How to reload photo in Gimp

I use Gimp to do post processing on some of my photos, after I have edited them in darktable. I do this by exporting to TIFF from darktable, opening the TIFF file in Gimp and then do further editing in Gimp.

But sometimes I realise that I forgot to do something in darktable, so I go back and do that, and re-export a new version of the TIFF file from darktable. But how do I then get Gimp to re-load the TIFF file, so I don’t have to repeat all the edits I’ve done on the old TIFF file, on the new TIFF file?

I realise that if I change the cropping of the photo, then things won’t be in the same place, and so some or all edits won’t work right. But if I have only changed things like exposure or colour saturation, then it wouldn’t be a problem to reload the photo. Or would it?

Thanks in advance.

You could open the old tiff and the new tiff in gimp. Copy the new tiff and paste it as a layer into the old tiff. Move the pasted layer down to just above the base layer, and all the edits should be applied.

Gimp has an option to “open as layer” from the file menu.

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The Gimp, as far as I know, has In contrast to darktable no non destructive editing. So, applying an “old” history stack to a new image is not possible,

Up until now I haven’t used layers, because I don’ẗ understand them. Or rather: I haven’t been able to make them work.

An example: If I open a photo, create a layer on top of the layer containing the photo, and then try to use the clone tool on the new layer, to cover up something in the photo, nothing happens. I have only been able to make the clone tool work in the same layer as the photo.

I’m sure I’m doing something wrong, in the above example. But I don’t know what.

Could you point me to a video or page, that will teach me how to make that work?

Ah, okay. That would explain why I haven’t been able to google an answer to this. :laughing:

Thank you.

@jbang Some people keep a layer for every step they take by creating new layer from visible after each step. The downside to this approach would be making GIMP file unreasonably large.

Tip: to keep track of each step, rename your layers with a description of what you did.

Maybe I am missing the point, but what I would do is export a new tif file from GIMP, and import that back into darktable. It would not follow from your old work in darktable, but you could apply the missing fixes to it, if that’s all you need.

Otherwise, what everyone else said. :grin:

I don’t do a lot of work in Gimp, so I don’t think a layer per step would be a problem for me. But after the answer from Thomas_Do I’m wondering how an edit in an old layer would end up working on a layer with a new version of the photo in it.

You’re not missing anything, and I have to admit, that I hadn’t thought of that solution myself. But I would like to keep the exporting down to a minimum. :slight_smile:

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@jbang You can save masks in the channels list. It is unintuitive I know, but entirely possible. Other than that, using the same effect or edit on different pixels yields different results anyway.

I guess if you have a horrible memory like myself you might need to keep a separate text document chronicling your edits. :stuck_out_tongue:

In the clone tool settings, click sample merged. That causes the clone tool to sample all the layers instead of the current one.

Yes, there are tools with that ability. Also keep track of which layer or mask (or channel) is active. I often mess up by selecting the wrong one.