GIMP 2.10.30 Released! Improved file format support, Prefer Freedesktop API

GIMP image editor got a new bug-fix release for the current 2.10 stable series today. Here’s what’s new and how to install it in Ubuntu 20.04 & Ubuntu 21.10.

GIMP 2.10.30 improved several file format supports. PSD support received various types of improvements allowing it to load more sub-cases of PSD. And, AVIF export now favors AOM encoder.

Color picking from Colors dockable can now use the Freedesktop API when available. The screenshot plugin for GNOME 41 has been dropped due to restricted API. And, in KDE it uses in priority the Freedesktop API.

Other changes in GIMP 2.10.30 include:

Do not follow subpixel font rendering choice from system settings for text layer rendering.
Rewrite the core selection drawing logics so that it works on macOS Big Sur and over.
On Windows, move from GetICMProfile() to WcsGetDefaultColorProfile() API because the former is broken in Windows 11.
Extension .avif now associated to GIMP.
Various improvements to metadata support.

How to Install GIMP 2.10.30 in Ubuntu:

1. GIMP Flatpak:

The project team recommends the flatpak package, the universal Linux package format runs in sandbox. Flatpak works on most Linux though it takes more disk space.

The package is available at flathub.org. Users need to follow the setup guide and install the flatpak via the command in the bottom of the link page.

2. GIMP Snap:

The image editor is also available as Snap, another universal package format developed by Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu.

The snap version is not updated at the moment. It however will automatically update to the latest (once published) after installed it. And the snap is available in Ubuntu Software:

3. Ubuntu PPA

For those stick to the NATIVE .deb package, GIMP 2.10.30 is available to install via this unofficial PPA in Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 21.04, and Ubuntu 21.10 for 64-bit PC and/or arm64/armhf devices (e.g., Raspberry Pi).

Ubuntu 18.04 is excluded due to outdated system library. For choice, user may use this PPA which depends updated FFmpeg library that may break other packages in your system.

1.) Firstly, either search for and open terminal from the Activities overview screen, or press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard. When terminal opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/gimp

Type user password (no visual feedback) when it asks and hit Enter to continue.

2.) Next, install GIMP 2.10.30 either by running apt command in terminal:

sudo apt install gimp gegl libgegl-0.4-0

or upgrade the editor using Software Updater (Update Manager):

Remove PPA and restore GIMP:

For any issue, you can purge the Ubuntu PPA which will downgrade the installed packages to the stock versions. To do so, firstly install the ppa-purge utility:

sudo apt install ppa-purge

Next run command to purge the Ubuntu PPA:

sudo ppa-purge ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/gimp

Ji m

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I'm a freelance blogger who started using Ubuntu in 2007 and wishes to share my experiences and some useful tips with Ubuntu beginners and lovers. Please comment to let me know if the tutorial is outdated! And, notify me if you find any typo/grammar/language mistakes. English is not my native language. Contact me via ubuntuhandbook1@gmail.com Buy me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/ubuntuhandbook1

8 responses to GIMP 2.10.30 Released! Improved file format support, Prefer Freedesktop API

Boaz December 22, 2021 at 7:36 am

Hi,

Thanks for the quick release in your PPA of the just released GIMP.

Please update the G’MIC package as well, or just change the versioning system as currently it marked as newer than version 3.0.0 (manually installed from original deb file).

Reply
geany December 23, 2021 at 12:23 pm

Hey Ji m,

If it’s not too much trouble could you please consider adding Geany to your PPA? It’s a fast and lightweight IDE, and the latest release in the unofficial PPA is over a year old.

Thank you so much for all the work that you do!

Reply
- Ji m December 23, 2021 at 2:34 pm
  
  I’ll try to backport the package from Debian in the next few days. :)
  
  Reply
geany December 23, 2021 at 4:53 pm

Thank you so much, you’re a lifesaver!

Reply
Christine February 7, 2022 at 8:07 pm

Hi Jim,
Thanks for providing the GIMP PPA.
Would it not be possible to keep a previous version as well, in case of issues with the new version?
At the moment I cannot use 2.10.30 because the colour picker is broken in MATE desktops.
How do I now revert to 2.10.28? It’s taken from the repo already :-(

Reply
- Ji m February 8, 2022 at 3:39 pm
  Unable to keep a previous version unless maintaining another PPA … Launch PPA has option to list superseded builds, but NOT provides package files 😓. Though, it’s possible to copy and publish them in another PPA.
  
  If you really need v2.10.28, try the SNAP package which stuck at that version at the moment.
  
  Or, you may choose to purge the PPA which also downgrade GIMP to the original version in Ubuntu repository:
  
  sudo apt install ppa-purge && sudo ppa-purge ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/gimp
  Reply
craig parker April 19, 2022 at 7:25 pm

Still couldn’t open avif with GIMP 2.10.20… Not sure what ails it. I’m on Mint 20.2.

Reply
- Ji m April 21, 2022 at 6:07 am
  
  Tried in Mint 20.3 within Virtualbox, GIMP 2.10.30 import/export avif works in my case. Try launching it from terminal (via gimp command) and see if there’s error output on avif import/export, and report bugs at:
  
  https://www.gimp.org/bugs/
  
  Reply