25 years of Paint.NET use; top 3 simple to fix things I absolutely LOATHE about it

[CHOPPERGIRL]

 I've used Paint.NET as my primary graphics editor for as long as I can remember... probably as far back as the 90's if it goes that far back, while eschewing programs like The GIMP, Photoshop, Corel Paint, and a hundred others?   Why?   All I need are Layers.   Layers, layers, layers, I use the heck out of layers, and I understand how Paint.net does them.   I've created thousands of complex images with Paint.NET.   So thank you for that.

 

However,

 

1.  Floating Windows.  OHMIGOD, I can't stand these little things.   I am constantly having to hunt all over my screen real estate for these little things.   No way to dock them inside TO THE MAIN WINDOW or dock them TOGETHER .  If you have a desktop of icons across 3 monitors, trying to find just the tool palette is a game of Where's Waldo. 

 

2. Tiny cursors.   I really have no idea what you were thinking.  These are impossible to see on screen now for me.  Switch to the selection rectangle, and your cursor is a plus isgn3 pixels wide by 3 pixels wide.  I use a program called Stardock CursorFX to make my Windows cursor the size of a desktop icon so i can easily see and find it on screen; Paint>NET completely ignores this and even the Windows Large Cursor settings and overrides it with it's own teeny tiny cursors.

 

3.  A blazing grey-white background in the work area around the image.  Please change this to 100% black.   For a person with poor vision, staring at this is like staring at a blazing white florescent light bulb on the ceiling, and trying to edit a picture in the center of that light bulb.   Trying to see one of these tiny cursors cross this great white divide is virtually impossible for me now.   To navigate the tiny Paint.Net cursor onto the image where I want to go, I first must go to the title bar, then soly inchworm it down a millimeter at a time to cross this great grey white barrier until I make it onto the image or I will lose the tiny Paint.Net cursorscompletely from vision (and I do all the time).

 

For most of those decades, these things have just been annoying nuisances that p1ss me off and slow me down while editing. 

 

But now that I have gone almost completely blind, they are becoming.. untenable.

 

 

I hope this post motivates you to change these things as they are simple fixes.   I would of thought someone would of recommended them b now since they are so blazingly obvious.

 

If you help out making easier things for the visually impaired, it actually helps everyone else out too.

 

Still using Windows 7 and plan to for life.   I'll keep on suffering along with Paint.NET until i can't see any more, which is pretty much.. right now.  If you could change or fix #2 and #3, man that would be a huge help, and should be... trivial... without impacting... anybody else.

 

Was very difficult to complete the simple forum capcha puzzles.  When you can't see the puzzle hole, yeah... it becomes an eye straining and  guessing game.   Just trying to get past the captcha to post this has been a royal 20 minute ordeal.

 

Thanks for your work, otherwise, I've enjoyed Paint.net

 

I'm sure other users and the developer will come up with a dozen different rationalizations why these things can't be changed.  Probably the main arguement will be that they aren't broken in the first place.  wait until you vision goes, and then see if you still agree with me then.

 

CHOPPERGIRL (former software developer and game programmer, now aerobatic pilot)

 

Edited October 11, 2021 by toe_head2001
Removed potential spam link

[Rle]

#1 :  Floating Windows? Never seen.

You can dock them into the main windows corners .

#2 : Ok, i agree with you.

#3 : There's already a dark theme. Look in Settings. 

[IHaveNoName]

Not understanding (1), (2) has never bothered me. However (3) I can understand, I do use the Dark theme for similar reasons: reducing glare from the monitor. The 'problem' I see it is that you can't change the default white 'canvas' background. Its not a biggie really because, obviously, you can replace it simply and easily after launching PDN.

 

But would it be that difficult to include the option to save a custom default 'canvas' colour or start with a clean slate transparent 'chequer board' instead? 

Edited October 11, 2021 by IHaveNoName

[ardneh]

 

[Ego Eram Reputo]

13 hours ago, CHOPPERGIRL said:

1.  Floating Windows.  OHMIGOD, I can't stand these little things.   I am constantly having to hunt all over my screen real estate for these little things.   No way to dock them inside TO THE MAIN WINDOW or dock them TOGETHER .  If you have a desktop of icons across 3 monitors, trying to find just the tool palette is a game of Where's Waldo. 

 

Reset the docking. It's easy: https://www.getpaint.net/doc/latest/ColorsWindow.html#3

 

The same technique can be used for all of the floating windows.

[Tactilis]

On 10/11/2021 at 9:17 AM, CHOPPERGIRL said:

2. Tiny cursors.  These are impossible to see on screen now for me.

As your main problem with the small cursor seems to be locating it, then you could turn on the the 'Show location...' setting in Control Panel | Mouse Properties | Pointer Options:
 

Whenever you press CTRL (actually when you release the key), Windows displays concentric circles at the cursor location.

That should help you until, hopefully, Paint.NET is updated in the future to scale the cursor size.