Interface and Usability

As an application originally intended only for the X Window System, GIMP does not attempt to manage its own windows, but entirely delegates this responsibility to the window manager. GIMP uses a (controlled) single document interface, and it also uses multiple windows for its tools, color palette, and so forth. This behaviour is not well supported on most platforms because most programs use either a multiple document interface or an SDI with integrated toolbars. The GIMP approach avoids the MDI problem of windows being constrained within a larger window, without requiring the additional code that most other applications use to solve this problem; but it is also a frequent cause of criticism. It generally leads to desktop clutter, and to the situation where the toolbox and layer windows end up hidden behind other unrelated applications, forcing users to manage the windows themselves. A partial solution is available by choosing a window manager that implements certain very particular functionality; however, this functionality is not available at all on Microsoft Windows, and is also not present in all Linux window managers. In recognition of these issues, the GIMP developers have been investigating other solutions, and future versions of the program are expected to introduce a better interface.

GIMPshop is a modification to GIMP, rearranging its user interface to mimic that of Adobe Photoshop by renaming functions and rearranging menus; on Windows this also includes the use of a multiple document interface.

GIMP is often criticized as having other usability problems.^[38] A special edition called Instrumented GIMP was created at the University of Waterloo, which tracks and reports user interaction with the program, to generate statistics to guide future improvements