There are a few quirks for GIMP users who are on a Mac.

Most of my early frustration with using GIMP came from this one: The Activation Click.

Before Mac users can use a window in GIMP, they have to click it once to ‘activate’ it.

This leads to a lot of annoying extra clicks. And if you don’t remember to activate windows, it can also lead to cursing, and hair pulling. I especially hate grabbing a tool from the Toolbox, only to realize I didn’t really grab it. Remembering that little activation click has been a crucial part of making GIMP easy to use… until now.

You know what’s better than remembering to activate windows?

Not having to activate them. That’s what.

Thanks to the hard working people here at team Landreth -AKA my husband who is awesome- there’s now a free app for Mac users that will get rid of the whole activation click thing once and for all!

I’m calling it the Click-Killer…

You heard that right. If remembering to activate windows is too much for you (it is for me), all you have to do is download the app using the buttons above, un-zip it, and run it. After it’s run, you won’t need the activation click in GIMP anymore. Make sure GIMP and X11 are both closed before you run the script.

There are two versions, one for Leopard, and one for Lion. The version for Leopard may work with Snow Leopard, but it hasn’t been tested yet. I’ll update as more versions are available.

P.S.

If you’re wondering if GIMP is any good for graphic design work, the short answer is yes. I made the buttons above, from scratch, using nothing but GIMP. I’m not even really adept at graphic design stuff. If I can do it, anyone can.

GIMP isn’t like an online editing program. You don’t have to upload photos before you can edit them. And it’s not a photo organizing program like iPhoto or Picasa. You don’t have to import photos into GIMP before you work with them. You can use GIMP right out of the box to open and edit any photo that’s on your computer.

• To open photos with GIMP, first open up GIMP. Find the Main Window. It’s the one with the menu bar across the top.
• Go to File > Open. The Open Image window will pop up (see the image below).
• Now, use this window to navigate through your computer’s files, and find the image you want to open.  You can also use the Search function on the left side of this window to search for files by name.
• Once you find your image, highlight it, then click Open. The image will open in GIMP’s main window, and you can start editing.

The GIMP Open Image Window (Click to see this larger)

There’s obviously a lot more to using GIMP than opening your photos. But it’s a really important first step! I mean, if you couldn’t open you photos, you wouldn’t get very far.

You can use GIMP to do just about anything to your pictures. From small tweaks to contrast and color, to creating web banners, ‘photoshoping’ people onto different backgrounds and making fuller figures look slimmer, GIMP’s got it all.

So tell me, what do you want to do with GIMP? Do you want to retouch portraits, or spruce up your product photos? Make a web banner, or a Valentines card? Do you want to correct funky colors, or create photographic works of art?  Pick your poison, and let me know in the comments below.

Installing GIMP is Easier than You Might Think

You’ve decided to come join the fun in GIMP land, and we’re excited to have you! Now the question is, how do you get GIMP up and running on your computer?

It’s really easy to Install GIMP. Here’s the basic idea:

1. To install GIMP on your computer, first, you’ll need to know just a little information about your computer. Basically, you’ll need to know what operating system you’re running, and if GIMP is compatible with it.
2. Then, you’ll find the correct version of GIMP for your operating system.
3. Last, you’ll download GIMP, and run the installer. For Mac, there might be one extra step. (It’s just to make sure you have a program called X11 or XQuartz on your computer.)

Now that you have the basic idea, here are the instructions in more detail.

Install GIMP For Windows:

• If you’re on Windows, and you don’t know what operating system you’re using (ie Windows 7, Windows XP, etc.) follow these instructions to find out which operating system you’re running. You’ll need Windows XP or newer to run the latest stable version of GIMP.
• Don’t know if your operating system came before, or after Windows XP? Here’s a timeline of Windows versions to help you out.
• Now, go to This Page and click the Download link at the top of the page to download GIMP. This version of GIMP will work with any version of Windows, as long as it’s Windows XP or newer.
• When the download is complete, open up the package, and run the installer. Follow any instructions on the windows that appear.
• That’s it! You’re finished installing GIMP! The first time you start GIMP, it may take a few minutes to get going, because there’s a lot of new stuff to load. Just be patient, it will start eventually.

Install GIMP For Mac:

• To install GIMP 2.6, You’ll need Mac OS X, either 10.4.11 (Tiger), 10.5 (Leopard), 10.6 (Snow Leopard), or 10.7 (Lion). To Install GIMP 2.8, you’ll need 10.6 (Snow Leopard) or 10.7 (Lion).
• Not sure which version of Mac OS you’re using? Follow these instructions to find out.
• If you have Tiger, you’ll need your original OS instillation disk so you can install an extra utility called X11. There are really good instructions on how to install X11 here.
• If you’ve got Lion, Snow Leopard, or Leopard, and you want to install GIMP 2.6, X11 is already installed on your computer, so you can skip that step.
• If you want to install GIMP 2.8, if you have any of the operating systems mentioned above, you’ll need to install the latest version of a program called XQuartz. Download XQartz version 2.7.1 Here. Once it’s downloaded, open up the file to run the installer, and follow the directions. When you’re done, come back here to install GIMP.
• Once you confirm your version of OS, and you make sure you have either X11 or XQuartz, choose the correct version of GIMP from this download page, and click it’s link to download GIMP to your computer.
• When the files are finished downloading, open up the Zip file, then open the installer to begin installing GIMP. Follow any directions you’re given in the windows that pop up.
• GIMP will now be installed on your computer! The first time you start GIMP, it may take a few minutes to get going, because there’s a lot of new stuff to load. Just be patient, it will start eventually.

Now that GIMP is installed, you’re ready to get started editing! You can use GIMP to open and edit any image file that’s on your computer.

More GIMP Help

There’s plenty more GIMP help where this came from. I mean, literally, where this came from. How-to-GIMP.com has a growing library of easy to understand, plain English GIMP tutorials and videos to help you learn GIMP faster.

Check out the Public Library Page for more GIMP Tutorials, and the Free Videos page for free GIMP video tutorials.