How to Dock a Dialog to a Toolbox GIMP
GIMP is an open-source graphics program with features comparable to other professional graphics programs. Among GIMP's features are the "Docks," windows that open outside the image window for controls and tools--such as the layers dialog or the channels dialog--that make them readily accessible. GIMP uses dialogs and docks instead of tool bars, and comes packaged with two default docks populated with several dialogs. Add dialogs to these docks, remove dialogs from them, or create new docks with their own dialogs.
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Instructions
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Manipulating Docking Tabs
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Start GIMP and notice the three windows it opens. The image window is blank until you load an image and has the GIMP menu along the top bar. The Toolbox window contains icons for tools and a dialog for each tool. The Layers, Channels, Paths and Undo Window is a dock that contains four dockable dialogs--Layers, Channels, Paths and Undo History, each with its own tab at the top.
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Point at any of the four tabs in the Layers, Channels Paths and Undo dock with the mouse cursor and, after a moment, a small note appears that tells what the tab is for. If you click on a tab, it opens the dialog for that tab inside the dock. This makes many GIMP functions more readily accessible than navigating through two or more layers of menus.
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Point at the "Undo History" tab in the "Layers, Channels, Paths, Undo" dock, hold down the left mouse button and drag the tab outside the dock, but not into another dock. Release the mouse button. The Undo History dialog is now removed from the dock and has its own window called a "dockable dialog." The title of the dock changes to "Layers, Channels, Paths." This will not work if the dialog has been locked onto the dock.
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Point the mouse cursor at "Undo History" in the dockable dialog and the cursor changes to a hand. This is the drag handle for the dockable dialog. Hold the left mouse button down, drag the dialog back to the "Layers, Channels, Paths" dock to the area just to the right of the tabs, and release the mouse button. As you drag the outside the dialog, the cursor changes to a box with the label of the dialog and its icon. The Undo History dialog is once again docked and the dock name changes to reflect this.
Adding Dialogs to Docks
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Click on the "Windows" menu in the main image window and move the mouse pointer to "Dockable Dialogs" to display a list of dialogs that may be docked. Click on the "Navigation" dialog and the Navigation dialog opens.
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Click on the "Window" menu again and look at the bottom section of the menu. Navigation is displayed along with the two docks--"Toolbox" and "Layers, Channels, Paths, Undo"--because it is also a dock. Each dialog may also be used as a dock. Point the cursor at "Dockable Dialogs" and select "Colors" from the list of dockable dialogs. GIMP opens another dialog called "FB/BG" with a drag handle labeled "FB/BG Colors."
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Point the cursor at the drag handle in the "FB/BG" dialog, drag it to the drag handle in the "Navigation Dialog" and release the mouse button. The drag handle area of the Navigation Window changes and contains two tabs--"Navigation" and "FB/BG." The Navigation dialog name changes to "Navigation, FB/BG" to reflect that it is now a dock. This works for any dock and any dockable dialog.
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Tips & Warnings
The GIMP saves open docks whenever it exits, so the next time you open GIMP, the dock you created previously is also opened. This allows you to create custom docks that contain dialogs for your most commonly used tools and controls.
Drag a dialog tab directly from one dock to another.
