Mark's Gimp Tip
Plug in to the power of The Gimp with Plug-Ins!

The Gimp, like other popular graphic apps, extends its power and functionality through the use of third party plug-ins. Wikipedia defines Plug-Ins as, "In computing, a plug-in (also called plugin, addin, add-in, addon, add-on, snap-in or snapin, but see also extension) consists of a computer program that interacts with a host application (a web browser or an email client, for example) to provide a certain, usually very specific, function 'on demand'." The gimp has hundreds of plug-ins available. They are designed by Gimp users for Gimp users and are completely free of charge. All you need do is log into the Gimp Plug-In registry at http://registry.gimp.org/.

For instance, I needed to take one of my cartoon characters and turn it into an icon. I simply searched the registry for "Iconify" and found the Plug-In called Iconify2.scm. After downloading, I dragged the .scm file into /.gimp-2.6/scripts. The next time I booted Gimp, the plug-in was in the "Script-Fu" menu and found Iconify2. With two clicks, this plug-in took my cartoon character Elbie and created an icon! As you search for plug-ins you'll come across both .scm files and .py files. As a general rule, .scm files are placed in /.gimp-2.6/scripts and .py files are placed in /.gimp-2.6/plug-ins. The Gimp Plug-in Registry has hundreds of plug-ins available at your fingertips! And like PCLinuxOS, The Gimp Registry has a friendly community forum to help you along!