Microsoft Paint or MS Paint is a simple raster graphics editor with all Windows versions. The software opens and saves files in JPEG, Windows bitmap (BMP), PNG, GIF and single-page TIFF formats. It can be in two-color black-and-white or color mode.
Thanks to the simplicity and user-friendliness of the software, it quickly became one of the most-used applications of Windows. It introduced painting on a computer to millions of users for the first time. While much more sophisticated apps are available today, MS Paint is still used for simple image manipulation tasks. As a matter of fact, Microsoft has wanted to replace this program with Paint 3D. However, MS Paint was never discontinued, and it continues to become better with updates and new features.
If you recently switched from Windows to Mac, you must be missing Microsoft Paint because there is no official MS Paint for Mac yet. However, there are accessible alternatives you can consider, and one of them comes pre-installed with Mac systems called Preview. To know more about how you can get the same experience of MS Paint on Mac, click https://setapp.com/how-to/paint-for-mac.
Let’s focus on the wonderful MS Paint features you weren’t using but wish you were.
- Change the Picture Size
Control + Plus sign and Control + Minus sign are the shortcuts you can use to resize image selections in MS Paint. You don’t have to drag the selection. You can use the Select tool in the software to select a specific picture area and then use the Control shortcuts. The image size will be changed.
- Invert Colors on Images
Inverting colors is one of the valuable features that you cannot miss out on using. You need to open your picture with Paint and click the Select menu. Then, you have to pick the rectangular selection or the free-form selection. It would be best to choose the image’s portion where you must invert the colors and right-click on it. Choose the invert colors option, and you are done.
- Decrease or Increase the Brush Size
Increase or decrease the brush size using the shortcuts Control + Plus sign and Control + Minus sign. It will increase or decrease the size of the tip. The shortcut works for the brush, pencil, line drawing tool and airbrush.
- Use the Eraser as a Color Replacement Tool
If there’s an uneven patch of green color on a picture that you wish to replace with yellow, you can use the Fill bucket command. However, the shape isn’t uniform, and the Fill bucket command might not do a great job. It would be easier for you to use the Eraser tool as the color replacement tool to fill the patch with a color of your choice.
You have to use the color picker tool to choose the color you wish to replace and then select the replacement color by right-clicking in the color palette. Then, select the eraser tool and wave it across the picture while holding the right-click button.
- Create Bespoke Brushes
The software comes with a set of brushes you can use to edit or complete simple image manipulation tasks. Suppose you want to use a cooler brush, you can create bespoke brushes. Choose the pencil tool and draw a small textured brush in the color of your choice. Then, choose the image you drew and switch on the transparency option. You need to hold the Shift key and drag it around.
- Make Gradients
Using the line tool, you can create a gradient in MS Paint by opening the program and drawing a diagonal line across the page. You need to use the paint bucket and fill one side of it with any color of your choice. After that, click on Resize and uncheck the aspect ratio checkbox. You need to change the horizontal value to one and click OK. This step can be repeated, but with the horizontal value set to five hundred, you will have your gradient.
- Undo the Last Operation Using your Mouse
3-level of undos are supported by the program. Hence, you can undo the last three changes made to your drawing. Furthermore, you can undo the last operation using the right button of your mouse.
Suppose you have chosen the freehand tool to draw a line, but the line did not meet your expectation. If so, you can let go of the left button and quickly click the right button to cancel the line drawn. You don’t have to use the shortcut Control + Z to undo the last operation on this software.
The Bottom Line
MS Paint is one of the widely used Microsoft Windows applications. If you use this software to make minor edits or for drawing purposes, keep in mind that you can use the features mentioned earlier to enhance your productivity.
