HOW-TO Change defauld tool that is active when I load GIMP

[AZM]

   
I am running a new install of Linux Mint 19.1, MATE Desktop (64 bit) and GIMP 2.8.22.

Brand new installs of GIMP 2.8 like to open with a spray paint tool selected.  Accidental click of the mouse over the image canvas can damage the image.

I forgot how to change the tool and set about asking for help, then gave that Preferences page another look.  So I will answer my own question.

Solution:

Go to Edit > Preferences.  In the left panel, select Toolbox.
The tool list will have the default tool highlighted.  See the image showing the Toolbox Preference image.  It shows the Measurement tool yhighlighted, the Measurement tool is also highlighted in the Toolbox itself.

To change the default tool:
Find the one you want, double-click on its line.

To Save your changes:  In the left panel, select Tool Options
This is just above the Toolbox.  Click to Save Now or to Save on Exit.  See the Tools Options image, where I drew a box around the save options at the top of the Preference window.


-- AZM

[Ofnuts]

Not totally correct.

• A single click is enough to select a tool
  
• Don't forget that the active tool is defined per device. If you have mouse and tablet, you have  an active tool for each. And if you have a double-ended stylus, that gives three active tools. In practice Save tools options now! save the currently active tool, whether you set it by that preferences pan,el or by selecting it in the Toolbox. It also saves the current tool for the other devices.
  

[AZM]

(06-07-2019, 04:54 PM)Ofnuts Wrote: Not totally correct.

• A single click is enough to select a tool
  
• Don't forget that the active tool is defined per device. If you have mouse and tablet, you have  an active tool for each. And if you have a double-ended stylus, that gives three active tools. In practice Save tools options now! save the currently active tool, whether you set it by that preferences pan,el or by selecting it in the Toolbox. It also saves the current tool for the other devices.
  

Thank you Ofnuts for updating me.

I should stick to what I know, that is, operating a Linux DESKTOP with a mouse.  I have no experience with tablets with touch screens.

I learned a couple things here, too:

Solution:  (on Desktop with Mouse)

Open GIMP
The toolbox will have the default tool highlighted.  See the image showing the Toolbox Preference image.  Above the Toolbox Preference page shown in my first post, the Measurement tool is seen highlighted in the Toolbox itself.  To avoid damaging a file being edited, I would rather have this Measurement tool set and not a tool that will alter the contents of the image during accidental click of the mouse.

To change the default tool:
Find the one you want, click it in the Toolbox.

To Save your changes:  (In Linux) select Edit > Preferences.  
On the left panel, select Tool Options  Click to Save Now.  See the Tools Options image, where I drew a box around the save options at the top of the Preference window.

I did not use "Save on Exit" for I want always to open with the Measurement tool.  There are things I can drag with the mouse pointer in the same way a finger on a touch screen does (on my smartphone) but here I have to use the scrollbars.

• May I add, scrolling contents up the screen, going to the bottom of the document page involves sliding a finger UP the touchscreen or using a mouse to scroll the scroll bars DOWN the screen.
  

• That right there -- when going back and forth between a smartphone and a mouse -- has seen me try to slide the contents up the screen with a mouse, spraying paint instead!
  

Do not need to double-click
A single-click of the mouse is all it takes to select tools in the Toolbox or in the Edit > Preferences Toolbox page.

These instructions work with a Linux Desktop.
Windows may place an item in a different menu or call it by another name.
Touchscreen tablets may work differently also; I am not familiar to pass knowledge about them.

Thank you -- AZM