# Has Microsoft Paint become very strange for anyone else? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 25, 2023, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-microsoft-paint-become-very-strange-for-anyone-else/990679 "2023-09-25T15:57:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2023, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-microsoft-paint-become-very-strange-for-anyone-else/990679/1 "2023-09-25T15:57:22Z")
Windows rolled out an upgrade for Microsoft Paint about a month ago (despite Paint being decades old, it’s still my main go-to app for editing photos and images), and ever since then it has become very difficult to use on my end. I can no longer copy+paste text into a Paint image without half of it being lost and cut off (unless it’s a small volume of words, like just 30 words - in the past, I could copy and paste entire huge chunks of text, but now Paint only accepts very small paragraphs). If I try to click and drag something, the entire image moves rather than the selected part being moved. Words now automatically show up in bold rather than un-bolded. If I try to change the size of the text, Paint now automatically changes the words from black to white without my asking it to. If I paste text, it may show up in three different font sizes even though I meant for it all to be pasted in the same font size and it was all the same size to begin with. If I use the + sign while typing, or the select all function, Paint will suddenly delete big chunks of text, or do a select-all, without my asking it to. Anyone else seeing this strange stuff or is it just me? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2023, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-microsoft-paint-become-very-strange-for-anyone-else/990679/2 "2023-09-25T16:06:00Z")
I have seen the changes and don’t really like them. I don’t use it that often, just an occasional line drawing and mostly cropping photos from my phone or reducing the resolution. Being able to increase the image size by dragging the edges seems convenient but the continuously variable magnification just annoys me. I don’t want the in-between sizes that will distort dimensions. Like with so many of their products these changes aren’t really improvements. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2023, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-microsoft-paint-become-very-strange-for-anyone-else/990679/3 "2023-09-25T16:57:48Z")
I have witnessed a number of functionality changes in the thing-for the zoom feature it originally when I got my new machine in March zoomed in right on my target, then for like 3 months it would always shift left and up when I tried to zoom in, always forcing me to re-center rrrggghh. Now it gives me a ton of precision again, better than it originally was. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-microsoft-paint-become-very-strange-for-anyone-else/990679/4 "2023-09-26T16:11:22Z")
Is there a good free alternative? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-microsoft-paint-become-very-strange-for-anyone-else/990679/5 "2023-09-26T16:14:03Z")
[Paint.net](https://www.getpaint.net/) is a very good free alternative. It does a lot more than paint, though not quite so easy to use. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-microsoft-paint-become-very-strange-for-anyone-else/990679/6 "2023-09-26T19:32:54Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > [Paint.net](https://www.getpaint.net/) is a very good free alternative The Microsoft store asks $9.99 for it ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-microsoft-paint-become-very-strange-for-anyone-else/990679/7 "2023-09-26T19:37:05Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > The Microsoft store asks $9.99 for it The linked website lets you download it for free. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-microsoft-paint-become-very-strange-for-anyone-else/990679/8 "2023-09-26T19:38:12Z")
That is weird, it is suppose to be free. I’m not sure what Microsoft is trying to pull here. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2023, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-microsoft-paint-become-very-strange-for-anyone-else/990679/9 "2023-09-26T23:43:54Z")
Weird indeed. Apparently: > Starting with version 4.0.18, [paint.net](http://paint.net) is published in two editions: A classic edition remains [freeware](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeware), similar to all other versions since 3.5. Another edition, however, is published to [Microsoft Store](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Store_(digital)) under a [trialware](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trialware) license and is available to purchase for US$7. According to the developer, this was done to enable the users to contribute to the development with more convenience, even though the old avenue of donation was not closed. Anyway, I still highly recommend the free version. Still worth $7 or $10, but it’s always been free.