GIMP Problem: Tools Don’t Work (SOLVED)

I’ve been running into this weird issue where sometimes when starting GIMP, most of the tools don’t work. I can’t use the brush tool, can’t add text or erase anything. Upon trying to use the brush tool in GIMP, the brush stays outside of the image – it can’t be pulled onto my drawing surface.

For the longest time, I’ve been wondering what caused this weird problem with GIMP where the tools don’t work. Usually I would just restart my computer or use a different program instead, but I really do prefer using GIMP for a lot of image editing, so I went and gave it another look to see if I could find what causes this problem with the program.

I also have a drawing tablet connected, and apparently the brush tool works when using the drawing tablet. So there was some sort of setting that didn’t allow the mouse to be used within the GIMP canvas.

GIMP Tools not Working: Solution

To solve this issue of tools not working in GIMP, I found the following solution:

First, I went into Edit -> Input Devices and then I set the mode to Screen for all that were Disabled (except for the Touch Pad). This includes the Core Pointer, Logitech USB Optical Mouse and others in the list.

Then, I pressed Save and it solved the problem of the tools not working immediately! The brush tool works again as it should, same goes for the text tool, eraser and all of that.

If you happened to run into this issue as well, I hope this solution can help you get your tools back to work in GIMP!

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