63 votes

MS Paint adds support for layers and PNG transparency

5 comments

  1. myrrh
    Link
    ...i never understood why microsoft quit sponsoring paint.net rather than embracing it as a next-generation replacement for paint...

    ...i never understood why microsoft quit sponsoring paint.net rather than embracing it as a next-generation replacement for paint...

    24 votes
  2. Well_known_bear
    Link
    I'm not expecting anyone to use this for illustration (no doubt some will as a challenge!), but this will be really nice to have if you're just trying to bash together an image meme/joke or...

    I'm not expecting anyone to use this for illustration (no doubt some will as a challenge!), but this will be really nice to have if you're just trying to bash together an image meme/joke or explanatory diagram. Paint is so lightweight that I always prefer working in it when it's a feasible option for what I'm trying to do.

    23 votes
  3. Amun
    Link
    Andrew Cunningham

    Andrew Cunningham


    The venerable, equally derided and beloved MS Paint app has been on a roll lately, picking up a major redesign, dark-mode support, better zoom controls, and other fit-and-finish updates all within the last couple of years. But today Microsoft announced that it is finally adding two features that could make the app a bit more useful for power users: support for Photoshop-esque image layers and the ability to open and save transparent PNGs.

    If you've never worked in an image editor other than Paint, layers give you the opportunity to decide which elements in an image appear above and below other elements.

    Support for creating, editing, and saving transparent PNG images goes hand in hand with support for layers, since it's useful to be able to pull a single object out of an existing image so you can put it in a new one. Transparent PNG support goes well with the automated background removal button that Microsoft added to Paint builds earlier this month.

    The redesigned Paint is rolling out to Windows Insider testers in both the Dev and Canary channels, the two bleeding-edge and less-stable versions of Windows 11. Like other recent app updates, this appears to require Windows 11 and won't be backported to Windows 10.

    9 votes
  4. lou
    Link
    I used Paint a few times this week. The lack of layers is a bummer sometimes, but it also makes for some simple, crude workflows that are perfect for quick drawings that are only for me to see. If...

    I used Paint a few times this week. The lack of layers is a bummer sometimes, but it also makes for some simple, crude workflows that are perfect for quick drawings that are only for me to see. If I want something slightly more sophisticated, there's Paint.net.

    So yeah, I don't like those changes. It's like adding rich text to Notepad. Possibly useful, but besides the point.

    3 votes
  5. BeanBurrito
    Link
    Today I learned that MS Paint still exists.

    Today I learned that MS Paint still exists.

    1 vote