[Gimp-developer] Enhancement idea: Snapshot tool for quick comparisons

[vabijou2]

I tried posting this to the list first, but apparently the list was down, so
I went ahead and submitted a bug (#540091).  The text below is from that bug
report, and I would love to have this idea discussed on the list for
possible development.


When editing photos I find that it is tedious waiting for the rendering to
be 
completed as I turn layers on and off for comparing the effects of the
changes 
I'm making.  I would like to see a new tool/UI that would allow a snapshot
to 
be taken of any currently displayed view and saved for comparison with other 
snapshots later.  It would be good to allow these snapshots to be named.  I 
visualize a list of snapshots, and clicking on each one displays it in a 
snapshot review window.  This window would have zooming and panning 
capabilities.  By eliminating the processing that I assume is required each 
time a layer is turned on/off, I would think that the snapshots could be 
displayed very quickly and make subtle differences between snapshots more 
apparent.  Perhaps something like this might be done using the "Copy
Visible" 
function and creating a display window with a list of snapshots displayed on 
the side? 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 


Comment #1 from Martin Nordholts (GIMP developer, points: 14) 
2008-06-25 04:29 UTC [reply] 
Hi 

Why not just use Image -> Duplicate as the snapshot mechanism? If that
doesn't 
work, please bring this up on the gimp-developer mailing list. Before
opening 
an enhancement request the feature and solution should have been discussed 
there. 

Thanks 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 


Comment #2 from vabijou yahoo com (reporter, points: 6) 
2008-06-25 13:12 UTC [reply] 

The gimp-developer mailing list has had no activity since June 16, so it
does 
not appear to be working.  I've tried posting there, and my e-mails have
been 
returned.  I've e-mailed the gimp-developer administrator and had that
e-mail 
returned.  I posted it on nabble on June 20 and there it sits.  I think I've 
done my best to work within the system, and the system failed me.  Hence,
I'm 
posting it here. 

Image -> Duplicate is an unacceptable alternative.  The idea is to create a 
single window that allows the user to cycle through multiple (named)
snapshots 
in any order he chooses to see large or small changes more readily.  Image
-> 
Duplicate has so many negatives to this process that I don't know where to 
start. 

Two major problems with Image -> Duplicate immediately come to mind:   

1)  It would be a huge waste of memory, since it completely copies the image 
info (except for the History). 

2)  It scatters windows all over the place, making comparisons difficult. 

What I'm after is a fast-rendering, easy to use method of flipping through 
"snapshots" of my workflow.  Shift-clicking on the eye-ball by each layer
comes 
close, but it is slowed by the processing required during rendering.  My 
proposal is a way to get around that and speed things up for the user. 
-- 
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