Change the default layer blend modes from "Legacy" to "Default"
@ellestone
Submitted by Elle Stone Link to original bug (#783741)
Description
Please change the default layer blend modes from "Legacy" to "Default", and add an option in Preferences to control when "Legacy" is used by default.
GIMP 2.9 currently defaults to "Legacy" blend modes:
* not just for 2.8 XCF files, but also for tifs, pngs, jpegs, openexr files and such opened from disk, even if the precision is already high bit depth or else promoted to 32f upon opening.
* also when making a "New from Visible" layer in the 2.9 XCF layer stack.
This behavior creates two useability issues:
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"Legacy" means "blend using RGB encoded using the sRGB TRC. This means gamma artifacts. So if the user wants to avoid gamma artifacts, she has to change the blend mode from "Legacy" to "Default".
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The Legacy blend modes are limited to the blend modes provided by 2.8, so the user has to switch to Default blend modes to use any of the new 2.9 blend modes.
For anyone who wants to take full advantage of linear blending and the new blend modes offered by high bit depth GIMP, the current behavior require a lot of extra "clicking" to keep switching from Legacy to Default blend modes.
For improved useability and a smoother workflow:
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"By default" only GIMP 2.8 and earlier XCF files, and maybe 2.9 XCF files at 8-bit integer precision, should default to "legacy" blend modes.
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"By default" new images opened from disk and new XCF files should default to using Default blend modes.
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Perhaps there could be an option in Preferences to allow control over whether "Legacy" or "Default" is the "Default". This option perhaps could include three choices:
- Default to "Default" for all images other than legacy XCF files.
- Default to "Legacy" for all images including legacy XCF files.
- Default to "Legacy" 8-bit images and layer stacks, and to "Default" for all higher-bit depth images.
Version: git master