GIMP changes file format and better supports PSDs

One of the most popular open source photo editing programs, GIMP, published a development update which includes some of the biggest changes we've seen in a while. The new features will start appearing with GIMP 3.3.2.

Perhaps the biggest change the GIMP team is working on is a new file format for the project that will eventually replace XCF, which has served as the program's primary file format since 1997. According to the GIMP team, XCF is becoming increasingly restrictive for large and complex projects, especially with features like multi-page documents and animations that are planned to be supported by GIMP 3.6.

See more articles from iGuRu.gr when you search for news on Google.

iGuRu.gr preferred source

Although GIMP hasn't named the new format yet, it will make saving faster because the application will only need to update parts of a file instead of rewriting the entire file. The new format is reportedly based on an XML structure with compressed files.

The XCF standard is not going away. GIMP says that future versions will continue to open existing XCF files, but once the new format is finalized, new creations will be saved and loaded only through this format. This means that XCF will essentially become a backup file and will work with some form of compatibility plugin.

The upcoming GIMP 3.4 will have better support for PSDs, which will be especially useful for those who use GIMP as an alternative to Photoshop. It will soon support PSD Descriptors, which means editable text layers will work, along with some adjustment layers and modern layer styles. GIMP adds filters to layer masks, editable gradients, and native file selection dialogs on platforms like Windows and macOS.

newsbot

Although the press releases will range from very select to rare, I said I'd pass...because sometimes the editors hide.