Paint is one of those computer science history that we all know. Its origin dates back to 1985, when Microsoft included it in, nothing more and nothing less, that Windows 1.0. Yes, almost four decades have passed since then and this program refuses to die, although a while ago an unsuccessful attempt was made to end it.
In 2016, the company co-founded by Bill Gates launched Paint 3D with the aim of replacing the old integrated Windows graphic editing tool. The truth is that that idea never materialized, Paint 3D was discontinued and the traditional Paint, despite its simplicity, is still alive. And now it is preparing to receive a big update.
Paint is renewed in a big way
While throughout its life cycle, Paint has received very few substantial updates, in recent years we have witnessed important changes. He received a important face washwhich came with a more modern design, with a new toolbar with the most used options within easy reach.
This week Microsoft has begun to roll out a series of very interesting new features in Paint from the Canary and Dev channels of Windows 11. This means that they should reach all users in the coming months. Let’s see what these features are that are basic to Editing programs like Adobe Photoshop.
It may seem surprising, but all this time we have been using Paint without layers. Now, finally, the program will have the ability to manage layers to create more complex compositions. We will be able to stack images, text and other elements, move them on the canvas and change their overlapping order.
As in other image editing programs, Microsoft Paint will give us the ability to hide, duplicate or combine layers. All of this, as we can see in the screenshot, can be controlled from a side panel. We see a clean interface that maintains the classic lines of the image editor.
Another feature that Paint will receive will be support for transparency. So soon we will be able to open and manipulate images PNG with transparencies. This will also allow us to delete any content from the layer in question and, instead of painting the area white, it will actually delete the content.
Automatic background removal will also arrive. Using this function will be very simple. We just have to paste or import an image and click the Remove Background button on the toolbar. We can apply the removal to the entire canvas area or to a specific area outlined with the selection tool.
Images: Microsoft (1, 2)