp. Having to type the same extension over and over and over and over again literally dozens of times and multiple times forgetting and having to resave and then go clean up the shared folder really has me fed up with Gimp.

It is just so frustrating and rinky-dink I am having a hard time figuring out why I should stay with a program that treats me like a child who can't be trusted to understand what changing the default type will do. I understand others don't mind being treated like an idiot but I do.

Then don't use it. No one is making you use Gimp. The whole point of living is a free world is choice. As you chose to abandon PSP, please feel free to abandon Gimp. Or fork your own version and change it, or pay a programmer to do it for you, if you can't code yourself.

Personally, I don't have a problem with the export/save decision, and see the value in it. The drawbacks/cost for a user are, IMOO, minimal.

-Rob A>

[ofnuts]

EvanMinn, on 23 March 2012 - 07:16 PM, said:

Having to type the same extension over and over and over and over again literally dozens of times and multiple times forgetting and having to resave and then go clean up the shared folder really has me fed up with Gimp.

You don't have to. Just use XCF. In fact if you don't need to save as XCF, either you are not using Gimp efficiently, or you would be better off with a simpler image editor.

EvanMinn, on 23 March 2012 - 07:16 PM, said:

It is just so frustrating and rinky-dink I am having a hard time figuring out why I should stay with a program that treats me like a child...

I assume you don't use any of the Microrsoft products

EvanMinn, on 23 March 2012 - 07:16 PM, said:

...who can't be trusted to understand what changing the default type will do. I understand others don't mind being treated like an idiot but I do.

It's not a matter of being treated like an idiot, it's a matter of you not being in the target audience. Gimp's target audience is people doing advanced image editing(*), and the life of these people revolves around XCF files. There are choices to be made, by the Gimp development team, or by you.

(*) http://gui.gimp.org/...#product_vision