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Paint in Windows 11 is useful for quick image edits, screenshots, diagrams, annotations, simple illustrations, and basic photo adjustments. The exact tools on your PC depend on the installed Paint version: Microsoft delivers Paint through the Microsoft Store, so features such as layers, transparency, background removal, Object select, and Cocreator may not appear on every Windows 11 computer.
This guide covers the standard Paint workflow, from opening an image and drawing to cropping, resizing, working with layers, exporting the finished file, and fixing common problems.
Open Paint in Windows 11
- Select Start.
- Type Paint.
- Select Paint from the search results.
To edit an existing picture, select File > Open, browse to the image, and select Open. You can also right-click an image in File Explorer, choose Open with, and select Paint.
If Paint is missing, open the Microsoft Store and search for Paint. You can also check Settings > Apps > Installed apps. Select the three-dot menu beside Paint to uninstall it, then reinstall it from the Microsoft Store if necessary.
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Create a drawing or open an image
Select File > New for a blank canvas. To bring another image, screenshot, or copied area into Paint, press Ctrl+V. The usual clipboard shortcuts are:
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+C | Copy the selected content |
| Ctrl+X | Cut the selected content |
| Ctrl+V | Paste clipboard content |
| Delete | Remove the current selection |
The Windows 11 version has a simplified toolbar with updated icons, brush controls, shapes, and a rounded colour palette. If a button described below is absent, update Paint before assuming your installation cannot use the feature.
Draw and colour in Paint
Choose a tool from the toolbar, then select a foreground colour from the palette. The available size control changes according to the tool you select.
The Tool Desk
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- Brushes: provides different stroke styles and softer or more expressive marks.
- Eraser: removes painted content.
- Fill: fills a connected area with the selected colour.
- Colour picker: samples a colour already used in the image.
- Text: adds typed text inside a text box.
- Shapes: adds lines, rectangles, circles, arrows, polygons, and other built-in forms.
Use the colour picker
Select Colour picker, then select a point in the image. Paint loads that pixel’s colour as the active colour, which is useful when matching an existing border, background, or painted area.
Fill an enclosed area
Select Fill, choose a colour, and select inside an enclosed region. The fill tool works on contiguous areas. If the outline has even a small gap, colour may spread into the surrounding image. Undo with Ctrl+Z, close the gap with the Pencil or Brush, and try again.
Adjust stroke opacity
Some recent Paint versions show an opacity slider after you select Pencil or Brush. Lower opacity makes new strokes more transparent. It does not automatically change pixels that have already been painted.
This control is not available in every installation. It was introduced in Paint version 11.2508.361.0 through an Insider rollout, so the Microsoft Store version and Windows build can affect whether you see it.
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- Select Text on the toolbar.
- Drag across the canvas to create a text box.
- Type your text.
- Use the text controls to change the font, size, weight, alignment, or colour where those controls are available.
Check spelling and placement before clicking elsewhere. In a conventional flattened image, text may become part of the image once you leave the text box, making later editing less convenient. If your version has layers, putting text on its own layer makes it easier to hide, move, or replace.
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Select, move, copy, or delete part of an image
- Select Select on the toolbar.
- Choose Rectangular selection or Free-form selection, if available.
- Drag around the area you want to edit.
- Drag the selection to move it, or use its handles to resize it.
You can then use Ctrl+C to copy, Ctrl+X to cut, Ctrl+V to paste, or Delete to remove it. A pasted copy may appear as a new floating selection; move it into place before clicking elsewhere.
Crop an image
Crop removes everything outside the area you want to keep.
- Select Select.
- Drag a rectangle around the part of the image to retain.
- Select Crop on the toolbar.
Paint needs an active selection before Crop can limit the image to that area. If Crop affects the whole canvas or is unavailable, click and drag a selection first.
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Resize an image
- Select Resize on the toolbar.
- In the Resize and skew window, choose Percentage or Pixels.
- Enter the horizontal and vertical values.
- Keep Maintain aspect ratio enabled unless you deliberately want to stretch the image.
- Select OK.
For example, setting the percentage to 50 reduces both dimensions by half. An image measuring 2,000 × 1,200 pixels becomes 1,000 × 600 pixels when the aspect ratio is maintained.
Pay attention to whether an area is selected. With no selection, Paint resizes the entire image. With a selection active, it can resize only that selected content. Enlarging a raster image also tends to make edges look softer, so resize before extensive editing when possible.
Rotate or flip an image
Select Rotate, then choose the available command, such as:
- Rotate right or clockwise
- Rotate left or counterclockwise
- Flip horizontally
- Flip vertically
Do not expect arbitrary-angle rotation on every Windows 11 installation. Free rotation of objects, text, and shapes has been introduced as a newer preview capability in some Paint builds, while the standard Rotate menu generally provides fixed rotations and flips.
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Use layers
If the toolbar contains a Layers button, select it to open the Layers panel. Layers are useful when a background, pasted image, text, and drawing need to remain separate.
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- Select Layers.
- Select the button to add a new layer.
- Select the layer you want to edit before drawing or pasting.
- Drag layers up or down to change their stacking order.
- Use the layer controls to show or hide, duplicate, merge, or delete a layer.
For example, place a plain background on the bottom layer and an annotation on a layer above it. Erasing the annotation then reveals the lower layer instead of replacing the area with white.
Layers are version-dependent. If the button is missing, open the Microsoft Store, select Library > Get updates, and install the latest Paint update available for your device.
Work with transparent backgrounds
Paint versions with transparency support show transparent areas as a checkerboard pattern. On a transparent layer, erasing removes pixels and reveals the layers underneath rather than painting an opaque white patch.
Save the result as PNG if you need to preserve transparent pixels. JPEG does not support transparency; transparent areas become a solid background when saved as JPEG.
Remove an image background
On supported versions:
- Open the image.
- Select the Copilot button or menu.
- Select Remove background.
Paint attempts to isolate the main subject. Results can be rough around hair, shadows, transparent objects, or subjects that blend into the background. Inspect the edges before exporting, and use layers if you want to place the isolated subject over a new background.
Use Object select
Some versions include Object select, which uses context-aware AI to identify an object instead of requiring you to trace it manually.
- Select Object select.
- Point to or click the object.
- Wait for Paint to highlight the object.
- Move, copy, erase, or otherwise edit the resulting selection.
Object select is not a standard feature on every Windows 11 PC. Microsoft introduced it for supported Copilot+ PCs, and availability also depends on the installed Paint version.
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Generate an image with Cocreator
Cocreator is an AI feature with stricter requirements than ordinary Paint tools. It requires a Copilot+ PC, the latest Paint version from the Microsoft Store, a Microsoft account, and an internet connection for associated cloud safety services.
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- Open Paint and select Cocreator from the toolbar or Copilot menu.
- Enter a descriptive prompt in the side pane.
- Sketch the broad shapes and colours you want on the canvas using a mouse or pen.
- Adjust Creativity and choose an option under Select style.
- Select Try again for another result, or select Apply to place the result on the canvas.
Microsoft recommends descriptive English prompts, broad strokes, the intended colours, and a sketch that occupies much of the canvas. Generated images include a C2PA manifest identifying them as AI-generated.
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Use File > Save to update the current file. Use File > Save as when you need a different filename, location, or format.
| Format | Best use | Important limitation |
|---|---|---|
| PNG | Transparency, screenshots, diagrams, crisp graphics | Often produces larger files than JPEG |
| JPEG | Photographs and smaller, widely compatible files | Does not preserve transparency and can introduce compression artefacts |
| BMP | Uncompressed bitmap output | Usually much larger than PNG or JPEG |
Some newer Paint versions also offer File > Save as project. This saves an editable .paint project instead of only a flattened image. The command was introduced in Paint version 11.2508.361.0 through Insider rollouts, so it may not appear in your version.
Print an image
Select File > Print, choose the installed printer, and check the preview. Confirm the paper size and orientation before printing; a landscape image may need landscape orientation to avoid unexpected cropping.
Update Paint
- Open Microsoft Store.
- Select Library.
- Select Get updates.
- Install any available Paint update.
Paint is updated as a Store app, independently of many Windows feature updates. That is why two Windows 11 PCs can show different Paint toolbars. New features may also roll out gradually by app version, Windows build, device architecture, or Insider channel.
Fix common Paint problems
Paint opens without a feature you expect
Update it through Microsoft Store > Library > Get updates. Check the Paint version and remember that Copilot+, AI, project-file, opacity, layers, and transparency features are not universally available.
Paint will not open
Go to Start > Settings > Apps > Installed apps > Paint > Advanced options. Select Repair first. Repair attempts to fix the app without deleting its stored data. Use Reset only if necessary, because Reset clears the app’s stored data and settings.
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Paint crashes when opening an image
The file may be damaged or invalid. Update Paint first: current Paint releases include handling that reports an error for damaged or invalid image files instead of closing unexpectedly, though older versions may behave differently. Then try opening a known-good PNG or JPEG. If other images open normally, recreate or convert the problem file using another image application before importing it again.
The fill tool colours the wrong area
The boundary is probably not fully closed. Undo the fill, zoom in, and inspect the outline for a one-pixel gap. Close it with the Pencil, then use Fill again.
A transparent image becomes white or solid-coloured
Export it as PNG rather than JPEG. Also check that the background is genuinely transparent in the Layers panel; a white background layer is opaque even if the upper layer contains transparent pixels.
FAQ
Is Paint already installed in Windows 11?
Usually, but not every installation has it available or intact. Search for Paint from Start. If it is missing, install it from Microsoft Store.
How do I make an image smaller in Paint?
Open the image, select Resize, choose Percentage or Pixels, keep Maintain aspect ratio enabled, enter the new dimensions, and select OK.
Can Paint in Windows 11 remove an image background?
Supported Paint versions can use Copilot > Remove background. The feature is version-dependent, and the result may need cleanup around hair, shadows, and other fine edges.
Which Paint format keeps a transparent background?
PNG preserves transparency. JPEG does not; saving a transparent image as JPEG replaces transparent areas with a solid background.
The Bottom Line
For quick edits, use Paint’s selection, crop, resize, shape, text, and export tools. Keep Maintain aspect ratio enabled when resizing, use PNG for transparency, and update Paint through the Microsoft Store when tools are missing. Layers and transparency are available in newer versions, while Object select and Cocreator require supported hardware and software rather than being guaranteed on every Windows 11 PC.
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