Problems installing GIMP/conflicts with flatpak version?

[hedgehoggy]

I'm so confused here, I'm not sure I can explain my problem, but I'll try:

I recently discovered the existence of PPAs ( ) and wanted to have more up to date apps with newer features, etc. I've added what are (I hope) official repositories from the developers of many of the apps I use, and so, I guess what then happens is that the update manager sees that I have Generic App 1.0 installed (the latest version of what the officia Mint repo(s) have), and then the PPA says: aha! I've got Generic App 1.1, and then I upgrade, and all is dandy.

In my quest to find a repository for Okular, someone suggested I download an updated version from flatpak, and I think that's when my problems began. I think my system has somehow confused the flatpak version of apps with the Mint repository versions, or something like that. I have Timeshifted back two or three times now, and still seem to be having this problem. I decided I didn't like using many of the flatpak versions because I couldn't get their icons to show up on my [Slingshot] menu or be pinned to my [Icing task manager] on the panel. I think--I hope!--I'm more or less back to normal now, but I can't seem to install GIMP whether it's the flatpak version or the mint repo version. Perhaps a screenshot would help? Apparently a 336 kb file is too large, so I'll just copy what it says (not my day, is it?):

Could not mark all packages for installation or upgrade

The following packages have unresolvable dependencies. Make sure that all the required repositories are added and enabled in the preferences.

gimp:
Depends: libgimp2.0 (<=2.8.16-z) but 2.8.22-0x0~ppa is to be installed
Depends: gimp-data (<=2.8.16-z) but 2.8.22-0x0~ppa is to be installed

It looks like I had the PPA (ppa:otto-kesselgulasch/gimp) from this article installed:
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2018/05/gim ... u-download

But then I also realized that I had .var in my home folder with org.gimp.GIMP in it, which is, I believe the flatpak version.

This is the best I can articulate the problem in my currently demoralized state. Any suggestions?

[BenTrabetere]

Your sig states you are running Linux Mint 18.1 Cinnamon. If this is the case, the PPA will not install GIMP 2.10 - you will be stuck in the 2.8 series. Which leaves you with four options: Upgrade to LM 19.0, or go with one of the universal packages - AppImage, flatpak, or snap.

I am running LM MATE 18.3, and I use the repository version of GIMP 2.8. I also use the AppImage, flatpak, or snap editions of GIMP 2.10 - all work fine, but I prefer the AppImage.

You say you may have installed the flatpak. You can confirm it by opening a terminal and entering

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flatpak list

The output should be something like this. If you see an entry for org.gimp.GIMP, the flatpak is installed.

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$ flatpak list
Ref                                        Options               
org.darktable.Darktable/x86_64/stable      system,current        
org.gimp.GIMP/x86_64/stable                system,current        
org.kde.krita/x86_64/stable                system,current        
org.freedesktop.Platform.ffmpeg/x86_64/1.6 system,runtime        
org.freedesktop.Platform/x86_64/1.6        system,runtime        
org.gnome.Photos.Locale/x86_64/stable      system,runtime,partial
org.gnome.Platform/x86_64/3.24             system,runtime        
org.gnome.Platform/x86_64/3.26             system,runtime        
org.gnome.Platform/x86_64/3.28             system,runtime        
org.kde.Platform/x86_64/5.10               system,runtime        
org.kde.Platform/x86_64/5.11               system,runtime   

I cannot help you with your Slingshot menu or pinning to Icing task manager. Until someone offers suggestion you can launch the flatpak from the terminal by entering

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flatpak run org.gimp.GIMP

If you have the flatpak installed I see no benefit to installing the snap (and vice versa), because they have similar features and benefits.

On the other hand, I think the AppImage is worth exploring. I have been using it since it was first released, and it is built and maintained by someone who understands how photographers use GIMP. For starters it includes the RAW Importers for darktable, nUFRaw, and RAWTherapee.

The current version is gimp-git-2.10.5-20180809.glibc2.15-x86_64.AppImage, and you can find it at https://github.com/aferrero2707/gimp-ap ... continuous.

Download the file, make it executable, and run.

[hedgehoggy]

What if I just remove flatpak completely? Something I read said that doing so will also remove mintinstall from your system, and I don't want to do that. I may have neglected to mention that I upgraded to 18.3 via the update manager before Timeshifting back to 18.1 (I tried going two or three snapshots back and still ended up having the same problem).

At this point I'm tempted to do a fresh install, except that that poses its own problems, because I'm not quite sure how I got mint on here in the first place (my zenbook has the two ssd/RAID 0/whatever setup going, and I remember that caused a lot of problems). At this point I'm not as worried about GIMP as getting my system back to how it was before all this.

[BenTrabetere]

What if I just remove flatpak completely?

If flatpak is installed I would leave it in place. It does not take up much space, and it is nice to have the option to run a flatpak application.

At this point I'm not as worried about GIMP as getting my system back to how it was before all this.

I suggest you start a new thread in the Installation and Boot forum.

[hedgehoggy]

I managed (somehow) to remove flatpak, and my system seems stable, so I guess I'm not going to worry about reinstalling at this point. Thanks for your help though!

[AZgl1800]

Just a comment:

I am great believer in Don't fix what isn't broken

If you want to experiment with things like you are doing, try to have a separate PC, or a 2nd Partition with a dual boot install, so you can experiment with other versions of apps....

I have two Linux OSs installed, I play with the "dangerous" stuff on the one I don't use for my daily driver.
I also have a 2nd PC with a 3rd OS installed on it, to see how that works on real hardware.

I also have VirtualBox installed but that is not quite the same thing as being on real hardware.

And be Religious about doing Manual Backups on Timeshift, and label that backup something like Prior to installing Gimp Flatpak

this allows you to backup cleanly to where you were before.

[hedgehoggy]

Thanks for the advice--we don't have a junk laptop to experiment with at the moment, but I have sort of done what you describe in the past (I was pleasantly surprised to discover how easy it was to install Mint on an old Toshiba laptop, and then tried doing the same on my Zenbook, only to discover how much Mint doesn't like RAID 0/Disk Striping/Whatever. The Fedora installer seemed to deal better with RAID 0; Mint not so much. I'm still not exactly sure how I got Mint 18.1 up and running on the machine I'm now typing on . . .). When I started with Fedora, many moons ago, I accidentally wiped Windows off entirely. That was one way to make sure that I stayed with Linux--no Windows Installation Media! Back yourself into a corner and learn as best you can.

After learning the hard way, I did actually set up Timeshift to do a weekly snapshot; the problem was, I couldn't remember how far back I'd installed flatpak, so two Timeshifts back did nothing to remove it. Thankfully the third one took me back far enough to be pre-flatpak.

[AZgl1800]

I do occasional Manual Timeshifts, don't depend on Dailys except for a "save my arse" that is later than the last manual, here is what I have been doing lately



I recently set up Redshift with keyboard shortcuts to give me
morning, evening, bedtime ( what I am using right now, it is black outside )

and I wanted to remember which backup that was


Here you can see that I tried an older kernel because it was supposed to help with a problem I had, it didn't so I backed it out.... but included comments on other stuff that I had done since then.