Paint Goes Dark: Windows Announces Exciting Update

The Paint application in Windows 11 finally received a much-needed update from Microsoft, after being neglected for years. However, the company is not stopping there, as it plans to introduce a dark mode and other features to further enhance the application.

The latest update to Microsoft's Paint app for Windows 11 PCs in the Canary and Dev Channels of the Insider program has brought some exciting changes. The new version, 11.2304.17.0, includes a dark mode option that follows your system color scheme by default but can also be set to always stay in light or dark mode. This is in line with recent updates to other long-running Windows functions, such as Task Manager, which also received a dark mode treatment in the Windows 11 22H2 update.

In addition to the dark mode option, the Paint update has also revamped the zoom function. Instead of the traditional draggable bar, users now have a dropdown menu with common percentage values and the option to input a percentage manually. This is a significant improvement, bringing Paint closer to modern image editing tools like Photoshop. Additionally, the update includes a one-click button to easily zoom the image to fit the current window.

Microsoft is not only introducing new features to Paint but is also working on other changes to modernize the application. According to a blog post, the "Image Properties" dialogs have been updated to match the new Windows 11 design and fit in with the new Paint app backdrop. Additionally, several accessibility and usability improvements have been made to dialogs throughout the app. Microsoft has also enhanced access key and keyboard shortcut support to improve accessibility and productivity with the keyboard. Despite these updates, Paint still lacks support for layers and non-destructive editing, making it unsuitable for more complex work. For that reason, users may want to consider downloading Paint.net or another similar tool.

Source: Microsoft