User Guide
Table Of Contents
CHAPTER 4. IMAGE 34
Changes made in one view will appear in other views. It is very useful for maintaining
an overall view of an image while working on close-up retouching.
4.7.11 Shrink Wrap
Makes the borders of the image window shrink or grow to the same size as the image
itself. Additional Information
Default Keyboard Shortcut:
Ctrl
E
4.8 Changing the imagetype
4.8.1 Convert to RGB
Convert to RGB allows you to change an image which is either in grayscale or indexed
format into a full-color RGB image. When creating images which use low color formats
such as GIF, it is often best to save a copy in RGB format so that no information is lost
and you can edit the image again later. Be sure to use a GIMP-native format if your
image includes transparency and layers. Additional Information
Default Keyboard Shortcut:
Alt
R
4.8.2 Convert to Grayscale
Convert to Grayscale removes all color from the current image, in the same way as
Desaturate. However, this also changes the image mode which means that no color
can be added to image. If you choose a color and try to paint on a grayscale image, that
color will automatically be desaturated and will appear as a shade of gray. Additional
Information
Default Keyboard Shortcut:
Alt
G
4.8.3 Convert to Indexed
Indexed Mode This mode enables you to convert RGB or grayscale images to indexed
images. An indexed image is an image which only has the colors specified in its color
palette. The color palette is saved in the image file. The maximum number of colors in
an indexed image is 256. If you want to make transparent GIF images, then you can
only use a maximum of 255 colors since the last color will be used to determine if the
pixel is opaque or transparent.
Palette Options
Generate optimal palette For the most part, this option is the best to use when creat-
ing an indexed image. GIMP will evaluate your colors and create a color palette
suitable for the image. You can specify the number of colors that you want to have
in your indexed image, but remember that you can’t have more than 255 colors if
are about to create an indexed image with transparency.