How to Edit Text and Images in Paint for Windows: Easy Guide

You don’t need expensive graphics editing software to edit pictures and add text to images on your Windows PC. You can make lots of cool edits using Paint, which comes free with Windows 10 and 11. If you're using Windows 11, you'll have even more editing features in Paint, including the option to remove the background of an image. This wikiHow article will teach you all the best ways to edit in Paint.

How to Edit Text in Paint: Quick Steps

Select the text tool (A) in the toolbar.
Type some text.
Click and drag your mouse over the text to select it.
Click a color to change the text color.
Select a font face, size, and weight from the menus.

Method 1

Method 1 of 7:

Opening an Image

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Paint comes pre-installed on Windows computers, and you will find it in the Windows Start menu. Just open the menu, type "Paint," and click Paint in the search results.^{[1]
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Click the File menu and select Open. The File menu is at the top-left corner of Paint. When you select Open, you'll be prompted to select a file.
- Tip: You can also use the keyboard shortcut ctrl to get to the Open menu.
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Paint supports a variety of image files, including JPEG, PNG, BMP (Bitmap), TIFF, ICO, HEIC, AVIF, WEBP, and more.^{[2]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 7:

Editing Text

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Click the A in the toolbar to enter text mode. You'll see this at the top of Paint.
- Paint looks a little different in Windows 10 and 11, but the steps to edit are mostly the same.
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Click where you want to add text. This will add a text cursor to your project.
- To create a text box, click and drag where you want the text to go.
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Type some text. If the text box is not big enough to display your entire message, the words you type will wrap in the box.
- To resize the box, hover your cursor over one of the corners, then click or drag it.
When you first start typing, the text will appear in the generic font, and it will be black. To change the color, font, or size, click and drag your mouse over what you've typed to select it.
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Choose a color for your text. To select a text color, click one of the colored circles at the top of the page. The new color will be applied to the text immediately.
- To select a more specific color, click the rainbow-colored icon to the right of the colored circles, then click a color in the color window.
  - Use the slider bar to the right to adjust how light or dark the color is.
  - Alternatively, you can enter the specific RGB values or enter a hexadecimal color code in the field at the top.
- To select a color that is already in your picture, click the eyedropper icon in the Tools panel, then click the color you want to select.
Use the drop-down menu at the top to select a font for your text. Use the other options in the menu to choose a style (i.e., bold, italic, etc), as well as a justification (i.e., left, right, center).

Method 3

Method 3 of 7:

Resizing Images

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Click the “Resize and Skew” icon. It has an icon of an image with an arrow pointing to a larger square. It’s in the “Image” panel at the top.
- Alternatively, you can press Ctrl + W to open the Resize and Skew panel.
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Enter the percentage you resize the image by. You can enter a percentage in the “Horizontal” or “Vertical” boxes. For example, if you want to increase an image by 50%, you would enter “150” in either of the boxes. Enter “200%” to double the size of the image.^{[3]
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- Make sure the chainlink icon in between the “Horizontal” and “Vertical” images is selected. Otherwise, the image will not increase or decrease proportionally.
- Alternatively, you can click the radio option next to “Pixels” and enter a new pixel width in the “Horizontal” field or a new pixel height in the “Vertical” field.
You'll see this in the center of the pop-up window, and your image will update to reflect any changes you've made.

Method 4

Method 4 of 7:

Cropping an Image

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Click the Selection menu at the upper-left side to switch to Selection mode, then draw a box around the part of the image you want to retain.^{[4]
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It's in the Image panel at the top of Paint. It looks like a box made of two overlapping right angles. This will instantly crop away everything outside the box you drew.

Method 5

Method 5 of 7:

Drawing and Adding Shapes

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Select a color. To do so, click one of the colored circles at the top of the page. This is the color you will draw with.^{[5]
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- To select a more specific color, click the rainbow-colored icon to the right of the colored circles, then click a color in the color window.
  - Use the slider bar to the right to adjust how light or dark the color is.
  - Alternatively, you can enter the specific RGB values or enter a hexadecimal color code in the field at the top.
- To select a color that is already in your picture, click the eyedropper icon in the Tools panel, then click the color you want to select.
You'll see this in the toolbar at the top. This is the tool you use to draw freehand in Paint.
Paint has a variety of different brushes that emulate pencils, paint brushes, crayons, markers, calligraphy pens, and more. To select a brush, click the Brushes menu at the top of the page, then select the brush you want to use.
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Adjust the brush size. On the left side of Paint (in Windows 11), you'll see two sliders–the top slider adjusts the size of your paint brush. As you drag upward, you'll see your cursor size increase. To reduce the size, drag the slider downward.
- You can also adjust the opacity of your paint strokes using the slider at the bottom.
Click and drag to draw freehand with the mouse. This will draw using the color and brush you selected.
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Add shapes. To add a shape, select a color, then click Shapes in the menu panel at the top. Click a shape you want to add, then click and drag to add the shape to your drawing.
- To keep the shape proportional, hold Shift as you click and drag.
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Draw straight and curved lines.
- To add a straight line, click Shapes in the menu panel at the top and click the Line shape, then click and drag a line.
- To add a curved line, select the curved line shape, click and drag to add a line, then click and drag the line to adjust the curve.
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Color fill a shape. To fill an area with color, select the color you want to use to color in a shape, then click the paint bucket tool in the Tools panel. Last, click inside the shape you want to color in to fill it with the selected color.
- Check out our guide to making a gradient in Paint to learn how to fill objects with multiple colors.
To erase parts of a drawing or shape, click the eraser icon in the Tools panel at the top, then use the slider bar to the left to adjust the size of the eraser. Finally, click and drag to erase any parts of the drawing you want to erase.

Method 6

Method 6 of 7:

Remove a Background

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If you're using the Windows 11 version of Paint, you can use Copilot to remove the background of an image. The Copilot icon resembles a rainbow-colored ribbon.^{[6]
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Click Remove background. It’s at the bottom of the Copilot menu. This will automatically detect the background and attempt to remove it.
- You can also click the Remove Background tool in the Image panel at the top. It has an icon that resembles a person with a striped background.
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Use the eraser tool to clean up anything Copilot missed. Click the icon that resembles an eraser in the Tools panel at the top of the page. Go along the edges of the subject in your image and erase anything Copilot missed.
- You may need to zoom in on the image. To do so, click View followed by Zoom in or press Ctrl + PgUp.

Method 7

Method 7 of 7:

Adding and Removing Layers

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Like Photoshop and GIMP, you can now use Paint to create images with multiple layers. It’s the icon that resembles a stack of papers at the top-right corner. Using layers allows you to edit parts of an image without altering or disturbing other parts of the image.^{[7]
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It’s the plus sign (+) at the top of the Layers bar to the right. This adds a new layer. You can add as many layers as you’d like.
This makes that layer the active layer. Any edits you make will be done to this layer and not to any others.
You can edit the layer using the text tool, drawing tool, or any other tools.
To delete a layer, right-click it and click Delete layer.