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    Windows Guides
    Beginner
    3 min read 5 stepsApril 19, 2026Verified April 2026

    How to Use Microsoft Paint on Windows

    Paint is a free, built-in Windows app for basic image editing, sketching, and annotating screenshots. Here's what it can do and how to use it.

    At a Glance

    Category
    Windows Guides
    Difficulty
    Beginner
    Read Time
    3 min read
    Steps
    5
    Topics covered
    windows
    paint
    image editing
    annotate
    screenshot
    drawing

    In this guide (5 steps):

    1. 1.Open Paint
    2. 2.Open an image to edit
    3. 3.Annotate with shapes and text
    4. 4.Crop or resize the image
    5. 5.Save your edited image
    1

    Open Paint

    ~20s
    Click the Start button and type "Paint" in the search box. Click the "Paint" app in the results. Alternatively, find any image file in File Explorer, right-click it, and choose "Open with > Paint."

    Quick Tip

    In Windows 11, there's also "Paint 3D" — that's a different, more complex app. The regular "Paint" is the simpler version and is what this guide covers.

    2

    Open an image to edit

    ~15s
    In Paint, click "File" at the top left and choose "Open." Navigate to the image file you want to edit — a photo, a screenshot, or any picture saved on your computer. Click "Open" to load it.
    3

    Annotate with shapes and text

    ~18s
    Use the toolbar at the top to access tools. Click the pencil to draw freehand. Click "Shapes" to add rectangles, circles, or arrows — great for highlighting areas in a screenshot. Click the "A" icon to add text anywhere on the image. Choose your font, size, and color from the toolbar that appears.
    4

    Crop or resize the image

    ~23s
    To crop: click "Select" (the dotted rectangle), drag a box over the area you want to keep, then click "Crop" in the toolbar. To resize: click "Resize" in the Image section of the toolbar, enter new dimensions (as a percentage or in pixels), and click OK.

    Quick Tip

    To make an image smaller for emailing, resize it to 50% of its original size. This usually cuts the file size significantly.

    5

    Save your edited image

    ~15s
    Click "File" > "Save" to overwrite the original, or "Save as" to create a new file with a different name or format. For photos, JPG is a good choice for smaller file size. For screenshots with text and arrows, PNG preserves sharpness better.

    You Did It!

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    Microsoft Paint has been part of Windows for decades, and it remains one of the most straightforward image tools available. While it's not a professional photo editor, Paint does many practical things that everyday users need:

    • Draw or write on a screenshot before sharing it
    • Crop a photo to remove unwanted edges
    • Resize an image that's too large to email
    • Add text labels or arrows to a photo for clarity
    • Sketch a simple diagram or rough idea
    • Convert between image file formats (JPG, PNG, etc.)

    In recent years, Paint has been updated with modern features including a "Remove Background" button (available in newer Windows 11 versions) that can cut out backgrounds from photos, and a "Layers" panel that lets you work on different parts of an image without affecting others.

    Paint is especially useful when you need to annotate a screenshot. For example, if you want to show someone exactly where to click on a website, you can take a screenshot, open it in Paint, draw an arrow or circle around the relevant area, and then save or share the result.

    Despite its simple appearance, Paint handles standard tasks reliably and opens nearly any image file. It's available on every Windows computer for free and needs no installation — just search for it and open it.

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    windows
    paint
    image editing
    annotate
    screenshot
    drawing

    Official Resources

    Microsoft SupportHow-To Geek — WindowsGCFGlobal — Windows Basics

    Sources used to create and verify this guide. View all sources →

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    How to Use Microsoft Paint on Windows — Step-by-Step Guide | TekSure