paint.net 4.0 is now available!

[Rick Brewster]

If you click on the number in the status bar, e.g. "100%", it'll let you type in whatever value you want.

[BoltBait]

The zoom controls are now in the lower right corner of the Paint.NET window.

[analyst77]

Rick, I downloaded 4.0 from the website,http://www.getpaint.net, as you suggested. My Norton Internet Security says it has a virus. Even when I installed it anyhow and started up the program, I got a window with about 10 lines of error messages that started with "SystemBadImageFormatException".

 

Can you help me get Paint.Net 4.0 properly installed on my Windows 2 computer?

[MBI]

Alright, I've managed to get of a picture of what's been frustrating me.

This is me, trying to erase the black pixels using the erase tool. The left mouse button is being held down. If I want to erase them, I need to either let go of the mouse button and click the spot again, or drag the mouse further than the spot I want to delete. Neither option is unworkable, of course, but it feels very unintuitive.

Edited July 3, 2014 by Ego Eram Reputo
Edited doubled post

[Ego Eram Reputo]

@analyst77:

 

Norton is reporting a false-positive.  It does that to justify its existence and take your money ( I'm only half joking here ).  You can be assured the download is safe

 

With the error you reported, try running PdnRepair.exe in the first instance.  You'll find it in the C:\program files\Paint.NET directory.

@MBI: That's how the Eraser works. Position and click on the target pixels or hold down the left mouse and drag.

[MBI]

@analyst77:

 

Norton is reporting a false-positive.  It does that to justify its existence and take your money ( I'm only half joking here ).  You can be assured the download is safe

 

With the error you reported, try running PdnRepair.exe in the first instance.  You'll find it in the C:\program files\Paint.NET directory.

@MBI: That's how the Eraser works. Position and click on the target pixels or hold down the left mouse and drag.

 

I'm aware of how the eraser works, the problem is that it's working noticeably different from the last version of Paint.net.

[Pixey]

I'm not a power user by any means, but I have one thing I use paint.net for regularly.  And one of the things I find helpful is to be immediately able to switch the magnification I'm using, and fairly dramatically.  Say, looking at something at 200% to do some fine detail work and then zooming out to 66% to get the whole scope of the image and then back.  Used to be, there was a handy little thing on the menu bar that I could click on and type in what percentage I wanted to view it at, hit enter, and it did it.  That seems to have disappeared with 4.0, and I want to know if there's any way to get it back.  I mean, of course you can still switch magnification by going ctrl ++, but it's a lot clunkier.  You have to do it several times to get to where I want it to be.  And even using the "view" menu, you can't tell it what percent, you can only zoom in and out.  Help!

 

(This cannot have been a plug-in function, because until I noticed that had changed with the newest version and started poking around the forum, I didn't even know paint.net had plug-ins available.)

 

Other than this one annoyance, though, I do like the upgrade.  Things are generally sleeker and faster and one or two minor annoyances I had just disappeared.  (I just wish you hadn't introduced a new one to replace it!)

 

I too had been missing the 'handy little zoom thingy' in the upper tool bar of v3.5.  I always rest my chin on one hand and could not do this with v4 .......................... than came along

@BoltBait who said this below:

 

The zoom controls are now in the lower right corner of the Paint.NET window.

 

Now why didn't I notice this until he pointed it out?  Duh to me @Pixey and a big thank you to @BBait     

[artyjon]

I've used Paint Net for a long time, and I hate being negative about a free programme, but I'm not impressed with the latest issue. As others have said, the zoom tool is in an awkward place, and the dropdown list of percentages, which I used a lot, has disappeared. But what I really don't like is the colour fill tool! I couldn't work out why the colour of sections of picture kept changing, Eventually I discovered you have to press the 'finish' button when you want to change colour, and that I find ridiculous! 

I've been using Photofiltre a lot, it has features Paint Net doesn't and is much faster, especially so now the aforementioned finish button has been added. Photofiltre will be my main image editor now, and I may uninstall Paint Net.

So sorry I've nothing good to say, but I am grateful for the use I've had of Paint Net for last few years, and judging by this thread most are happy with the update, so maybe I'm a lone voice of dissent.

[BoltBait]

I had a car once. Then, I bought the turbo charged version of that same car. It felt strange at first. It didn't take long, but once I got used to it, all the extra power was awesome!

[Ego Eram Reputo]

I'm aware of how the eraser works, the problem is that it's working noticeably different from the last version of Paint.net.

Have you tried toggling the Anti-aliasing? Find it in the toolbar.

[Rick Brewster]

I looked into the brush stuff. As it turns out, it has an "off by 1" glitch where it's drawing 1 fewer brush stamps than it should. In other words, it's lagging behind by a bit.

 

For instance, let's say you set the brush to be 100 pixels wide and then click, drag to the right by exactly 75 pixels, and then let go (or don't -- it's not pertinent). The spacing value is hard-coded at 15%, which means it should spit out a brush stamp at 0, 15, 30, 45, 60, and 75 pixels. However, it's not drawing the one at 75 pixels.

 

I'll have this fixed for 4.0.1.

[Cc4FuzzyHuggles]

@ artyjon
Hello. Sorry to hear you are struggling with the new Paint.NET.
 

As others have said, the zoom tool is in an awkward place, and the dropdown list of percentages, which I used a lot, has disappeared. But what I really don't like is the colour fill tool! I couldn't work out why the colour of sections of picture kept changing, Eventually I discovered you have to press the 'finish' button when you want to change colour, and that I find ridiculous!

 
Paint.NET 4.0 will take some getting used to and forming new habbits could be a bit stumbly at first, however, the programe might have some hope.
 
Zoom
I can understand the new zoom locations not being practical for some users. I can't say much about my own preferences though, as almost any location would work for me. However, about the drop down zooms, you can still type in exact zooms here :

 
Paint bucket tool
Having the paint bucket function more easily will strongly rely on forming a new habit of how one colors things with it.
Classic use : Choose a color > fill. Change color > make new fill.
That work flow pattern doesn't work anymore unless you hit the commit button, or hit your enter key, after each fill.
New Use : Choose your starting color > fill > click new fill spot > THEN change your color while the new fill is still active.
 
It is recommended that you click your next fill spot first, and then change the color, not change color and then fill. All you're doing is switching what action you do first. After you are done with a series of multiple paint fills, you can either click the commit button or simply change tools, as changing tools also commits changes.
 
For some people they might like it if changing colors acted as a commit button, the way switching tools does, but it doesn't. However, that doesn't mean all things are bad. The ability to change the color of the fill while it's active does have benefits, such as for people who like to fine tune their colors for that perfect hue, or for people who might be indecisive on what color they want. Paring the color control with the tolerance control, and the ability to move your fill like an object, plus paint blending modes, opens up some bigger possibilities.
See this video that demonstrates the fill tool back when 4.0 was in earlier beta stages :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnyna2PlcRw
 
I hope this helps. And remember, Paint.NET is ALWAYS trying to be improved. The future should present further improvements and more help on learning all these changes. Feel free to ask questions as we are all learning the ins and outs of this newer Paint.NET together.

Edited July 4, 2014 by Cc4FuzzyHuggles

[MealeaYing]

Hi everyone!

I JUST upgraded and ran into a problem which is bad, but I fixed it which is good!

Instant mood swings! YAY!

Here's the info from PaintDotNet about itself and the computer I am working on:

 

^{Application paint.net 4.0 (Final 4.0.5288.36565)}

^{Build Date Tuesday, June 24, 2014}

 

^{Hardware accelerated rendering (GPU) True}

^{Animations True}

^{Language en-US}

 

^{OS Windows 8 (6.2.9200.0)}

^{.NET Runtime 4.0.30319.18449}

^{Physical Memory 8,010 MB}

 

^{CPU Intel® Core i7-3632QM CPU @ 2.20GHz}

    ^{Architecture x64 (64-bit)}

    ^{Process Mode 64-bit}

    ^{Speed ~2195 MHz}

    ^{Cores / Threads 8}

    ^{Features DEP, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4_1, SSE4_2, XSAVE}

 

^{Video Card NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M}

    ^{Dedicated Video RAM 1,986 MB}

    ^{Dedicated System RAM 0 MB}

    ^{Shared System RAM 2,048 MB}

    ^{Vendor ID 0x10DE}

    ^{Device ID 0x0FD1}

    ^{Subsystem ID 0x06861025}

    ^{Revision 161}

    ^{LUID 0x00009B0E}

    ^{Flags None}

    ^{Outputs 1}

 

^{Video Card NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M}

    ^{Dedicated Video RAM 1,986 MB}

    ^{Dedicated System RAM 0 MB}

    ^{Shared System RAM 2,048 MB}

    ^{Vendor ID 0x10DE}

    ^{Device ID 0x0FD1}

    ^{Subsystem ID 0x06861025}

    ^{Revision 161}

    ^{LUID 0x00009CC5}

    ^{Flags None}

    ^{Outputs 0}

 

^{Video Card Microsoft Basic Render Driver}

    ^{Dedicated Video RAM 1,986 MB}

    ^{Dedicated System RAM 0 MB}

    ^{Shared System RAM 2,048 MB}

    ^{Vendor ID 0x1414}

    ^{Device ID 0x008C}

    ^{Subsystem ID 0x00000000}

    ^{Revision 0}

    ^{LUID 0x00009C6B}

    ^{Flags Software}

    ^{Outputs 0}

 

 

What is happening is that under the initial instal the window turns black, flashes on and off like strobe light when I move the mouse, and the cursor leaves little dots all over the place.

What I did to fix it was turn off hardware acceleration in the UI section of settings, its an instant fix. HOORAY!

I am curious about what I might be missing.

Is having to turn this off going to cost me some gigantic amount of performance?

 

I love this program by the way, I use it constantly and recommend it to everyone. Hope that stuff above is helpful. If needed I can send along screenshots, though they are tricky to do while moving the mouse!

 

Cheers!! And happy 4th of July!

Mealea

[Pixey]

I am curious about what I might be missing.

Is having to turn this off going to cost me some gigantic amount of performance?

 

I love this program by the way, I use it constantly and recommend it to everyone. Hope that stuff above is helpful. If needed I can send along screenshots, though they are tricky to do while moving the mouse!

 

Cheers!! And happy 4th of July!

Mealea

 

 

Hi and Welcome to PDN and especially v4.

 

What you have described seems to happen quite regulary with v4 and was addressed in Mr. Brewster's Blog on the 24th June 2014.

 

Quote:

 

Without further ado, here is the final list of changes, features, improvements, and fixes:

• System Requirements
  • Windows 7 SP1 or newer is now required.
  • .NET Framework 4.5 is now required, and will be installed if needed.
  • A dual-core (or more!) processor is highly recommended.
  • Hardware acceleration (GPU) via Direct2D is now supported.
    • Please disable this in the Settings dialog if you experience visual artifacts.

[MealeaYing]

Hi, and thanks!

I read that post and as near as I can tell I meet and exceed all the requirements.

Im not totally positive about that but it seems like a one year old computer should be able to cope.

 

• Windows 7 SP1 or newer is now required. I think I exceed this a little, though I would kill to revert to Windows 7. (seriously, screw 8 its hidious).
• .NET Framework 4.5 is now required, and will be installed if needed. I have what ever the latest is, it gets updated with all the other windows stuff I think. I do not know how to check this though, 4.5 is its default and its been updated many times.
• A dual-core (or more!) processor is highly recommended. I have 8 cores, no worries there.
• Hardware acceleration (GPU) via Direct2D is now supported. I have a great GPU, but it does seem to be the source of the issue. I also have a second GPU,its an Intel and it works fine as well. I do not know what Direct2D is however, thats something I will look up.
• Please disable this in the Settings dialog if you experience visual artifacts. I did that and it "fixed" whatever is happening, is that a workaround rather than a fix?

 

I am working on a laptop that has two GPU's, one is an Intel HD 4000 and is for low power consumption, light graphics and so on, it works flawlessly with PaintDotNet (with acceleration on as well).

I also have a nice Nvidia GeForce GT 650m with 2GB of ram that is for all the big fun stuff like 3D programs and generating trillions of particles in real time and other stuff like that. The NVidia works great with just about everything except PaintDotNet's new hardware acceleration and I am curious about that. The Intel graphics are not having this problem and yet it is a far far lower end thing.

So is the Nvidia not up to using hardware acceleration or is this a bug?

One other thing, I put this post into the bugs and trouble shooting section, sorry if it doesn't belong in here.

 

 

Cheers!

Mealea

[artyjon]

I had a car once. Then, I bought the turbo charged version of that same car. It felt strange at first. It didn't take long, but once I got used to it, all the extra power was awesome!

Or you could have tried a different car. 

[artyjon]

@Cc4FuzzyHuggles,

 

Thanks for your reply, it helped me understand the matters I'd raised. The video you gave a link to made me see how some would find the new bucket fill feature useful, but my requirements of an editor are simple. I create drawings in black ink, scan and colour. No complexity is needed for them, so having to fiddle with the controls is a nuisance. It'd be nice if there was an option to use the previous method. 

Have you ever thought of adding a spray feature? It's one of the main reasons I increasingly use Photofiltre. Maybe there's a Paint Net plugin that does this, i don't know, but I like to confine myself to what's ready loaded, rather than hunt to see if there's a plugin for a feature I want. Especially as when the next upgrade occurs the plugin may not work any more.

[Cc4FuzzyHuggles]

I had a car once. Then, I bought the turbo charged version of that same car. It felt strange at first. It didn't take long, but once I got used to it, all the extra power was awesome!

Or you could have tried a different car.

 

Getting used to a newer version of the same car or getting used to an all new car? Both require new habits and re-learning. I think having two cars and double the fun would be the best choice, haha, versatility for the win!

 

 

Alright, aside from jokes, I'm glad you found my longer post some what helpfull, but I am sorry to hear that Paint.NET's new habits (fill first, then change color) might not be so easy for you to adjust to. I will wish you luck with which ever program you take favor to, as I think any free program has it's good points.

Edited July 5, 2014 by Cc4FuzzyHuggles

[BuzzKill]

Rick, Congratulations on the release of 4.0, and how far it has come!

Your dedication to your product has always left an impression on me.

It's been a long time since I have played with Paint.NET. I'm looking forward to seeing what all 4.0 has to offer!

Keep up the great work, PDN team!

Edited July 6, 2014 by BuzzKill

[Ego Eram Reputo]

Wow!  BuzzKill.  There's a name you don't see much nowadays.  Nice to have you back and to see that sig again

[david.atwell]

Agreed, good to have you back.  Man, 4.0 is bringing all sorts of the old crowd out of the woodwork.

[artyjon]

Getting used to a newer version of the same car or getting used to an all new car? Both require new habits and re-learning. I think having two cars and double the fun would be the best choice, haha, versatility for the win!

 

 

Alright, aside from jokes, I'm glad you found my longer post some what helpfull, but I am sorry to hear that Paint.NET's new habits (fill first, then change color) might not be so easy for you to adjust to. I will wish you luck with which ever program you take favor to, as I think any free program has it's good points.

 

Well, at the moment I've got two image editors! We've had an interesting discussion, and I thought it might interest you to know why Photofiltre is now my preferred editor. I'm not saying it's better than Paint Net, for each of us the best editor is the one that suits our needs. I'll I tell you why Photofiltre has my vote, as I'm sure you value feedback. 

My primary reasons for liking Photofiltre the most are,

1. It can apply colour with a spray. This simple tool is wonderful, you really should consider adding it to PaintNet.

2. Text can be added at any angle.

3. It has more effects, quite a few more.

 

And there's a few minor bonuses, like Photofiltre is lighting fast, loading and saving instantly.

None of this should be taken as criticism, and I'm sure you'll accept it in the constructive manner that's intended.

[Ego Eram Reputo]

1. @Simon Brown's Custom Brushes

2. @dpy's Rotate Text

3. Paint.NET has over 800 plugins and effects. Find a list of third party plugins here Plugin Index

[LordDevereux]

I would just like to say thank you very much for this update.

 

Very, very rarely does it happen that I update some software and am then pleased with the new interface, features or design. In this case, so far, I cannot fault anything.

 

Well done, and please keep up the good work!

[thaensGHS]

Is it possible to go back to the previous version?

I'm using paint a lot and in this version the tools regarding filling of an object with collar is now really taking 200% longer.

You also have to double click or enter after choosing a surface to fill otherwise when your surface is filled and you want to collar another surface the collarof the last filled surface will change when you select another collar?

 

I also have my tools and collars on my second screen, when opened Paint after closing the toolbars where automatically on my second screen (now I have to move them every time).

 

I used a lot of special colors and I saved them on my collar pallet, after the upgrade everything is gone now I have to start over again?

 

Furthermore is the layout different, why did you move the zoom function to the bottom of the page?