### 3.5. Gradients Dialog

Figure 15.32. The screenshot illustrates the Gradients dialog

The “Gradients” dialog offers a gradient palette which is used to select a gradient a set of colors arranged in a linear scale for use with the Gradient tool and numerous other operations. It also gives you access to several functions for manipulating gradients. You can select a gradient by clicking on it in the list: it will then be shown in the Brush/Pattern/Gradient area of the Toolbox. A few dozen nice gradients come pre-installed with GIMP. You can create more using the Gradient Editor. General information about gradients and how they are used in GIMP can be found in the Gradients section.

The first five gradients are particular: they reproduce the gradient between Foreground and background colors of toolbox in different ways.

- FG to BG (Hardedge): only black and white with a sharp limit.

- FG to BG (HSV clock-wise/counter-clockwise Hue): all hues in the color wheel between the Foreground and the background color, clockwise or counter-clockwise.

- FG to BG (RGB): default gradient, between the Foreground and the background colors of the Toolbox, in the RGB mode.

- FG to Transparent: only uses one color (the Foreground color) from complete opacity to complete transparency. This gradient is very useful when you work with softly blended collages or fog effects.

#### 3.5.1. Activating the Dialog

This dialog is a dockable dialog; see the section Section 2.3, “Dialogs and Docking” for help on manipulating it.

You can access it:

- from the main menu: Windows → Dockable Dialogs → Gradients;

- from the Tab menu in any dockable dialog by clicking the tab menu button and selecting Add Tab → Gradients,

- from the Toolbox, by clicking on the current gradient in the Brush/Pattern/Gradient area (if you have checked the “Show active brush, pattern and gradient” option in the toolbox preferences).

- From the image by using the Ctrl+G shortcut.

In the Windows menu, there is a list of detached windows which exists only if at least one dialog remains open. In this case, you can raise the “Gradients” dialog from the main menu: Windows → Gradients.

#### 3.5.2. Using the “Gradients” dialog

The most basic, and most commonly used, operation with the dialog is simply to click on one of the gradients in the scrollable list, in order to make it GIMP's current gradient, which will then be used by any operation that involves a gradient.

If you double-click on a gradient, you open the Gradient Editor where you will be able to edit its name. Note, however, that you are only allowed to change the names of gradients that you have created yourself, not the ones that come pre-installed with GIMP. If you try to rename a pre-installed gradient, you will be able to edit the name, but as soon as you hit return or click somewhere else, the name will revert to its original value. It is a general rule that you cannot alter the resources that GIMP pre-installs for you: brushes, patterns, gradients, etc; only ones that you create yourself.

Grid/List modes

  In the Tab menu, you can choose between View as Grid and View as List. In Grid mode, the gradients are laid out in a rectangular array. They look quite dazzling when viewed this way, but it is not very easy to pick the one you want, because of visual interference from the neighboring ones. In List mode, the more usable default, the gradients are lined up vertically, with each row showing its name.

  In the Tab menu, the option Preview Size allows you to adapt the size of gradient previews to your liking.

The button bar at the bottom offers the following functionality:

Edit Gradient

  This button activates the Gradient Editor.

New Gradient

  This creates a new gradient, initialized as a simple grayscale, and activates the Gradient Editor so that you can alter it.

  Gradients that you create are automatically saved in the `gradients` folder of your personal GIMP directory. Any gradient files (ending with the extension `.ggr`) found in one of these folders, will automatically be loaded when you start GIMP. You can add more directories to the gradient search path, if you want to, in the Gradients tab of the Data Folders section of the Preferences dialog.

Duplicate Gradient

  This creates a copy of the currently selected gradient. You will be able to edit the copy as editing the original is not supported.

Delete Gradient

  This removes all traces of the gradient, if you have permission to do so. It asks for confirmation before doing anything.

Refresh Gradients

  If you add gradients to your personal `gradients` folder by some means other than this dialog, this button causes the list to be reloaded, so that the new entries will be available.

The functions performed by these buttons can also be accessed from the dialog pop-up menu, activated by right-clicking anywhere in the gradient list, or via Gradient Menu in the Tab menu.

The gradient menu also gives you some additional functions:

Save as POV-Ray…

  This allows you to save the gradient in the format used by the POV-Ray 3D ray-tracing program.

Copy Gradient Location

  This command allows you to copy the gradient file location to the clipboard. You can then use it in a text editor.

Show in File Manager

  Show in File Manager opens the location of the gradient in the default File Manager on your system.

Custom Gradient…

  This command creates a sample image filled with the selected gradient. You can select width and height of the image as well as the gradient direction in the dialog window.

Save Gradient as CSS…

  The CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) language is used to format the display of HTML and XML files, for instance background color, background gradient, or font size. The "CSS Save" plug-in is a CSS3 linear gradient generator that allows you to save a CSS3 code snippet, containing the gradient data for a given GIMP gradient. This code snippet is a text file: you can copy-paste it to the stylesheet related to your HTML file, to get a gradient background on opening the HTML file in Firefox, Chrome or Safari web navigators. This CSS3 code snippet can also be used as a gradient in SVG files.

  Here is an example of a CSS3 code snippet, using the Blue Green gradient:

  A CSS snippet created with Save as CSS.

  background-image: linear-gradient(top, rgb(0,123,255) 0%, rgb(72,226,255) 56%,
  rgb(0,255,161) 100%);

##### 3.5.2.1. Tagging

You can use tags to reorganize the gradients display. See Section 3.7, “Tagging”.

#### 3.5.3. The Gradient Editor

Figure 15.33. The gradient editor

The Gradient Editor allows you to edit the colors in a gradient. It can only be used on gradients you have created yourself (or on a copy of a system gradient), not on system gradients that come pre-installed with GIMP. This is a sophisticated tool that may take a bit of effort to understand. The concept behind it is that a gradient can be decomposed into a series of adjoining segments, with each segment consisting of a smooth transition from the color on the left edge to the color on the right edge. The Gradient Editor allows you to pack together any number of segments, with any colors you want for the left and right edges of each segment, and with several options for the shape of the transition from left to right.

##### 3.5.3.1. How to Activate the Gradient Editor

You can activate the Gradient Editor in several ways:

- by double-clicking on the gradient stripe in the Gradient dialog,

- from the context menu you get by right clicking on the selected gradient name,

- by clicking on the Edit gradient button in the Gradient Dialog,

- from the Gradient Menu you get by clicking on in the Gradient Dialog.

##### 3.5.3.2. Display

Name

  This is where you can change under what name the gradient shows up in the list of gradients.

The Gradient Preview Window

  Below the name, you see the current result of your work. If you move the mouse pointer on this display, it works somewhat like a color-picker. Information about the pixel under the mouse is shown below the preview and slider area.

  Position is a number between 0.000 on the left and 1.000 on the right side of the gradient. Below that the color values in RGB and HSV mode are shown, followed by the Luminance and Opacity values.

  If you click-n-drag on display, then only position and RGB data are displayed. But they are passed on to the Foreground color in the Toolbox and to the four first gradients of the list (by pressing the Ctrl key, the Color is sent to the Background color of the Toolbox).

Range Selection/Control Sliders

  Below the gradient display, you see a set of black and white triangles lined up in row which allow you to adjust endpoints and midpoints in the gradient preview. A segment is the space between two consecutive black triangles. Inside each segment is a white triangle, which is used to “warp” the colors in the segment, in the same way that the middle slider in the Levels tool warps the colors there. You can select a segment by clicking between the two black triangles that define it. It turns from white to blue. You can select a range of segments by Shift-clicking on them. The selected range always consists of a set of consecutive segments, so if you skip over any when Shift-clicking, they will be included automatically. If “Instant update” is checked, the display is updated immediately after any slider movement; if it is unchecked, updates only occur when you release the mouse button.

  You can move sliders, segments and selections. If you simply click-n-drag a slider, you only move the corresponding transition. By click-n-drag on a segment you can move this segment up to the next triangle. By Shift+click-n-drag on a segment/selection, you can move this segment/selection and compress/dilate next segments.

Scrollbar

  Below the sliders is a scrollbar. This only comes into play if you zoom in using the buttons at the bottom.

Feedback Area

  Below, a color swatch shows the color pointed by the mouse cursor. Information about this color and helpful hints or feedback messages may appear here.

Buttons

  The button bar at the bottom offers the following functionality:

  Zoom Out

    Clicking this button shrinks the gradient display horizontally.

  Zoom In

    Clicking this button expands the gradient display horizontally. You can then use the scrollbar to pan the display left or right.

  Zoom All

    Clicking this button resizes the display horizontally so that it fits precisely into the window.

##### 3.5.3.3. The Gradient Editor pop-up Menu

You can access the Gradient Editor menu either by right-clicking on the gradient display, or by choosing the top item in the dialog's tab menu. The menu allows you to edit endpoint's color (set the left and right edge colors for each segment), blend colors, select a color model and edit segments. This editor works only with custom gradients or a copy of a system gradient.

The following commands can be found in the menu:

Editing endpoint's color

Left/Right color type

  This submenu allows you to select the endpoint color from the toolbox foreground and background colors. Whenever you change the foreground or background color, this endpoint color may be changed as well. The alternative is to select a Fixed endpoint color.

  The following commands can be found in the menu:

  Fixed

    Fixed

  Foreground Color

    Foreground Color

  Foreground Color (Transparent)

    Foreground Color (Transparent)

  Background Color

    Background Color

  Background Color (Transparent)

    Background Color (Transparent)

Left [Right] Endpoint's Color

  These options allow you to choose a color for the respective endpoint using a Color Editor.

  | Note
  This command is related to the previous one and becomes inactive if you have selected any other value than Fixed for the corresponding Left [Right] Color Type.

Load Left [Right] Color From

  These options give you a number of alternative ways of assigning colors to the endpoints. From the submenu you can choose (assuming we're dealing with the left endpoint):

  Left Neighbor's Right Endpoint

    This choice will cause the color of the right endpoint of the segment neighboring on the left to be assigned to the left endpoint of the selected range.

  Right Endpoint

    This choice will cause the color of the right endpoint of the selected range to be assigned to the left endpoint.

  FG/BG color

    This choice causes GIMP's current foreground or background color, as shown in the Toolbox, to be assigned to the endpoint. Note that changing foreground or background color later will not change the endpoint's color.

  RGBA slots

    At the bottom of the menu are 10 “memory slots”. You can assign colors to them using the “Save” menu option described below. If you choose one of the slots, the color in it will be assigned to the endpoint.

Save Left [Right] Color To

  These options cause the color of the endpoint in question to be assigned to the “memory slot” selected from the submenu.

Click and drag colors

  You can also click and drag a color from the toolbox FG-BG colors or from a palette

  - to an endpoint (a black triangle), to set left [right] colors,

  - to the gradient display area, to add a new endpoint with this color on both sides.

Blending and coloring functions for segment

Blending Function for Segment

  This option determines the course of the transition from one endpoint of the range (segment or selection) to the other, by fitting the specified type of function to the endpoints and midpoint of the range:

  Linear

    Default option. Color varies linearly from one endpoint of the range to the other.

  Curved

    Gradient varies more quickly on ends of the range than on its middle.

  Sinusoidal

    The opposite of the curved type. Gradients varies more quickly on center of the range than on its ends.

  Spherical (increasing)

    Gradient varies more quickly on the left of the range than on its right.

  Spherical (decreasing)

    Gradient varies more quickly on the right than on the left.

  Step

    Gradient changes from left value to right value in one step without intermediate colors.

Coloring Type for Segment

  This option gives you additional control of the type of transition from one endpoint to the other: as a line either in RGB space or in HSV space.

  The following commands can be found in the menu:

  RGB

    RGB

  HSV (counter-clockwise hue)

    HSV (counter-clockwise hue)

  HSV (clockwise hue)

    HSV (clockwise hue)

Modifying segments

Flip Segment

  This option does a right-to-left flip of the selected range (segment or selection), flipping all colors and endpoint locations.

Replicate Segment

  This option splits the selected range (segment or selection) into two parts, each of which is a perfect compressed copy of the original range.

Split Segment at Midpoint

  This option splits each segment in the selected range in into two segments, splitting at the location of the white triangle.

Split Segment Uniformly

  This option is similar to the previous one, but it splits each segment halfway between the endpoints, instead of at the white triangle.

Delete Segment

  This option deletes all segments in the selected range, (segment or selection) replacing them with a single black triangle at the center, and enlarging the segments on both sides to fill the void.

Re-center Segment's midpoint

  This option moves the white triangle for each segment in the selected range to a point halfway between the neighboring black triangles.

Re-distribute Handles in Segment

  This option causes the black and white triangles in the selected range to be shifted so that the distances from one to the next are all equal.

Blending colors

These options are available only if more than one segment are selected.

Blend Endpoints' Colors

  This option causes the colors at interior endpoints in the range to be averaged, so that the transition from each segment to the next is smooth.

Blend Endpoints' Opacity

  This option does the same thing as the previous option, but with opacity instead of color.

Edit Active Gradient

  When enabled, the gradient editor will automatically load the currently active gradient. If it is disabled, the gradient editor will not change when the active gradient changes.

| Caution
There is no “undo” available within the Gradient Editor, so be careful!

##### 3.5.3.4. Using example for the Gradient Editor

All these options can seem somewhat boring. Here is an example to clear ideas:

1. Open the Gradient Dialog. Click New Gradient. The Gradient Editor is opened and shows a gradient from black to white.

   Figure 15.34. New gradient

2. Right click in this new gradient and select Split Segment Uniformly. If wanted, adjust the number of segments.

   Figure 15.35. Gradient with three segments

   Every segment is limited with two black triangular sliders. Click a segment to activate it. By pressing the Shift key, you can select several contiguous segments.

3. In the context menu you get by right-clicking in the gradient, set Left Endpoint Color and Right Endpoint Color for the selected segment or segment group.

   Figure 15.36. First segment colored

   Red has been chosen for left endpoint and yellow for the right endpoint.

4. Go on the same way for other segments. Then use the Blending functions for segment to achieve various effects.

3.4. Patterns Dialog |  | 3.6. Palettes Dialog

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