GIMP 2.10.20 features toolbar enhancements, new filters, and more

The new version of GIMP 2.10.20 has already been presented and is available for download and update. This new version continues the refinement of functionality and the increase of the stability of the branch 2.10 and present some changes in the tools, in addition to the inclusion of new filters.

In this version improvements to the toolbar continue, since it was previously possible to combine arbitrary tools into groups, but some users found it uncomfortable to click the mouse to expand the groups.

With which in this version an option has been added for automatic group merge when the mouse cursor is over the icon. This option is enabled by default only when the panel is arranged in a column, but can also be activated in the settings for any other panel button layout.

Improvements in GIMP 2.10.20

On the part of the improvements to the tools, The ability to trim in non-destructive mode is provided asInstead of removing pixels from the cropping area, the edges of the canvas now just scroll, allowing you to revert to the original, non-cropped version at any time.

As for the added filters, we can find which was added:

• Variable blur filter that uses a layer or channel as an input mask to separate pixels that should be blurred and pixels that should remain unchanged.
• "Lens Blur" filter, which differs from the above by a more realistic simulation of blur due to loss of focus.
• 'Focus Blur', in which a visual interface is used to control the simulation of loss of focus as in the updated vignette filter. Both Gaussian Blur and Lens Blur are supported as blurring methods.
• "Bloom" with the effect of a light leak, reminiscent of the "Soft Glow" filter, but without reducing saturation. Technically, the new filter isolates a bright area, blurs, and then recombines with the original image.
• Implementing the filter preview results in the cache, even if the cache is disabled in the settings, allowing you to quickly switch between the original image and the result of applying the filter.

In addition, we can also find that se has added a new section with overlay settings to the dialog box with the GEGL filter settings, allowing you to control the blending mode and opacity.

Improved support for PSD format: Channels on export are now in the correct order and in their original colors. Added the ability to export images with a high color depth in a 16-bit per channel format

In the PNG and TIFF plugins, by default, eColor value storage stops when there is an alpha channel with a value of 0. The change allows you to avoid security problems if you incorrectly remove personal data from the image.

Finally of plans for the future, work on the future branch GIMP 3 is observed, in which a significant cleanup of the code base will take place and the transition to GTK3 will take place.

The master branch is preparing for branch 2.99.2, the first unstable version of the 2.99 series, on the basis of which version 3.0 will be formed in the future.

How to install GIMP 2.10.20 on Linux?

For those who are interested in being able to install this new version of GIMP on their systems, They should only have the support to be able to install applications from Flatpak.

Just run the following command to install the application on your systems:

flatpak install flathub org.gimp.GIMP

Yes already have GIMP installed by this method, they can update it by running the following command:

flatpak update

When you run it, you will be shown a list of the applications installed by Flatpak that have an update. To proceed, just type "Y".