Concepts

User Interface

Other

Main Window

The Paint.NET user interface is broken up in to 10 major areas:

  1. Title Bar

    This tells you the name of the image you are working with, as well as the current zoom level and the version of Paint.NET you are using.

  2. Menu Bar

    This is where you can access the various menu items. Quite often, commands accessible from this location will be referenced using Menu → Command notation. For example, File → Exit means to click on the File menu, and then click on the Exit command.

  3. Toolbar

    Right below the menus is the toolbar which contains several buttons and controls for executing various commands and adjusting parameters for the active tool.

  4. Image List

    Each image that has been opened has a thumbnail displayed in the image list. This works much like a tabbed web browser: just click on an image to switch to it.

  5. Image canvas

    This is where the image is visible, and is the area where you may draw and perform other actions.

  6. Tools Window

    This where the active tool is highlighted, and where you may choose from other tools. It is also where the selected primary and secondary colors are displayed.

  7. History Window

    Everything you've done to an image since you opened it is listed in this window.

  8. Layers Window

    Every image contains at least one layer, and this window is your primary area for managing them.

  9. Colors Window

    This is the primary area for selecting colors to draw with. It consists of a color wheel and a brightness slider. If you have expanded the window with the "More" button then it will also contain several controls for fine tuning and exactly specifying color values.

  10. Status Bar

    This area is divided into several sections. The first, on the left, displays quick help and status information. The next sections display rendering progress (if pertinent), image size, and the cursor location within the image.



Copyright © 2007 Rick Brewster, Tom Jackson, and past contributors. Portions Copyright © 2007 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.