GIMP Version: 2.8.14
Operating System: Linux
GIMP Experience: Basic Level

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If I want to save my gimp workspace (all participating images and layers in their own panels) I can "kill" the gimp process and then recover the workspace when I restart the application.

I want to be save that restore image under a unique name and then reload it on demand.

How can I do that?

Are you speaking about Themes Edit/Preferences/Interface/Theme?
or may be saving your tools options Edit/Preferences/Tool Options ?

Thank you but no.

When I'm building a picture I'll pull in a number of different picture files, scale them, trim them and so on. gradually applying the parts (layers) to the whole. One result is a row of icons representing the various files in their various states of work.

When I quit gimp properly I am prompted to save each image individually but what I want to do is to be able to restore the *project* just as it is with all its parts in their various states just as they were. I can then re-work some of the parts and re-build my project's image with some revisions to those layers.

I can do that by terminating the gimp process -- i.e. make it crash. I can then later re-start gimp and be prompted to restore my previous session.

I want to be able to name a session/project and restore it on demand by 'opening' that project.

The mechanism is there through the 'restore' function but I don't see a way of making it work as I describe here.

Menu Windows/Dockable Dialogue/Document History > you will got your last 100 docs
Menu File/Open Recent > you will have your last 10 docs with their shortcut to open them Ctrl+1 to Ctrl+0

It is the "all participating images" that is the problem. A regular Gimp xcf saves all layers, masks, active selections, .etc and there are plugins to create backups at intervals. But you would need to save the individual "participating images" and load back on command. Someone might script for Gimp or some sort of bash script.

If you need to restore the whole state of the machine and then revert back at some time. Fraught with probable disasters: Best I could find https://unix.stackexchange.com/question ... tem/226161



Even more fraught with disaster

Maybe use a VirtualBox with a 'lightweight' linux, something like antiX, just for Gimp and take snapshots as you go along.

Part of the way but still not automatic. Based on an old Saul Goode script sg-save-all.scm

Tiny mod to include .xcf format. This will save all open images to a folder of choice with a unique filename (as-you-enter)

You will still have to open all the images yourself.

before to do a kill (which you know is bad), save all your files on the row of icons on the top,
then next time you open GIMP go to File > Open... (Ctrl+O) a new window open with all your last files, you can select multiple files with Ctrl + click or select first file then Shift + Click on the last and they will open all at once

All great suggestions. Thank you.

Know it is bad, indeed I do. Very very bad, I've been told. I get away with it though. There is no enforcement of the rule whatsoever.

I often find that. Nobody's watching. It's like nobody cares if we follow the rules. I find that sometimes the best fix for all that ails ye is to pull the plug and plug it back in again.

I discovered few months ago that my youngest kid (9-years-old) was shutting down its computer by switching off the switch on the wall's outlet...
Did his distro (MX Linux) got a problem the next morning? No! Never, just starting like nothing never happened...
And when I asked him why he did that, he told me, "it shutdown faster"... (yep 3 clicks and 5 seconds are slowing him down too much )

We know that we can abuse Linux , and yes we are using a kill command just because we can , no worries we all do or did it
Have a great day

Good kid you got there. Nite nite.

Yes, but it takes much longer to start next time around since it does a fsck on every filesystem.

Just tried it (few times), I don't see any noticeable difference, still less than 10 seconds to get to the login, the only thing I got was a "Papa you told me to not do that, but you you do it..."