Customize GIMP Canvas Title for Bit Depth and Color Space

This guide explains how to customize the canvas title template in GIMP to display an active document’s bit depth and color space directly on the image window header. By using GIMP’s built-in format variables in the application preferences, you can monitor document precision and color profiles at a glance without opening extra dialog menus.

Step 1: Open GIMP Preferences

  1. Launch GIMP.
  2. Navigate to the top menu and select Edit > Preferences (on macOS, select GIMP > Preferences).

Step 2: Navigate to Title & Status Settings

  1. In the Preferences dialog, expand the Image Windows category in the left sidebar.
  2. Click on Title & Status.

Here, you will find two primary input fields:

  • Image title format: Controls what appears in the title bar of the image window.
  • Image status format: Controls what appears in the status bar at the bottom of the window.

Step 3: Identify the Required Format Variables

GIMP uses specific character codes (variables preceded by a percent sign) to dynamically display file information:

  • %z – Precision and bit depth (e.g., 8-bit integer, 16-bit integer, 32-bit floating point).
  • %c – Color profile name (the assigned ICC color profile/color space, such as sRGB or Display P3).
  • %t – Image type/mode (e.g., RGB, Grayscale, Indexed).

Step 4: Edit the Image Title Format String

Click inside the Image title format text field. You can combine existing placeholders (such as %f for filename) with the bit depth and color space codes.

Recommended Title Template:

%f-%p.%v (%t, %z, %c)

What this outputs in your title bar:

  • %f: File name
  • %p: Image ID
  • %v: View number
  • %t: Color mode (e.g., RGB color)
  • %z: Bit depth / precision (e.g., 16-bit gamma integer)
  • %c: Color profile (e.g., sRGB built-in)

Step 5: Save and Apply Changes

  1. Click OK at the bottom of the Preferences dialog to save your settings.
  2. The window title will immediately update on any open images to reflect the newly specified bit depth and color space information.