Below you will find a list and description of all the buttons and other main features of Microsoft Paint. Free-form select tool This tool allows you to select odd shaped figures. Simply left click your way around the shape to select it. Select Tool This tool selects a rectangular area. Hold down the left button on your mouse and drag open a box around the shape. Note: Once you have selected the shape you can then move it around the page by using your mouse. You can also make a copy using the edit drop down menu. Select copy, then select paste. Eraser Tool This tool allows you to rub out any errors or work lines. When it is selected it will give you a choice of eraser sizes as shown below. Simply click to highlight the desired size. Eraser thickness choice toolbar Fill With A Colour Tool The fill with a colour tool lets the user fill the inside of a shape with a solid colour. Select the fill icon from the toolbar, choose a colour from the colour toolbar (see colour toolbar later) then click inside the shape to fill it with the chosen colour. Colour Picker Tool The colour picker tool allows the user to choose a colour from your workpage. You would do this when you needed to match a colour from the page, rather than try and guess it's on the colour toolbar. Magnify Tool The magnify tool lets you zoom in to get a more detailed view of your work. Select it on the toolbar and then choose the magnification factor from the toolbar which appears (see below). Magnifier factor choice toolbar Pencil Tool This tool lets you draw using the mouse. Start by selecting it from the toolbar. To draw, hold down the left button whilst you drag the mouse over the page. Brush Tool The brush tool is similar to the pencil tool. It lets you draw on the page by holding down the left button as you drag the mouse. The only difference is that the brush tool gives the user a thicker line pattern. When you select it from the toolbar you can choose the thickness and appearance of the brush from the toolbar which appears (see below). Brush appearance choice toolbar Air Brush Tool The air brush tool works like a spray can. Select it from the toolbar, then choose the spray effect from the toolbar which appears (see below). You can then choose a colour and start spraying using the left mouse button. Air brush spray effects toolbar Text Tool This tool allows text to be added to a page. Select it from the toolbar and use the left mouse button to drag open a box where you intend to add your text. You will then be able to type in your text as well as choosing its size, font type and other features. Line Tool The line tool lets the user draw a straight line from one point to another. Select the line tool from the toolbar. Choose the line thickness from the toolbar which appears (see below) and draw the line by left clicking at the starting point and dragging the line to the finishing point. Line thickness toolbar Curve Tool The curve tool allows you to draw smooth curved lines. Start by selecting the curve tool from the toolbar, choose the line thickness and drag a line using the mouse. To make the line curve left click on the workpage near the line. You should see the line curve. Experiment with this process to find the best method. Rectangle Tool This tool lets the user draw a box. Choose the rectangle tool from the toolbar. You will see a fill style toolbar appear on the screen (see Fill Style below) which will give you three options. Choose one of the options and draw a rectangle by dragging open a box when pressing the left button on the mouse. Note: Holding the shift key whilst dragging open a rectangle keeps the horizontal and vertical axes in proportion creating a square. Polygon Tool The polygon tool allows you to create two dimensional figures.  Choose the polygon tool from the toolbar and choose then appropriate  fill style (see Fill Style below). Draw a line whilst holding down the left mouse button. Move to the next vertex of your figure and press the left button again. Keep doing this to create the polygon. Note: Holding down the shift key forces all the angles in the polygon to be either 45º or 90º, thus allowing the user to create more regular figures. Ellipse Tool This tool allows the user to draw circles and ellipses. Choose the ellipse tool from the toolbar and then choose the appropriate fill style (see Fill Style below). To draw an ellipse hold down the left mouse button while dragging the mouse across the page. Note: Holding the shift key whilst dragging open an ellipse keeps the horizontal and vertical axes in proportion creating a circle. Rounded Rectangle This tool allows the user to draw rectangles with rounded corners. Choose the rounded rectangle tool from the toolbar and then choose the appropriate fill style (see Fill Style below). To draw a rounded rectangle hold down the left mouse button while dragging the mouse across the page. Note: Holding the shift key whilst dragging open an ellipse keeps the horizontal and vertical axes in proportion creating a rounded square.   Fill Style Selection Box When you select the any one of the rectangle, polygon, ellipse or rounded rectangle tools you are able to choose the fill style you desire. There are three options which can be chosen by simply left clicking in the toolbar which appears. Option 1 - A border only, where only the border is coloured. Option 2 - A bordered Box, where the border and the box itself are both coloured. To achieve this effect you will need to choose both a foreground and background colour (see colour selection box below). Option 3 - A coloured box, where only the inside of the box is coloured.   Colour Selection Box The colour selection box allows you to choose an appropriate colour. At its most basic level simply left click inside the colour of your choice. For more more advanced use, clicking with the left mouse button gives the foreground colour, whilst clicking with the right mouse button gives the background colour. This allows the effect seen in option 2 above, where the border has a different colour to the box itself   Shape Opaqueness Choice Box After you have successfully created your shape you will need to consider how much of it will be opaque and how much will be see through. In most cases you want the shape itself to be opaque but the background around it to be see through. For this choose the second option in the toolbar which appears whenever you select an object. This feature can also be obtained through the image menu.   Flipping, Rotating, Stretching and Skewing Once you have selected a shape go to the Image drop down menu. If you click on the headings in this section you can easily achieve any of the named effects.     Links Return to the "How To..." page Creating tessellations using Microsoft Paint Where can I find Microsoft Paint?