Chapter 5. Menus
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## Chapter 5. Menus

## 1. Toolbox Menu

The Toolbox is the heart of the GIMP. It contains the most commonly used controls, and the highest-level menus. Two of the menus, File and Help, can also be accessed from the menubars located above each image display, although their contents are somewhat different. The Toolbox is the only place to access the Xtns (Extensions) menu.

File

New

  This item opens the New Image dialog, allowing you to create a new, empty image from scratch.

Open

  This item displays the Open Image dialog, allowing you to load an image from a file, in any of the formats that GIMP supports.

Open Recent

  This item displays a submenu containing the names of images that you have worked on recently, so that you can easily reload them.

Acquire

  This item opens a window that gives the list of the available means for importing images into the GIMP. This makes it possible to acquire images from sources other than the hard disk, such as Screen capture or Scanner.

Preferences

  This item displays the Preferences dialog, allowing you to alter a variety of settings that affect the look, feel, and performance of the GIMP. If you want to customize GIMP, this is the place to do it.

Dialogs

  This item shows a submenu containing a list of available dialogs that may be useful during image editing -- patterns, palettes, brushes, etc. You can open and close dialogs as needed, or, if you want them to stay around, you can dock them.

Debug

  This item is only useful for developers.

Quit

  Selecting this item ends your session with The GIMP. You will be given an opportunity to save any images that have unsaved modifications.

Xtns

Module Manager

  Selecting this item displays the modules that are available to The GIMP. You can also control which modules are loaded the next time the GIMP is launched, affecting functionality and launch time. Modules are dynamically loaded libraries, loaded by the GIMP while it is running, that perform functions such as color-choosing and display filtering. Currently only a few modules exist, and they are loaded automatically at startup, so you will probably not find it necessary to use.

DB Browser

  This item displays the available procedures in the PDB. This is mainly intended for advanced uses, such as script writing, and may not be particularly relevant to everyday users.

Plugin Details

  This item displays both a list and a tree-based heirarchy of all the loaded plug-ins that The GIMP has loaded. If you want to use a plug-in, this is not the place to access it; you can get to it via the Filters menu in the individual image menubars.

Unit Editor

  Selecting this item displays the Unit Editor dialog, which not only details the units that are currently being used, but also allows the creation of new units for use within the GIMP.

Script-Fu

  This item displays a submenu containing many Script-Fu scripts and options including the Script-Fu console. Script-Fu is a language for scripting GIMP operations, so that sequences of them can be executed in an automated way.

Help

Help

  Selecting this item displays the help browser.

  | Tip
  If this does not seem to work, please verify that you have the Gimp User Manual installed.

Context Help

  Selecting this item changes the behaviour of the pointer such that the next click will display help for the clicked item, if available. This item is mainly present as an aid to the clueless: you can also access context help at any time simply by pressing the "F1" key with the pointer over the thing for which you want help.

Tip of the Day

  This item displays the Tip of the Day dialog. This dialog contains useful tips to help you gain a better understanding of some of The GIMP's nuances. New users will find it very valuable to pay attention to these, which often suggest ways of doing something that are much easier or more efficient than more obvious approaches.

About, A propos,

  This item shows the About dialog. This dialog gives information about your current release of The GIMP and the many authors who wrote it.

The GIMP Online

  This item displays a submenu containing several helpful website addresses. If you select one of the items listed, your web browser will attempt to open the indicated site.

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