28 security fixes also rolled into latest update

GIMP 3.2.6 released with faster font loading, Wacom barrel rotation

GIMP 3.2.6 has arrived, a new maintenance update in the 3.2.x series that made a splash earlier this year.

You won’t find any major new features, but plenty of improvements – not least in font handling.

GIMP say font loading is faster, with start-up times, Text tool typing and closing large font lists all nippier when lots of fonts are installed. The team note “some lag remains”, and solving that would require a GTK4 port – for which some initial prep has begun.

On the editing side, Cut now works on layer groups; Color Picker can picks up filters applied to individual layers (it ignored them before) when Sample Merged is set; and Text tool tweaks allow selecting text for editing even if a layer mask covers it.

Stylus users will be pleased to hear GIMP 3.2.6 supports barrel rotation on early Wacom Art Pen and newer Wacom Art Pen 2 pens. It lets GIMP know how you rotate the brush in your hand as you draw.

The MyPaint Brush is hooked upon to the feature, so if you own a compatible stylus, feedback is picked up as you paint.

On KDE, dialogs now use server-side decorations, rather than GNOME’s client-side ones, so buttons appear at the bottom rather than a header-bar. The team says “more system theme leaks” were in Breeze, resolving UI glitches.

Elsewhere, GIMP’s macOS packages are now built at the same time as its Windows and Linux builds.

Besides simply being better overall, there’s a more compelling reason to upgrade from 3.2.4 are: 28 CVEs (security issues) fixes. These square off vulnerabilities found in the editor’s image format plug-ins, rather than glaring holes in the software itself.

You can download GIMP on the official website, where a Linux AppImages is available alongside Windows and macOS installers, all available for 64-bit Intel/AMD and ARM systems.

Alternatively, GIMP is available on Flathub and on the Snap Store, so if you have it installed from there, look out for this update – it should hit those stores in the coming days.