layer mode preview stopped working

[Rita]

GIMP Version: 2.10.24
Operating System: Windows
GIMP Experience: Intermediate Level

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I updated GIMP to 2.10.28, realized it broke a few things I wanted to use, and reinstalled 2.10.24.

Everything seems fine except for one really weird problem that is seriously effecting my productivity and ease of use. When I click to open the blending mode of a layer, the option menu opens with a bunch of empty space at the top that I've never seen before. The real problem is that as I toggle down through the menu, the layer mode is not changed on the image. I have to stop and click each individual mode to get it to show. Then I need to relaunch the menu and do it all over again to see what another mode looks like.

I really want that blending mode preview back. If anyone has a fix, I'd appreciate the help.

[Rita]

Can anyone tell me exactly what resetting the preferences will do for me? Will it fix this? Will it wipe all the special settings I've installed for doing things like soft-proofing? [I have so many things specialized and changed in GIMP that I despair of ever getting a completely clean install to do what I want, even though I have tried to note my changes.]

[rich2005]

Best guess without a screenshot of the left side docks arrangement.

You have several docks grouped on the left side. The layers dock is somewhere near the bottom. Raise the layers dock to the top.

example: https://i.imgur.com/XqP5obz.mp4

Edit:

When I click to open the blending mode of a layer, the option menu opens with a bunch of empty space at the top that I've never seen before. The real problem is that as I toggle down through the menu, the layer mode is not changed on the image

Did it ever work that way ? Use the mouse scroll wheel to get a preview.

example https://i.imgur.com/ld2FDtq.mp4

edit again: If you are using a graphics tablet, then the scroll function might be inconvenient. The keyboard up/down arrow keys work as well.

example https://i.imgur.com/6yO8dnk.mp4

Can anyone tell me exactly what resetting the preferences will do for me? Will it fix this? Will it wipe all the special settings I've installed for doing things like soft-proofing?

You can just reset the windows positions back to default.
Edit -> Preferences -> Window Management -> Reset Saved Window Positions to Default Values

[Rita]

Thanks!

As for the layer mode menu now having a bunch of empty space at the top, I don't care about the empty space. I included it in case it helped to pinpoint the cause of the real problem: the loss of preview.

I'm working on a PC. The video you show of using the scroll wheel is exactly what I've lost. As I scroll up and down the layer modes, *nothing* happens to the image. I can't see what the blending mode will actually do to the image until I click it. [This is clumsy, but I think I remember an older version of GIMP doing this.] I want that ability back--to be able to scroll and see the preview of what each layer mode will do automatically.