paint.net 5.0.12 is now available!

[Rick Brewster]

This is a small update that fixes a handful of bugs, and updates both the AvifFileType and WebPFileType bundled plugins to include support for loading the first frame of an animation (similar to how GIF works).

Get the Update

There are two releases of Paint.NET:

• Microsoft Store release (recommended)
  • You can purchase it here. This helps fund development and is an alternative or supplement to sending in a donation.
  • If you already have it installed, the update should happen automatically once Microsoft certifies the update, usually within the next day or so. To get the update immediately (once it's certified), you can follow the instructions listed here.
     
• Classic Desktop release
  • Download the installer from the website. This is the recommended download if you don't have Paint.NET installed. It can also be used to update the app.
  • If you already have it installed, you should be offered the update automatically within the next few days, but you can also get it immediately by going to ⚙ Settings -> Updates -> Check Now.
  • Offline Installers and Portable ZIPs are available over on GitHub.

Change Log

Changes since v5.0.11:

• Fixed a silent crash that was preventing the app from opening when double-clicking an image in Explorer, due to a bug in .NET's ProfileOptimization class
• Fixed some canvas navigation keyboard shortcuts that have some overlap with the new tab movement shortcut keys (Ctrl+Shift+PageUp/PageDown)
• Fixed a crash in the Move Selected Pixels tool when the GPU does not support Direct3D Feature Level 11
• Fixed another rare crash when rapidly undoing changes made with the Move Selected Pixels tool
• Fixed a few typos, inconsistencies, and bugs in some plugin APIs
• Updated the bundled AvifFileType plugin to v1.1.27.0, which now supports loading the primary image of an animated/multi-frame AVIF (thanks @null54!)
• Updated the bundled WebPFileType plugin to v1.3.21.0, which now supports loading the first frame of an animated WebP image instead of saying the file is not supported (thanks @null54!)

 

[BlastOfBN]

There’s a 5.0.12 already? I ought to give it a whirl! Thanks again, Rick!

[Pogm]

Hello, the image resize box is different compared to before. I now have an option within the resize box called ''resampling'' and I can choose between Bicubic, Bicubic Smooth, Bilinear and 5 more. Before I didn't have the option to chose any of these, and there used to be something called supersampling if I'm right. Which one of these options do I have to select, in order to get the same resizing results/or quality as from before this update? (asking since these options weren't there before). And/or what did Paint.net use itself when saving images, before these resampling options became selectable. There is also another thing called ''Use Gamma Correction'' do I have to leave this on or off, to get the same image outcome as from before this option was available.

Edited December 3, 2023 by Pogm

[Tactilis]

21 minutes ago, Pogm said:

Hello, the image resize box is different compared to before. I now have an option within the resize box called ''resampling'' and I can choose between Bicubic, Bicubic Smooth, Bilinear and 5 more. Before I didn't have the option to chose any of these, and there used to be something called supersampling if I'm right.

You have just updated straight from an old paint.net 4.x.x to version 5.0.12.

You missed out the major update to 5.0, then the small updates to 5.0.1, 5.0.2 ... 5.0.11

You can read about the changes in 5.0 here https://forums.getpaint.net/topic/121643-paintnet-50-is-now-available/
In particular, see the section labelled "Image -> Resize Improvements" and the note on Super Sampling.



If you want to see the smaller changes in 5.0.1 through to 5.0.12 , then read the first post in this thread, then click on the 5.0.11 link:

Change Log

Changes since v5.0.11:

 

then 5.0.10 etc, all the way back. This will answer your question about Gamma Correction too.
 

[Tactilis]

@Pogm, in addition to the above, you should always keep paint.net updated to the latest version because point releases are made to fix bugs and introduce other improvements.

The simplest way to do this is to click Settings, then Updates, and tick 'Automatically check...'

 

[Rick Brewster]

@Pogm If you want the equivalent to the old "super sampling", you need to use Fant for resizing smaller, or Bicubic (Smooth) resizing larger. In general though I'd recommend sticking to the default of "Bicubic" (non-Smooth), but you'll have to try them out and see which one works best for your tastes.

 

And, in general, I recommend keeping "Use gamma correction" enabled.

[BoltBait]

On 12/1/2023 at 1:38 PM, Rick Brewster said:

Change Log

Changes since v5.0.11:

 

One thing you forgot to mention is the sexy new about box.

[Rick Brewster]

3 hours ago, BoltBait said:

One thing you forgot to mention is the sexy new about box.

True ...

 

 

[Aarilight]

Speaking of the resampling changes, and not knowing which option to use, I will say that it was convenient previously when it told me which was the best quality. Since there's no preview for resizing, if you're not very knowledgeable on the various methods, it's hard to know which is best to choose. I understand it's probably due to each of the sampling methods being better in specific circumstances, but there's not really any way for the user to actually learn what those are besides trial and error, and realistically you're not going to trial and error something like resizing in most cases... in my experience at least.

 

Something that would help usability there as a result would be a little question mark button there that gives a short description of each of the sampling methods and where they're useful. Showing the descriptions here in the app would be great start: https://www.getpaint.net/doc/latest/ImageMenu.html (Though the description there for Lanczos is not very helpful at the moment.)

 

(And by the way, as always, thanks for the updates!)

Edited December 4, 2023 by Aarilight

[Pogm]

Thanks everybody for the help. After reading everything and doing some own research/image comparing, I found out that the older Paint.net (v4.3.x) must have used the Fant option. What I mainly use the program for, is to crop & resize images to a smaller resolution. I have a question if possible, so when enlarging an image ''Bicubic'' is the one to go for. And ''Fant'' when making it smaller. However lets say that I want to resize to a smaller image, and have the best quality with that. Would Fant still be a better option, or should I use Bicubic in this case? Even though Bicubic is mainly for enlarging, it might (maybe) provide slightly better quality compared to Fant. I did a comparison and couldn't spot much, but regardless of that I want to set it to the best quality preserver to call it like that, since I'm going to leave these options untouched after setting them. 

Edited December 4, 2023 by Pogm

[Tactilis]

4 minutes ago, Pogm said:

I have a question if possible, so when enlarging an image ''Bicubic'' is the one to go for. And ''Fant'' when making it smaller. However lets say that I want to resize to a smaller image, and have the best quality with that.

 

Would Fant still be a better option, or should I use Bicubic in this case?

@Rick Brewster already said:
 

14 hours ago, Rick Brewster said:

If you want the equivalent to the old "super sampling", you need to use Fant for resizing smaller, or Bicubic (Smooth) resizing larger.

 

In general though I'd recommend sticking to the default of "Bicubic" (non-Smooth), but you'll have to try them out and see which one works best for your tastes.

There's no single objective measure of "best quality". You will need to judge what is subjectively best for the specific images you are resizing.

 

[Rick Brewster]

6 hours ago, Aarilight said:

it was convenient previously when it told me which was the best quality.

It certainly was convenient, but that was essentially an illusion because I didn't understand this space as much as I do now. There's no such thing as "Best Quality" and Paint.NET should not have described it as such. I've learned a lot in the last 2 years from talking with @saucecontrol and am using his PhotoSauce.MagicScaler library for most of the image resizing tasks in Paint.NET nowadays.

 

The default is "Bicubic" which in general is exceptionally good. The others are not bad at all, they are just different or are suited for other purposes. Some people really like Lanczos, for instance, and it's also very good. Fant is great for screenshot and generating mipmaps (which are always 1/2 size, or 1/4, 1/8, etc.). "Adaptive (Sharp)" is great for photos when you think its added sharpness looks good. The others are described in the documentation as you noted. Adding a help link here isn't a bad idea, I may even do that at some point.

[Ego Eram Reputo]

15 hours ago, Aarilight said:

the description there for Lanczos is not very helpful at the moment.

 

I had a couple of goes at writing up these definitions. The first attempt got so tangled I threw it all out. When I restarted, I asked Rick for his help and we collaboratively came up with the current text.

 

We agreed about this: most users don't need to know much about resampling modes. Those that do will already likely understand the different variants.  Hence the text is intentionally lightweight. It was, we felt, a good compromise.

 

The documentation is always open to improvement. If you have a suggestion for rewording the Lanczos text I'd like to hear it.

 

Edit: current thinking.....

Quote

A popular filter for "upscaling". Uses the Lanczos reconstruction kernel with three lobes (positive central and -1 alternating negative and positive lobes on each side).