Gimp Tutorial 1: Gimp Installation on a Mac

[UnconventionalT]

Tutorial 1: Downloading and Installing Gimp on the Mac: The complete beginners guide

The prerequisites: X11 or XQuartz?
X11 is Apple's version of the X.org X Window System, and is required to run Gimp for Mac.
While you can compile Gimp to not use X11, it is unstable, and barely usable at times, therefore it is not recommended.
If you're installing Gimp on a Mac that either runs Leopard, Snow Leopard, or something newer, you will want to download XQuartz instead.
XQuartz is an open-source, community driving X11 project, designed to be used instead of (or along side) Apple's X11.

1. Determine what version of Mac OSX you're using.
Click on the Apple logo in the top-left hand of your screen, and select “About This Mac”. A small window will pop up.

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Note the version number.
Mac OS X 10.4 is Tiger
Mac OS X 10.5 is Leopard
Mac OS X 10.6 is Snow Leopard
Mac OS X 10.7 is Lion

(Note: At the time of this tutorial's writing, no Gimp or XQuartz builds exist for Lion)

2. Download and install XQuartz. (Skip this step if your Mac version is less that 10.5.x)
To go to the XQuartz website, click here, or copy and paste this link into your web-browsers address bar. http://xquartz.macosforge.org/trac/wiki

Spoiler: show

Then click on the newest release (shown as 2.6.3 in screenshot).

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Select the version that matches your Mac OS X version, which will begin the download.

Once you have downloaded the package, open it up, and double-click on the installer package to begin the installation.
Now that you have installed XQuartz, you will need to log off of your computer and log back in (or simply restart your machine) to complete the installation, and to begin using Gimp.

3. Download and install Gimp.
Go to lisanet's Gimp website, which is listed below, and download the proper version of Gimp. Open up the package, and drag the Gimp.app into your Applications folder.

Spoiler: show

And that's it! It's not too difficult, just remember, that when running Gimp, either the X11.app or the XQuartz.app will start, and are required for Gimp to run. Closing one of these apps would be like closing Gimp itself.

Here are some post-installation tips:

Trouble with having to click on the tool windows twice to select a tool? Then turn on “Focus Follows Mouse”.
In the upper left-hand corner of your screen, select the X11 menu, and click on “Preferences”. Go to the “Windows” tab, and check “Focus Follows Mouse”.

Troubles with tablet support?
In the main Gimp window, select “Edit”, and then “Preferences”. Go down to “Input Devices”, and then click on “Configure Extended Input Devices”. Select each of your devices, and set them to “Screen”.
Note: Turning on your tablet will DISABLE your mouse's ability to click anywhere on the canvas. To restore mouse functionality, revert the modes back to “Disabled”.

Annoyed with that Mac look-alike theme?
In the main Gimp window, select “Edit”, and then “Preferences”. Go to “Theme”, and select “ProApp” (or any other theme). Enjoy!

Want to install the Gimp User Manual?
Download and install the manual from lisanet's website, here: http://gimp.lisanet.de/Website/Download.html

Thanks for reading this tutorial. In the next tutorial, I will try to explain Gimp's user interface.

[Maffe811]

Good work!
Can't really comment on the content since i have a windows pc.
Will comment on the setup though!
I edited the top part cause i found it to be a little cramped.
The numbering system you are using is confusing.
Use spoilers for bigger images!

[UnconventionalT]

I cut out some of the fat, and removed a lot of the useless text that nobody cares about. Everything should be short and concise now. I also added the spoilers. Perhaps a new spoiler tag should be added, one designated for images? Like "largeimage"?

[Maffe811]

Looks better!
And we already got spoilers so there is no point making a new one...

[~suv]

The prerequisites: X11 or XQuartz?
X11 is Apple's version of the X.org X Window System, and is required to run Gimp for Mac.
(…)
If you're installing Gimp on a Mac that either runs Leopard, Snow Leopard, or something newer, you will want to download XQuartz instead.
XQuartz is an open-source, community driving X11 project, designed to be used instead of (or along side) Apple's X11.

Hopefully you are aware that

1. Xquartz from xquartz.macosforge.org is the development version for Apple's stable X11.
2. On Snow Leopard and Lion, Apple's X11 gets updates/bug-fixes via SU (unlike earlier on Leopard) from the more recent Xquartz releases.
3. lisanet does explicitly not support this for any of the packages available for the different OS X versions, as repeatedly stated in the various support threads in the forums on sourceforge.net ([], [])

and have thoroughly considered the reasons for and consequences of recommending to install the latest and greatest Xquartz from xquartz.macosforge.org to new GIMP users on (Mac) OS X (aka "The complete beginners guide").

[Rottee]

I believe that I followed your instructions above to the letter but I'm not having any success in getting Gimp to open.

When I click on the Gimp.app in my Applications folder on my Mac, it puts an icon in my dock and also an icon for XQuartz, but nothing happens from that point on.

Any suggestions to what I can do to get this program to run for me?

Thanks.

[albertodegama]

So I've successfully downloaded "gimp gap" from the Gimp website. However, when I open the unarchived files, there's no set-up process, just individual exec files, and other folders. I've done some research, and I think I need to compile these files. How would I do that (I'm not experienced with computer script)? If someone would be able to give me detailed instructions, that would be great. Thank you.

[jcarruthers]

I have the same problem. Any answers?