GIMP trouble

[Tofumaster]

Hey i am kinda new to GIMP and am struggling to understand some things, My main problem is how to get a Picture into a GIMP uhh file? without opening up a new file just for that picture and also the layers dont seem to come up like they do in Photoshop ( like in the side bar), appreciate any help with a great thx Tofumaster.

[hackgod]

well.just open your new document and go to File>open as layers

this should do

and to get the layer tab just go to Dialogues>layers