Resource Control
Improve the usability and data saving of resources and Tool Presets in Artbox.
Deactivate Automatic Saving
Current Design: Saves are done when GIMP exits
Issues: Tweaks to resources in session can corrupt carefully set up tools with unwanted changes.
Changes: A Preference to ‘Save resource changes on exit’
Implementation: Added a user preference option to control when resource changes are saved, preventing automatic saving of temporary modifications that might compromise carefully configured tool setups.
Benefits: Provides better control over resource preservation, allowing users to experiment with resource changes without fear of corrupting their carefully configured tools and presets.
Immediate Saving
Current Design: Saves are done when GIMP exits
Issues: Changes to resources are lost if GIMP crashes or exits with a crash.
Changes: Save immediately when clicked
Save As Functionality
Current Design: Saves are done with default naming
Issues: The name of the saved resource is not the same as the filename, this is confusing.
Changes: Save immediately with a naming option, Save As…
Save All Changes
Current Design: If saves are done by the user on demand, as described in (2) or (3), a new issue arises
Issues: Changes to resources may be forgotten during the session. Saving one by one is error prone and time consuming
Changes: Add ‘Save all the active tool assets’ button and a ‘Save all changes’ button on the Preset Editor
Brush Editor Enhancements
Current Design: See menu items and Button Bar GUI in GIMP / See Brushes Menu items
Issues: Confusing item placement, Button Bar GUI out of step with updates / Confusion over brush types
Changes: Apply a consistent menu item position, and arrange Button Bars to support the changes / Double clicking an image type opens the image for editing, Double clicking a parametric type opens the Brush Editor
Locked Resource Notification
Current Design: Folder locked resources can not be edited
Issues: User confusion
Changes: An informative message is displayed in the Brush Editor if the resource is locked
Copy and Paste as New Brush
Current Design: New Feature
Issues: Create a brush from the active drawable
Changes: Added to the Brushes Menu via a Script-Fu plug-in
Tool Preset Name Display
Current Design: New Feature
Issues: See the active Tool Preset name requires the Tool Preset Editor to be open or the Tool Preset selector to be in list mode
Changes: Added the active Tool Preset name after the Tool name in the Tool Options title. Tool Name | Tool Preset Name
Preferences Folder Options
Current Design: New Feature
Issues: Folders have to be manually added or removed per resource
Changes: Added a GUI to add, deactivate, or remove folder paths to a set of resources, allowing quick control over active resources
Resource Filtering
Current Design: New Feature
Issues: User never uses filtering and it takes up GUI space and adds complexity
Changes: Added Preference option, Interface > Resource Filtering > Enable Resource Filtering and Tagging
Icon View Preview
Current Design: Themes button appears in Icon view grid modes to toggle background colour of preview
Issues: Adds GUI clutter that also appears in the Tool Presets view, user sets once, button hangs around forever.
Changes: Hardcode the previews to use the theme background colour and hide the toggle button.
Implementation: Automatically configured icon view previews to use theme background colors and removed the persistent toggle button, eliminating interface clutter while maintaining visual consistency.
Benefits: Reduces GUI complexity by removing a rarely-used persistent button, while maintaining appropriate theme-based preview backgrounds for better visual integration.
Development Challenges
Architectural Complexity
Resource Control represents one of the most comprehensive feature implementations in Artbox due to GIMP’s unified resource architecture. The feature required modifications across 74 files with over 5,000 lines of changes, touching every layer of the application from core data management to user interface elements.
Interconnected Systems
GIMP’s resource system (brushes, gradients, patterns, palettes, tool presets) shares unified factories, data models, action handlers, and UI widgets. Modifying saving behavior for one resource type necessitates coordinated updates across all resource types to maintain consistency. This architectural reality makes isolated changes impossible.
Cross-Cutting Implementation
The feature spans multiple subsystems simultaneously:
- Core data factories and object models
- Action system commands and handlers
- Widget hierarchy and editor components
- Menu system integration and sensitivity
- Preferences storage and management
- Build system configuration
Why Monolithic Approach Was Required
Alternative implementation strategies proved unworkable:
- Gradual Implementation: Would leave the system in broken intermediate states
- Feature Flags: Would require maintaining dual code paths permanently throughout the codebase
- Modular Separation: Impossible due to circular dependencies and compilation requirements
API Breaking Changes
Core function signatures required modification to support custom naming functionality. These changes propagated through the entire codebase, forcing synchronized updates across all resource-handling components to maintain API consistency.
Build-Time Feature Control
To manage this complexity, Resource Control can be included or excluded at build time through construction scripts, providing deployment flexibility while maintaining code integrity.