4.4. Templates Dialog

Figure 15.75. The Templates dialog

The Templates dialog

Templates are pre-defined image settings that you can use to quickly create a new image with your preferred dimensions, resolution etc. GIMP comes with a lot of templates installed, but you can also create your own. When you create a new image, you can access the list of existing templates to choose one to be used as base for your new image. The Templates dialog allows you to manage these templates.

4.4.1. Activating the dialog

The Templates dialog is a dockable dialog; see the section Section 2.3, “Dialogs and Docking” for help on manipulating it.

You can access it:

  • from the image menu: WindowsDockable DialogsTemplates.

  • from the Tab menu in any dockable dialog by clicking on and selecting Add TabTemplates.

4.4.2. Using the Templates dialog

You select a template by clicking on its icon. Right clicking reveals a local menu that offers the same functions as the buttons.

4.4.2.1. Grid/List modes

In the Tab menu for the Templates dialog, you can choose between View as Grid and View as List. In Grid mode, templates are laid out in a rectangular array of identical icons (unless you gave them a particular icon, as we will see later). Only the name of the selected template is displayed. In List mode, they are lined up vertically; icons are identical too; all names are displayed.

In this Tab menu, the Preview Size option allows you to change the size of thumbnails.

[Tip] Tip

Ctrl+F in a list view opens a search field. See View as List; View as Grid

4.4.2.2. Buttons at the bottom

The buttons at the bottom of the dialog allow you to operate on templates in several ways:

Create a new image from the selected template

Clicking on this button creates a new image with the settings defined in the selected template.

Create a new template

Clicking on this button opens the New template dialog, identical to the Edit Template dialog, that we will see below.

Duplicate the selected template

Clicking on this button opens the Edit Template dialog that is documented next.

Edit the selected template

Clicking on this button opens the Edit Template dialog where you can adjust the image related settings for the selected template.

Delete the selected template

This deletes the selected template after asking for confirmation.

[Tip] Tip

Every template is stored in a templaterc file in your personal GIMP directory. If you want to restore some deleted templates, you can copy or append template entries to your file from the master templaterc file in the etc/gimp/2.0 directory of GIMP's system folder.

4.4.3. Edit Template

Figure 15.76. The Edit Template dialog

The Edit Template dialog

This dialog allows you to change the settings of the selected template.

You can access this dialog by clicking on the Edit Template button at the bottom of the Templates Dialog

Options

Name

In this text box, you can modify the name of the template.

Icon

By clicking on this icon, you can select a different icon that will be shown in front of the name of this template. The icon can be picked from a list of pre-defined icons, from a file on your computer, or by pasting from the clipboard.

Image size

Here you set the width and height of the new image. The default units are pixels, but you can switch to another unit using the adjoining menu. If you do, note that the resulting pixel size will be determined by the X and Y resolution (which you can change in the Advanced Options), and by the setting of Dot for Dot, which you can change in the View menu.

Portrait/Landscape buttons

These buttons toggle between Portrait and Landscape mode. Their effect is to exchange the values for Width and Height. If the X and Y resolutions are different (in Advanced Options), then these values are also exchanged. On the right, image size, image resolution and color space are displayed.

Advanced Options

Figure 15.77. The Advanced Options dialog

The “Advanced Options” dialog


The advanced options let you change several additional image settings.

X and Y resolution

These values come into play mainly in relation to printing: they do not affect the size of the image in pixels, but they determine its size on paper when printed. They can also affect the way the image is displayed on the monitor: if Dot for Dot is switched off in the View menu, then at 100% zoom, GIMP attempts to display the image on the monitor at the correct physical size, as calculated from the pixel dimensions and the resolution. The display may not be accurate, however, unless the monitor has been calibrated. This can be done either when GIMP is installed, or from the Display tab of the Preferences dialog.

Color space

You can create the new image as either an RGB image or a grayscale image. You cannot create an indexed image directly in this way, but of course nothing prevents you from converting the image to indexed mode after it has been created.

Precision

You can select the precision that GIMP will use for this image. For more information see the Precision menu documentation.

Gamma

You can select whether to use Perceptual gamma, or linear light. For more information see also the Precision menu documentation.

Color manage this image

When enabled, the image will be color managed. Disabling color management is equivalent to choosing a built-in sRGB profile.

Color profile

Here you can select the color profile for this image. The default is the built-in sRGB color profile, but you can also select your own color profile from a file on your computer.

Fill with

You have five choices for filling the new image's background layer:

  • Foreground color, uses the current foreground color as shown in the Toolbox.

  • Background color, uses the current background color as shown in the Toolbox.

  • White, uses white for the background layer.

  • Transparency. If this option is chosen, then the Background layer in the new image will be created with an alpha channel; otherwise not. The background layer will be transparent.

  • Pattern, uses the active pattern at the time of creating the image to fill the background layer.

Comment

You can add a default comment here that will be attached to the image. When exporting this image, the comment will be added too for file formats that support comments. You will still be able to change this comment in the export dialog.