After starting the GIMP, our screen should look something like this...


At this point we can close the long Tools window on the right side of the screen since all of the tools we're going to be using are also on the left-hand side of our screen. There's no need to overwhelm our senses at this point.

We can also close out the Tip of the Day window. Until we uncheck the Show tip next time GIMP starts checkbox, the tip of the day will appear on our screen each time we start the program. It's a useful feature in that it gives us information we can use to master the GIMP. It also gets in the way of the way of the work we'll be doing.


Since layers are the key to making the most of the GIMP, let's make sure we have a Layers, Channels, and Paths window. It looks something this:


If our Layers, Channels, and Paths window is missing (or we accidentally close it) we can easily open a new one by going to File, Create New Dock, and choosing Layers, Channels, and Paths like this...


One thing we can do is ask the GIMP program to remember which windows we're using and where they are located on the screen. We can do this by going to File and choosing Preferences.


Afterwards, we'll see a window like this:


The last thing we'll do is click on Windows Management. We want to make sure we click on the Save Windows Positions Now button. The next time we start the GIMP, our windows will be where we like them to be.
jg