Microsoft Paint Guide | Resize, Crop, Edit Screenshots, Remove Backgrounds, and Save Images

Microsoft Paint is still one of the fastest tools for simple image work on Windows. It is not meant to replace Photoshop or a full design app, but it is useful when you need to crop a screenshot, resize an image, add text, draw a quick shape, or save a copied image as a file.

This English guide is based on the Japanese Windows Paint article, but the wording and feature notes are adjusted for English-speaking Windows users. Paint is built into modern Windows, and newer creative features such as layers, background removal, and Image Creator are mainly tied to the latest Windows 11 version of Paint.

Table of Contents

1. How to Open Paint on Windows
   1. Open Paint from Start
   2. Open an image with Paint
   3. Pin Paint to the taskbar
2. Basic Paint Interface
   1. Main toolbar groups
   2. Canvas and status information
3. Resize and Crop Images
   1. Resize the whole image
   2. Crop a selected area
   3. Change only the canvas size
4. Add Text and Draw Shapes
   1. Add text
   2. Draw shapes
   3. Use the Curve tool
5. Transparent Backgrounds and Cutouts
   1. What Paint can and cannot do
   2. Transparent selection
   3. Background removal in Windows 11 Paint
   4. When to use another tool
6. Layers and AI Features in Windows 11 Paint
   1. Layers
   2. Image Creator
7. Edit Screenshots and Choose a Save Format
   1. Edit a screenshot in Paint
   2. Choose PNG, JPG, BMP, GIF, or HEIC
   3. Use Save as
8. FAQ
9. Summary

How to Open Paint on Windows

Paint is included with Windows, so you normally do not need to install anything. If it has been removed or is missing from your PC, you can reinstall it from the Microsoft Store, but most Windows 10 and Windows 11 PCs already have it.

Open Paint from Start

1. Click the Start button.
2. Type Paint.
3. Select Paint from the search results.

On Windows 11, typing either paint or mspaint in Start search is usually enough.

Open an image with Paint

If you want to edit an existing image file, open it directly in Paint.

1. Right-click the image file.
2. Choose Open with.
3. Select Paint.

If Paint does not appear in the short list, choose Choose another app and look for Paint there.

Pin Paint to the taskbar

If you use Paint often, search for Paint from the Start menu, right-click it, and choose Pin to taskbar. This is useful if you often paste screenshots into Paint before saving or annotating them.

Basic Paint Interface

Paint has a simple layout: tools at the top, the canvas in the middle, and zoom or size information near the bottom. The exact interface can look different depending on your Windows version, but the basic workflow is similar.

Main toolbar groups

The toolbar includes the controls most people use day to day.

Clipboard

• Paste: paste an image from the clipboard.
• Cut: remove the selected area and place it on the clipboard.
• Copy: copy the selected area.

Image

• Select: select a rectangular or free-form area.
• Crop: crop the canvas to the selected area.
• Resize: change image dimensions.
• Rotate: rotate or flip the image.

Tools

• Pencil: draw freehand lines.
• Fill: fill an area with a color.
• Text: add text to the image.
• Eraser: erase pixels.
• Color picker: sample a color from the image.
• Magnifier: zoom in for detailed work.

Brushes, Shapes, Size, and Colors

Brushes change the drawing style, Shapes adds lines and geometric figures, Size controls stroke width, and Colors lets you choose foreground and background colors.

Canvas and status information

The canvas is the editable image area. Depending on your Paint version, you may also see image size, selection size, cursor position, and zoom controls. These are helpful when you need a screenshot or thumbnail to match a specific pixel size.

Resize and Crop Images

Paint is especially useful for quick resizing and cropping. It is not the best tool for precise design layouts, but for screenshots and simple blog images it is fast.

Resize the whole image

1. Open the image in Paint.
2. Click Resize.
3. Choose either Percentage or Pixels.
4. Keep Maintain aspect ratio enabled if you do not want the image to stretch.
5. Enter the new size and click OK.

Use Percentage when you simply want to shrink an image. Use Pixels when you need a specific width or height.

Avoid enlarging small images too much. Enlarging usually makes the image look blurry or pixelated.

Crop a selected area

1. Click Select.
2. Drag around the area you want to keep.
3. Click Crop.

Everything outside the selected area is removed, and the canvas becomes the size of the selection.

Change only the canvas size

If you want to add empty space around an image instead of cropping it, drag the small handles on the edge or corner of the canvas. This changes the canvas area without resizing the image content itself.

Add Text and Draw Shapes

Paint is a quick way to mark up screenshots with labels, arrows, boxes, or simple notes.

Add text

1. Click the Text tool.
2. Drag on the canvas to create a text box.
3. Choose the font, size, and style.
4. Type your text.
5. Click outside the text box to apply it.

Be careful before clicking away. In Paint, text becomes part of the image once it is applied. If you need to edit the text, use Ctrl+Z immediately and type it again.

Draw shapes

1. Choose a shape such as a line, rectangle, oval, or arrow.
2. Drag on the canvas to draw it.
3. Use Outline, Fill, and Size to adjust the look.

Hold Shift while drawing if you want a perfect square, circle, or straight angle, depending on the selected shape.

Use the Curve tool

The Curve tool works a little differently from a normal line.

1. Select Curve.
2. Drag from the start point to the end point.
3. Click and drag the line to bend it.
4. Adjust up to two curve points.

Transparent Backgrounds and Cutouts

Paint can help with simple background work, but the exact capability depends heavily on your Windows and Paint version.

What Paint can and cannot do

Classic Paint could not create a true transparent-background PNG from scratch in the same way as a full image editor. It could handle simple transparent selection behavior while pasting, but that did not mean every saved file kept alpha transparency.

Modern Windows 11 Paint is more capable. It includes background removal and can preserve transparency when saved correctly as PNG.

Transparent selection

Transparent selection is useful when you are copying a subject from a simple, solid-color background.

1. Click the Select dropdown.
2. Enable Transparent selection.
3. Select and copy the area you want.
4. Paste it onto another part of the canvas.

This treats the background color as transparent during the paste operation, but it is not the same as professional masking.

Background removal in Windows 11 Paint

Recent Windows 11 versions of Paint include a background removal tool.

1. Open the image in Paint.
2. Click Remove background or the background removal button in the Image tools area.
3. Let Paint detect and remove the background.
4. Save as PNG if you need to keep transparency.

If you save as JPG, transparent areas become a solid color, usually white. For transparent backgrounds, choose PNG.

When to use another tool

Use another editor if you need detailed cutouts around hair, product edges, or complex objects. GIMP, Photoshop, Photopea, or dedicated background-removal tools are better for careful masking. Paint is best for quick, simple edits.

Layers and AI Features in Windows 11 Paint

Paint has changed a lot in Windows 11. Some features that used to require a separate app are now available directly in Paint, depending on your version and region.

Layers

Layers let you place text, shapes, and image elements on separate levels. This makes it easier to move or edit parts of the image without immediately changing everything underneath.

Typical layer actions include:

• adding a new layer
• duplicating a layer
• hiding or showing a layer
• changing layer order
• merging layers before final export

Paint is still simpler than a professional editor, but layers make it much more useful for screenshots, quick thumbnails, and simple compositions.

Image Creator

Paint also includes AI-powered creative features on supported Windows 11 systems. Microsoft may label these features as Image Creator or related creative tools depending on the version and region.

In general, these features let you enter a prompt, choose a style, and generate an image inside Paint. Availability may depend on Windows version, region, Microsoft account settings, and feature rollout timing.

For ordinary screenshot editing, you do not need these AI features. They are optional creative tools, not required for cropping, resizing, or adding text.

Edit Screenshots and Choose a Save Format

Paint is still one of the easiest places to paste and save a screenshot.

Edit a screenshot in Paint

You can use either the clipboard or a saved screenshot file.

Clipboard method

1. Press Print Screen or Windows + Shift + S.
2. Open Paint.
3. Press Ctrl+V.
4. Crop, annotate, resize, or save the image.

Saved screenshot method

1. Press Windows + Print Screen.
2. Open the Pictures > Screenshots folder.
3. Right-click the screenshot and open it with Paint.

For more screenshot methods, see How to Take a Screenshot on Windows 11.

Choose PNG, JPG, BMP, GIF, or HEIC

PNG

• Best for screenshots, text, diagrams, UI captures, and transparent backgrounds.
• Keeps quality better than JPG for sharp edges.
• File size can be larger.

JPG / JPEG

• Best for photos.
• Smaller file size, but quality is lost every time the image is recompressed.
• Not suitable for transparency.

BMP

• Usually unnecessary for everyday use.
• Large, uncompressed files.

GIF

• Useful for simple icons or very limited-color graphics.
• Paint is not the right tool for creating animated GIFs.

HEIC

• A high-efficiency image format supported in newer Windows environments.
• Useful in some photo workflows, but PNG and JPG are easier for general sharing.

Use Save as

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+S, or choose File > Save as.
2. Choose the folder.
3. Enter a file name.
4. Pick the file type.
5. Click Save.

If you are saving a screenshot with text or UI elements, PNG is usually the safest choice.

FAQ

Is Microsoft Paint free?

Yes. Paint is included with Windows, and it is also available through the Microsoft Store if you need to reinstall it.

Can Paint remove backgrounds?

Recent Windows 11 versions of Paint include background removal. Older versions of Paint do not have the same feature.

Can Paint make a transparent PNG?

Modern Windows 11 Paint can preserve transparent backgrounds when you use the right workflow and save as PNG. Classic Paint workflows are more limited.

Why can’t I edit text after adding it in Paint?

Once text is applied, Paint treats it as pixels. Use Ctrl+Z immediately if you need to change it, or add the text again.

Should I use Paint or Paint 3D?

For basic 2D edits, use Paint. Paint 3D was useful for 3D-style objects, but for everyday cropping, resizing, screenshots, and simple annotations, modern Paint is the better starting point.

Summary

Microsoft Paint is still useful because it is fast, simple, and already available on Windows. Use it for screenshots, quick crops, resizing, text labels, shapes, and basic file conversion.

For Windows 11 users, Paint is more capable than it used to be thanks to layers, background removal, and AI-powered creative features. For detailed masking or professional design work, use a dedicated image editor, but for everyday image edits, Paint is often enough.