GIMP Interface Tutorial
Preamble
For clarity with the other GIMP tutorials on this site, I have split the main GIMP toolbar and the other dialogues (Layers, Gradient etc).
For everyday use it is far easier to have these dialogues as part of the GIMP when you start up. This can be done in a tab format, which will be familiar to anyone using Firefox or any other up to date browser.
Setting up dockable dialogues
Open up the GIMP and at the bottom of the GIMP toolbar use your mouse to extend the box down until the You can drop dockable dialogs here section appears.
Adding the Layers dialogue
The Layers Dialogue can be opened from the GIMP toolbar as follows File » Dialogues » Layers
On the Layers Dialogue position the mouse over the Layers text and hold the left mouse key down. Now drag the Layers Dialogue over to the Dockable dialogue section of the GIMP toolbar (the part labelled You can drop dockable dialogs here) and release the mouse button.
Adding extra dialogues
Now the initial dialogue has been attached, adding extra dialogues is very easy. In the top right hand corner of the newly attached dialogue there is an arrow. Click on this arrow, which reveals the Configure tab menu. Move to highlight the Add tab selection, then add whatever tab you want from the menu.
Streamlining the interface
In the finished example below left I have added the Layers, Tools, FG/BG Colour & Gradient dialogues.
You can obviously add whatever you want, but as a bare minimum I would have the Layers & Tools dialogues, they are certainly the most used in my experience. As you begin to use GIMP more, you will find out which dialogues you use the most and want to access frequently.
As I have added the FG/BG Colour & Gradient dialogues to the tab interface, I can get rid of those two Toolboxes from the GIMP toolbar as seen from the example below right. To remove the Toolboxes go to File » Preferences In the Preferences you will find the Toolbox option, where you can uncheck the ones you don't want.
