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## 11. Patterns dialog

The Patterns dialog

In GIMP, a pattern is a small image used to fill areas by placing copies of side by side. See the Patterns section for basic information on patterns and how they can be created and used.

The Patterns dialog is used to select a pattern, by clicking on it in a list or grid view: the selected pattern will then be shown in the Brush/Pattern/Gradient area of the Toolbox. A few dozen more or less randomly chosen patterns are supplied with GIMP, and you can easily add new patterns of your own.

The Patterns dialog is a dockable dialog; see the section on Dialogs and Docking for help on manipulating it. It can be activated in several ways:

- From the Toolbox menu: File->Dialogs->Patterns.

- From the Toolbox menu: File->Dialogs->Create New Dock->Brushes, Patterns, and Gradients. This gives you a dock containing three dialogs, with the Patterns dialog one of them.

- From the Toolbox, by clicking on the pattern symbol in the Brush/Pattern/Gradient area.

- From an image menu: Dialogs->Patterns.

- From the Tab menu in any dockable dialog: Add Tab->Patterns.

- From the Tool Options dialog for the Clone tool, by clicking on the Pattern icon button. This option appears because the Clone tool is capable of painting with patterns.

### Grid/List modes

In the Tab menu, you can choose between View as Grid and View as List. In Grid mode, the patterns are laid out in a rectangular array, making it easy to see many at once and find the one you are looking for. In List mode, the patterns are lined up in a list, with the names beside them.

### Using the Patterns dialog (Grid mode)

At the top appears the name of the currently selected patterns, and its dimenions in pixels.

In the center appears a grid view of all available patterns, with the currently selected one outlined. Clicking on one of them sets it as GIMP's current pattern, and causes it to appear in the Brush/Pattern/Gradient area of the Toolbox.

Below the grid appear two buttons:

- Delete Pattern. Pressing this button removes the pattern from the list and causes the file representing it to be deleted from disk. Note that you cannot remove any of the patterns that are supplied with GIMP and installed in the system `patterns` directory; you can only remove patterns that you have added to folders where you have write permission.

- Refresh Patterns. Pressing this button causes GIMP to rescan the folders in your pattern search path, adding any newly discovered patterns to the list. This button is useful if you add new patterns to a folder, and want to make them available without having to restart GIMP.

### Using the Patterns dialog (List view)

The Patterns dialog (List view)

In this view, instead of a grid, you see a list of patterns, each labeled with its name and size. Clicking on a row in the list sets that pattern as GIMP's current pattern, just as it does in the grid view.

If you double-click on the name of a pattern, you will be able to edit the name. Note that you are only allowed to rename patterns that you have added yourself, not the ones that are supplied with GIMP. If you edit a name that you don't have permission to change, as soon as you hit return or move to a different control, the name will revert back to its previous value.

Everything else in the List view works the same way as it does in the Grid view.

| Note
In the Tab menu, the option Preview Size allows you to adapt the size of pattern previews to your liking.

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