Microsoft Paint gets a new and refurbished look with the latest Windows 11 operating system. Paint has been with Windows since its inception and while the operating system got upgraded many times, Paint has been almost the same with no or minimal changes. Thankfully with the latest Windows 11, our beloved MS Paint has got some new looks and features. The overall interface actually is still the same but the design is new. Let’s check in detail what all has changed with the new Microsoft Paint in Windows 11 and how to use the new features out there.
MS Paint wasn’t actually updated with the new operating system. It was rolled out a couple of days after Windows 11 release. You don’t need to update it manually, if you have installed Windows 11 on your PC, your MS Paint will automatically be updated.
What’s new in MS Paint in Windows 11
As mentioned above, the look has changed completely. You will see the rounder corners, changed toolbar icons and symbols, and a new UI. You will also see a drop-down menu for brushes with different types of brushed mentions and a new round color palette. This might not sound like a big change but you will literally feel the change while using the app. It’s way better now and feels like all new.
Inerting the text in your image also has got some changes and is a lot better now. The new UI and design is actually a visual treat and gives a different working experience.
How to use Microsoft Paint in Windows 11
Since the interface has changed and some new icons and symbols are added, here we are with a detailed tutorial on how to use MS Paint in Windows 11. Also, the new users who have just bought the PC with Windows 11 installed, might need this tutorial. By the way, MS Paint will not come pre-installed with the new Windows 11 PC, you have to download it from the MS Store. Don’t worry, it’s free. You can easily download it from here.
Let’s now begin with the tutorial-
MS Paint is undoubtedly one of the easiest graphic editors you will ever get for your Windows PC. To open this app, type Paint in the Search option in your taskbar.
How to open MS Paint in Windows 11
Alternatively, you can also launch Start–> All Apps–> and scroll down to the letter P and open Paint. If you think that you will frequently be needing this app, it’s better to pin it to the taskbar or your Start menu.
MS Paint Tools in Windows 11
In the top main menu ribbon, you will see all the tools placed category-wise. The first step in editing any image is to import or copy/paste the image in the Paint app, so the first toolset in the menu ribbon is Paste and Import. You can either directly import your image or copy it in the clipboard (CTRL+C) and paste it into the Paint app. You can also click on the File option in the main menu ribbon and open the image. The Scissors symbol is the tool to cut a portion (Ctrl+X) from the image and below that is the clipboard option (Ctrl+C).
The next set of tools include Cut, Crop, Flip and rotate tools. There are not many changes in this toolset except the symbol of the Resize tool. Rest all if the same as we had in MS Paint Windows 10.
The next set of tools has, the pencil, eraser, paint bucket, color picker, text tool, and magnifier. These are again the basic tools we need to edit an image. Pretty much the same as they were before in the earlier versions of Windows. Eraser here is to correct the mistakes but you can anytime use the shortcut Ctrl+Z to undo any changes or correct your mistakes. I don’t remember if I’ve ever used the eraser tool in MS Paint.
Adding the text has some changes though. To add text to your image in the Paint app, click on the letter A written in the third toolset in the main menu ribbon. You will then see the options to select the font, font size, bold/italic/underlines/strikethrough options. The new feature added here is the alignment of your text. You can align your text in the left, center, or right. This feature wasn’t available in the Paint app in the earlier versions of Windows. Next is the option to keep the text transparent or add a background.
Tick the check-box and you can add a background to your text as shown in the screenshot below.
Brushes in MS Paint Windows 11
Brushes again are one of the most used tools in the MS Paint app. Click on the Brush icon in the main menu ribbon and you will see a drop-down menu where you can select the brush as per your requirement.
How to add shapes in MS Paint
Next comes the toolset which has different shapes. Using these, you can add various shapes to your images. These shapes are very useful in making presentations, or anywhere you need to mark some pointers in an image. You can add shapes in different colors and for that, you first need to pick the color from the color palette which is the next and last toolset of the app. Also, if you want to adjust the thickness of your brush or shapes, there’s a tool to select the brush size too.
How to use the color palette in the MS Paint
Last in the tool menu, is the color palette. Earlier we had the labels of Color 1 and Color 2, but now in the new Paint app, you will see two circles on the left side of the color palette which is the new color 1 and color 2. The circle at the top is color 1 (primary color) and the bottom one is color 2 (secondary color). You just need to click on the circle to activate the color option. Besides the given colors in the palette, you can also select other colors. Click on the small multicolored circle on the right side of the color palette.
This is all our new Paint has.
Read next: Microsoft Paint Tips and Tricks for Windows 11.
We have tried to cover every tool and feature of the new refurbished Paint app but if you still have any queries, you can surely mention that in the comments section.
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