How to make Gimp run as a single window?

Gimp is nice, but the one thing that drives me nuts is that everything floats around in front of each other, often hiding the main window and forcing me to minimize all open windows until I find the one floating window that I am looking for.

I'd like to have the floating windows docked along the edges of that main window, the way practically every other application works. I know this floating thing is one of the things that make Gimp special, but it's not the kind of "special" that I like... I don't have a huge screen, so it quickly gets too cramped. And I often use Gimp briefly, multitasking with other apps, so the many Gimp windows are annoying.

How can I make Gimp run in one window, with everything else inside it?

This is Gimp 2.6.11 -- just because that's what came with my Ubuntu 11.10 installation.

Solution 1:

Ubuntu 14.04 and higher

Open GIMP, and go to Windows > Single-Window Mode

Ubuntu 12.04

Single-Window Mode is only available since GIMP 2.8+. You will have to install GIMP 2.8 from a ppa if you want Single-Window Mode. Just follow the next instructions:

Add the GIMP PPA. Open the terminal and copy/paste the following command: sudo apt-add-repository ppa:otto-kesselgulasch/gimp && sudo apt-get update
Update GIMP using Update Manager or apt-get.
Open GIMP, and go to Windows > Single-Window Mode

Now you have a single window! For example, my GIMP main menu:

enter image description here

Solution 2:

Select "Single-Window Mode" from the Windows menu item. The setting will persist between GIMP launches, and is only available for GIMP version 2.8 and over. ( How do I get GIMP 2.8? )

Screenshot of GIMP 2.8, with the Windows menu open and Single-Window Mode selected

Solution 3:

There is an unofficial application to use Gimp 2.x in a single window mode called GIMPBox.

You can find all the info with installation guide about it here. It seems a bit complicated to install, but you will have a single window Gimp 2.6.

Personally, I would suggest you install Gimp 2.8. It's a stable release so there should be nothing to worry about. I use it too and the single window mode is awesome! Simply follow the instructions espectalll123 has given to install it and you are good to go.