-600 error opening image files from the Finder when Gimp.app is open

[EnekoGotzon]

SOFTWARE

• Mac OS X 10.9.4 (13E28) –Mavericks.
  
• MacPorts base version: 2.3.1
  
• GIMP ports installed:
  gimp @2.8.10_0 (active)
  gimp-app @2.8.2_2 (active)
  gimp-help-en @2.8.1_0+python27 (active)
  gimp-jp2 @2.2.0_6 (active)
  gimp-lqr-plugin @0.7.2_0 (active)
  gimp2 @2.8.10_6+help_browser+python27 (active)
  xorg-server @1.16.0_1
  xorg-server @1.16.0_2 (active)
  

• All software up to date.
  
• "sudo port clean --all installed" command: executed.

ISSUE

Trying to open an image file with The GIMP from the contextual menu of the Finder:

• Always works if:
  .Both X11 and The GIMP are closed.
  .X11 is open and The GIMP is closed.
  
• Always fails if both X11 and The GIMP are open. Sometimes this error message is shown: The application “GIMP.app” can't be opened. -600.
  

Trying to open the same image files from the File menu inside the GIMP.app always work.

Thank you! :)

[EnekoGotzon]

Error message

[mf2k (Frank Schima)]

In the future, please Cc the port maintainers (port info --maintainers gimp). As reporter, you do not need to Cc yourself.

[dbevans (David B. Evans)]

Thank YOU for the report. Will take a look. Since this is a Finder integration issue, I'm thinking that this is not an issue with gimp2 (the actual GIMP binary) but with gimp-app, the Mac app that acts as a front end to the ${prefix}/bin/gimp binary provided by gimp2.

[dbevans (David B. Evans)]

I've been able to reproduce the reported problem and have determined that the problem only occurs in the situation where GIMP.app (provided by gimp-app) is already running without regard to the state of ${prefix}/bin/gimp or the X11 server, either XQuartz or MacPorts xorg-server (slightly newer version of the same thing).

When initially running ${prefix}/bin/gimp from the command line in the terminal with the name of the target file as an argument (without using GIMP.app), GIMP launches and correctly opens the target file in a window. Subsequent such commands while ${prefix}/bin/gimp is running results in a new instance of the file being opened in an additional window in the original GIMP process not a new instance of GIMP in a separate process. This is the expected behavior.

gimp my-image.jpeg & # lauches GIMP and opens my-image.jpeg in a window.
gimp my-image.jpeg & # opens a new copy of my-image.jpeg in a second window of the running GIMP process

In the case of the GIMP.app, if the GIMP.app is not running and GIMP itself is not running, attempting to open the file from the context window opens GIMP.app, displaying an icon in the dock, ${prefix}/bin/gimp launches and the file is opened in a window as expected. If ${prefix}/bin/gimp was already running (say from a terminal invocation) then the image is opened in an additional window as above.

However, at this point, if you right-click on the GIMP.app icon in the dock, the context menu says the application (GIMP.app) is not responding and a subsequent attempt to open the file via context menu fails with the -600 error shown above. Forcing GIMP.app to quit from the dock kills GIMP.app and any child ${prefix}/bin/gimp process.

So it appears that after the initial successful attempt, GIMP.app is in an improper state which makes it impossible for the Finder to communicate with it further. Further digging required to see why this is the case.

[EnekoGotzon]

I forgot to add:

• xorg-server @1.16.0_1
  
• xorg-server @1.16.0_2 (active)
  

as also installed ports. Sorry.
I don't know if the ticket can be edited to add this information.
Thank you.

[dbevans (David B. Evans)]

Replying to enekogotzon@…:

I forgot to add:

• xorg-server @1.16.0_1
  
• xorg-server @1.16.0_2 (active)
  

as also installed ports. Sorry.
I don't know if the ticket can be edited to add this information.
Thank you.

Thanks. However, as I mentioned above, it doesn't look like this is an issue.

[EnekoGotzon]

Replying to devans@…:

Thanks. However, as I mentioned above, it doesn't look like this is an issue.

Yes, known because I have carefully read your comments, but just I wanted provide the information you asked at the beginning of the thread. Good life David :)

[dbevans (David B. Evans)]

gimp2 updated to version 2.8.14 in r124864. gimp-app continues to show this same problem whether gimp2 is built +x11 or +quartz.

It appears to me that the problem is a bug in gimp-app. If I understand the code correctly, after gimp-app launches the gimp binary as a child process, it waits for that process to die before doing anything else. This accounts for it being unresponsive to additional events from the Finder.

I'm heading out for vacation in the next day or so, so will not be able to do much further until I get back. Will see what I can do after I return. In the meantime, if anyone else has any insight into how to fix this, please feel free to make the appropriate changes.

Thanks.

[EnekoGotzon]

Same behavior when asking The GIMP as external editor from the contextual menu of iPhoto.app.

[mascguy (Christopher Nielsen)]

This ticket is seven years old, and relates to a MUCH older version of GIMP. Closing.

[jmroot (Joshua Root)]

Replying to mascguy:

This ticket is seven years old, and relates to a MUCH older version of GIMP. Closing.

But more importantly, you confirmed that the issue no longer occurs…right?

[mascguy (Christopher Nielsen)]

Yes indeed. I'm using the Quartz version, and per Dave in comment:7, the failure used to occur for both X11 and Quartz variations.

Looks fixed to me...