I need some help and advice for these applications, asking things that may seem trivial (like where to set the default drive in Gimp) but are hard to suss out from the doumentation.
Which of the various forums are best for a beginner to get basic answers to basic questions?
Thanks.
On Wed, 11 Feb 2015 02:16:01 +0000, fohat wrote:
> I need some help and advice for these applications, asking things that
> may seem trivial (like where to set the default drive in Gimp) but are
> hard to suss out from the doumentation.
>
> Which of the various forums are best for a beginner to get basic answers
> to basic questions?
>
> Thanks.
Try asking your questions here, someone may well know the answer and be
able to help you - assuming you’re using openSUSE.
Otherwise, try the LibreOffice and Gimp websites to see if they have
official forums. ISTR that LibreOffice does.
Jim Henderson
openSUSE Forums Administrator
Forum Use Terms & Conditions at http://tinyurl.com/openSUSE-T-C
On Wed, 11 Feb 2015 02:21:16 GMT
Jim Henderson <hendersj@no-mx.forums.opensuse.org> wrote:
> On Wed, 11 Feb 2015 02:16:01 +0000, fohat wrote:
>
> > I need some help and advice for these applications, asking things
> > that may seem trivial (like where to set the default drive in Gimp)
> > but are hard to suss out from the doumentation.
> >
> > Which of the various forums are best for a beginner to get basic
> > answers to basic questions?
> >
> > Thanks.
>
> Try asking your questions here, someone may well know the answer and
> be able to help you - assuming you’re using openSUSE.
>
> Otherwise, try the LibreOffice and Gimp websites to see if they have
> official forums. ISTR that LibreOffice does.
>
I’m not a forum user, preferring NNTP, and so have used the newsgroup
“gmane.comp.documentfoundation.libreoffice.user” on the gmane.org
news-server. When posting on that for the first time, you have to
return an e-mail to confirm your identity but, once you’ve done that,
it’s like using any other news group. Its presence on this news-server
shows that it’s available via a mailing list
http://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/mailing-lists/ but I find access
via newsgroups to be easier on my mailbox than mailing-lists. 
Certainly for LibreOffice, it’s best to do what Jim has suggested and
use this newsgroup first because the openSUSE version of LibreOffice
can be subtly different from the official LO version.
There is also an NNTP newsgroup for GIMP - comp.graphics.apps.gimp.
–
Graham Davis [Retired Fortran programmer - now a mere computer user]
openSUSE Tumbleweed (64-bit); KDE 4.14.4; Kernel: 3.18.3;
Processor: AMD Phenom II X2 550; Video: nVidia GeForce 210 (using
nouveau driver); Sound: ATI SBx00 Azalia (Intel HDA)
Many of my issues arise because of the always-thorny situation that I need to move between Google Docs, Microsoft Office, and LibreOffice when I collaborate with others. Formatting problems are impossible to overcome, of course, but any helpful hints would be appreciated. In general, I try to use stable old-school formats such as .doc and .xls and that seems to work about as well as anything.
Here is a specific question: How can I set the Calc default on grid lines to be “Always On”?
I have not used a spreadsheet without grid lines in years, and having to go through a multi-step process to turn them on every time I print is very annoying.
Best bet for getting a response to a question is to always start a new thread for a new question.
Here is a specific question: How can I set the Calc default on grid lines to be “Always On”?
they should be
start a new blank spread sheet and it WILL have rows and columns
A through AU
and
1 to 1048576
that is the DEFAULT on every spread sheet program
have a look in
"tools / optoins/ "
and select "libreoffice calc / view "
and under visual ads set “grid lines” to “show”
as to " The gimp"
i have been using ( and building the source and development code) since 2001
what do you need help with
My question was imprecise.
In Calc, I do have the grid on screen, but I really want to set “print grid” to be the printing default so I don’t have to go through a multi-step process every time I print a spreadsheet.
Gimp is a nice program, I have used Photoshop Elements for many years and just wanted off the upgrade merry-go-round. I am a very basic user, but the small number of things I do regularly, I do them often.
I am getting used to it after a few weeks and most things work pretty well for me, but, for starters, here are 3 things that I have not yet been able to find.
(1) How do I change and set default directories for my files, particularly in Windows?
(2) When I “export” a revised image, is there a way for me to immediately type the “quality” number into the box, rather than having to move the mouse up there?
(3) Is there a way to get basic shapes such as circles and arrows for marking up photos? Please note that Photoshop Elements did not have a simple method for this, either, and I went into Microsoft Paint when I needed to do it.
Thank you for your help. I will not thread-cr@p this one any more with tangental questions.
(1) How do I change and set default directories for my files, particularly in Windows?
the default folders set for Gimp are normally fine
in opensuse
/usr/lib64/gimp/2.0/plugins
and
/usr/share/gimp/2.0/
is the default system wide folder with the USER folder
/home/YourUserName/.gimp-2.8
but you ?? can ?? change them
with gimp running
click on
edit / preferences
and under folders on the left side
but the default locations ARE where any plugin you build WILL look for them
When I “export” a revised image, is there a way for me to immediately type the “quality” number into the box, rather than having to move the mouse up there?
i take it you are doing what i would call a VERY BIG NO-NO ???
saving a jpg as a jpg and resaving that resaved jpg as a jpg
– NOT GOOD !!!
you will notice the very NASTY artifacts that you just added
if you are NOT 100% done with a image, use the Gimp INTERNAL USE image format *.xcf
( just like you would in Photoshop you saved in the PHOTOSHOP INTERNAL USE FORMAT *.psd )
for jpg’s
a save dialog WILL pop up
1 to 100 “quality” and other settings
( you have to move the mouse or use the DEFAULT setting)
** i set the jpg default to 100% **
for "png format
a pop with 0 to 9 compression ( 6 default)
(3) Is there a way to get basic shapes such as circles and arrows for marking up photos? Please note that Photoshop Elements did not have a simple method for this, either, and I went into Microsoft Paint when I needed to do it.
yes and no
this can be simple OR very complicated depending on what you want and need
you can import almost every photoshop paint brush and use them in The Gimp
shapes ??? depending on what you want that might take a few steps
like putting a smiley face 
that might be a bit more difficult
for arrows i just draw them with a small paint brush and use the < shift> key for a strait line
now if i have a TON of images to anoint
i would use Inkscape for letters and arrows
… why not a default of 9?
AFAIR png compression is Lossless?
the reason for 6 is TIME
the 2 to 5 % more compressed image at 9 will take 5 to 10 times longer to compress and open
i keep it a 3
this places images at about 80 % MAX but will open much faster
Here is the kind of thing that I find myself needing on a near-daily basis, sometimes multiple times per day.
The only program that I have found that makes it quick and simple is the stupid “baby” Microsoft Paint which I would never use for any other task.
Is there a quick simple easy way to get an oval, an arrow, and a few words of text?
If it were not so disappointing, it would be absolutely laughable the way that developers go completely deaf when they are asked questions about setting “print grid” to be the default in spreadsheets.
maybe kolourpaint
https://software.opensuse.org/package/kolourpaint
sudo zypper in kolourpaint
I don’t think it’s installed by default but it’s a small kde paint app
I don’t see arrows, single most essential component.
Why is this so devilishly difficult? They crow about how you can move toolbars around and dock them in different places, but won’t write one of the most basic things that people in the real world actually use?
Am I crazy to want what I want?
A quick Google brings up this among other things
http://registry.gimp.org/node/59
There are tons of addons and pugins for gimp Have you looked??
I have tried 3 or 4 of them and they all failed. Apparently OS13.2+G2.8 is too new for most of them.
The link you gave was from 2008.
I was hoping that somebody could steer me toward something current and straightforward.
Sorry I don’t have the need so don’t use the stuff myself. Maybe try a gimp board or mailing list. Google for it
Easy in GIMP, if using KDE Desktop.
Simply add the Character Selector widget to your KDE panel, in the Left Pulldown, choose Symbols, and in the Middle pulldown menu, choose Dingbats, Miscellaneous Symbols, and Miscellaneous Technical.
Use the GIMP text tool and paste the symbol you want.
Manipulate it with positioning tools.
What a monumental kludge!
I have found the character widget, and clicked on the one I wanted, then said “Add to Clipboard”
But within Gimp, every attempt to “paste” it returned an error.
I feel like I am in Bizarro World. Am I nuts to think that these things should be simple, basic, and intuitive?
Sorry there is nothing “intuitive” about computers. You always have to learn something. Each program has its own interface and way of doing things. Often once you learn the methods you then find them “intuitive” . Because a program does not have the smae interface as another does not make it bad just different. Complex graphics programs can be very irritating because they assume you under stand the processes that they present to you. If drawing were intuitive then we would all be Picasso’s. Then again maybe we are LOL
Too true.
I hate loading my screen and hard drive up with useless cr@p (a big part of the reason that I want to get away from Microsoft) but now I have installed several Gimp add-ons and plug-ins that are either non-functional or useless or both, and I am not experienced enough to know how to purge them properly. I had high hopes for “Draw Arrow” but it only does a fraction of it and simply will not work anyway (unless there is some trick that I have not yet discovered).
For whatever reasons, I am beginning to get the feeling that the Gimp developers, as a group, are operating at a higher “professional” (air quotes, but not in a mean-spirited way) level and looking down their noses at what I want to do as supremely unsophisticated.
Is there some sort of “clip art” or “cartooning” plug-in that I might employ to create these basic objects?
As crude and awkward as it is overall, Microsoft Paint nailed this particular component of it elegantly, and nobody else has seemed to be able to do it. I am not alone in this opinion.