Figure 15.23.  The “Create a New Image” dialog

Rather than entering all the values by hand, you can select some predefined values for your image from a menu of templates, which represent image types that are somewhat commonly useful. The templates set values for the size, resolution, comments, etc. If there is a particular image shape that you you use often and it does not appear on the list, you can create a new template, using the Templates dialog.

Here you set the Width and Height of the new image. The default units are pixels, but you can choose a different unit if you prefer, using the adjoining menu. If you do, note that the resulting pixel size is determined by the X and Y resolution (which you can change in the Advanced Options), and by setting ΓÇ£Dot for DotΓÇ¥ in the View menu.

When you open a new image from the File menu of the Toolbox, it is created with the size defined in Preferences. If you open it from the File menu of an existing image, the size of the new image is the same as the size of the existing image.

	Note
	Keep in mind that every pixel of an image is stored in memory. If you create large files with a high pixel density, GIMP will need a lot of time and memory for every function you apply to the image.

There are two buttons which toggle between Portrait and Landscape mode. What they actually do is to exchange the values for Width and Height. (If the Width and Height are the same, these buttons are not activated.) If the X and Y resolutions are not the same (which you can set in Advanced Options), then these values are also exchanged. On the right of the dialog, image size, screen resolution and color space are displayed.

The values in the X resolution and Y resolution fields relate mainly to printing: they do not affect the size of the image in pixels, but they may determine its physical size when it is printed. The X and Y resolution values can determine how pixels are translated into other measurement units, such as millimeters or inches.

Tip

If you want to display the image on the screen at the correct dimensions, select View → Dot for Dot Set the zoom factor to 100% to see the image at its true screen size. The calibration of the screen size is normally done when GIMP is installed, but if the image does not display at the correct size, you may have to adjust the screen parameters in the GIMP. You can do this in the Preferences dialog.

Figure 15.25.  Colorspace menu

You can create the new image as either an RGB image or a grayscale image.

RGB color: The image is created in the Red, Green, Blue color system, which is the one used by your monitor or your television screen.

Grayscale: The image is created in black and white, with various shades of gray. Aside from your artistic interests, this type of image may be necessary for some plug-ins. Nevertheless, the GIMP allows you to change an RGB image into grayscale, if you would like.

You cannot create an indexed image directly with this menu, but of course you can always convert the image to indexed mode after it has been created. To do that, use the Image → Mode → Iindexed command.

Figure 15.26.  Fill menu

Here, you specify the background color that is used for your new image. It is certainly possible to change the background of an image later, too. You can find more information about doing that in the Layer dialog.

You can write a descriptive comment here. The text is attached to the image as a ΓÇ£parasiteΓÇ¥, and is saved with the image by some file formats (PNG, JPEG, GIF).

	Note
	You can read back this comment by using the Info Window.