
Microsoft Paint Is Deprecated in Fall Creators Update - svieira
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4034825/features-that-are-removed-or-deprecated-in-windows-10-fall-creators-up
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Const-me
I don’t care about paint, I use paint.net anyway. But I’m disappointed with
this:

> System Image Backup (SIB) Solution

> We recommend that users use full-disk backup solutions from other vendors.

> Deprecated

Sure, low-level system tools such as image backups are pain to support. But so
far, Microsoft did better job than other vendors did.

It’s much easier to break Windows restoring from a third-party backup like
Acronis. Microsoft appears to consistently do better with GPT layouts, UEFI
system partitions, and other stuff used by modern Windows installations.

Also, Microsoft’s backup writes VHD images, and the built-in disk management
tool can mount these images to access the data. With some setup, Windows can
even boot directly from a VHD image, natively, i.e. without virtualization
involved. Not the case with third party disk image formats.

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dtmmax33
No! Way back in the day when I did consumer tech support, I would occasionally
get a call about Paint taking forever to open (this was on Win 3.1) After some
troubleshooting, figured out that they had the canvas size set to some
extremely large value, like 3000x3000 or something (that was large back then.)

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NKCSS
Makes me sad; it's still the go-to tool to paste screenshots in, do cutting if
need be and adding a small shape. The near-instant startup helps a lot.

~~~
rl3
I use it exactly for this. Paste screenshot, crop as needed, and save out to
PNG. It opens fast, unlike heavyweight image editors.

It's also fantastic for "annotating" images. MS Paint saves one from having to
print an image out, scrawl unseemly things on it in crayon, and then scan it
back in. If you're bad enough with the 1px pencil tool, that works just as
well!

~~~
strictnein
You can do I think all of that with the built in Snipping Tool. Except you can
crop while taking the screenshot, so you save a step.

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gallerdude
Man, MS Paint is basically internet culture​, it's a shame they're killing it.

~~~
senectus1
The thing I love MS Paint for is this:
[https://infamoussyn.com/2013/03/19/gain-command-prompt-
acces...](https://infamoussyn.com/2013/03/19/gain-command-prompt-access-via-
mspaint/)

Such an insane vulnerability...

~~~
grenoire
I don't think that's really a vulnerability. It's just a stupid fun way to
write `cmd.exe`. You can open up Notepad and write a batch file there too.

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skrebbel
This is ridiculous. I know people on OSX who miss Windows and regret the
choice, solely because of MS Paint.

Let's petition they open source it. In the new Microsoft, this might actually
stand a chance.

~~~
wruza
pixlr.com/editor

(I'm not affiliated in any way.)

"OSX paint"

Also there _are_ free paints out there, so you actually have to ask Apple to
include, not Microsoft to opensource

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wfunction
This is awful. I use Paint all the time. Anyone know of a comparable
alternative? (I mean that starts up in a blink, that my grandma could use, and
that can do more or less everything Paint can. _Very much preferably_ not
depending on frameworks like Java or .NET or Python, since none of those start
in a blink, and they also often don't feel "native", if you know how to notice
that kind of thing.)

~~~
chrisper
Well, there is Paint .NET
([https://www.getpaint.net/](https://www.getpaint.net/)) and it looks native.
Sadly, you don't want any framework. So I doubt you will find any alternative.

Not sure how much the new Paint 3D is actually replacing it.

~~~
blub
The author of Paint.NET purposefully included ads on their website which
looked like download buttons. That should tell one all they need to know about
Paint.NET (and Windows freeware).

~~~
1123581321
It says something about the economics of freeware, but Paint.net is very good,
an essential program for many people, and completely safe to install and run.

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tehabe
I think it is more interesting that Windows 10 still includes code for Outlook
Express.

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ghostwreck
It looks like it will be replaced by Paint 3D? Newer, more powerful Paint!
Sounds like a good thing to me.

~~~
dingo_bat
Paint 3D is a waste compared to Paint.

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g00n
A more capable replacement in the store for free would make up for this. I
usually install gimp, but rarely use it for more than quick crops and some
brightness adjustments. So, lighter than gimp, more capable than paint...

~~~
mrkrabo
There probably is a replacement in the store already, but being frank, I hate
all store apps. The only store app I use is the calculator, because I'm forced
to (the classic calculator was removed), and I hate that it takes a few
seconds to start up. We're going backwards.

~~~
wfunction
I never use the calculator except on a brand new installation where I have to
compute sector offsets or something.

Use the PowerToy calculator from Windows XP. You can either run it in
compatibility mode or patch it so that it doesn't check the Windows version
(exercise left for the reader).

Alternatively, use a third-party program like SpeedCrunch.

~~~
g00n
I tend to use Google to calculate, if posed correctly it will even infer
formulas and give you the result. But when I needed math done for me I was
also waist deep in Excel all day long and could figure anything I needed.

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maouida
Usually I use Paint.NET for quick edits and Microsoft Snip[1] (not Snipping
Tool) for screenshots.

[1] [https://mix.office.com/snip](https://mix.office.com/snip)

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johanvts
From the comments I get the feeling that paint is going away. But they are not
removing it as far as I can tell, it is just not under active development.

~~~
Illniyar
Has it actually been under active development previously? It looks and feels
mostly the same as the win 3.1 one (except maybe putting the actions in a
ribbon UI)

~~~
SmellyGeekBoy
A very rare case (especially for Microsoft) of the "If it ain't broke" rule.

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interfixus
For cropping, conversion, quick fixes and basic annotation there's the
insanely versatile XnView. I am on Linux, and XnViewMP is the only non-OS code
I run - for the sheer convenience of it.

There are any number of lightweight bitmap-editors available on the Windows
platform. A thing like PhotoScape will sceenshoot, edit, crop, and whatever,
all in one easy bundle.

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Odenwaelder
My professor is going to be pissed that his main tool for drawing scientific
figures will be gone.

~~~
comstock
yep, people have created amazing works of art in paint too. Simply because it
was all that was available to them. One of my favorites is this illustrated
comic novel:

[https://qz.com/983188/this-stunning-graphic-novel-was-
entire...](https://qz.com/983188/this-stunning-graphic-novel-was-entirely-
illustrated-using-microsoft-paint/)

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klaustopher
Also ... They remove `syskey.exe`... What will all those Windows Support
scammers use in the future to lock machines when their "customers" don't
cooperate?

If you don't know what this is about, just put syskey in your youtube search
;)

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brador
An OS should be a blank system for running applications. Less bloat is always
better, and if anyone wants to paint there is no shortage of art applications
to install and use at your leisure.

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em3rgent0rdr
Pinta is a great open-source Paint-replacement: [https://pinta-
project.com](https://pinta-project.com)

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k__
Sad.

Just last week me and my girlfriend were blown away when we used paint on a
surface with pen and pressure control.

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warrenm
But how will I edit screenshots?

~~~
piracyde25
Using Snipping Tool helps me a lot. Plus, it requires less steps to produce a
simple screenshot; select area and you're good to go.

~~~
bartread
I agree but it's not so good if you want to add anything to the screenshot
afterwards in terms of annotations, outlines, or whatever. I'll often snip
with Snipping tool and then paste into Paint for "post-processing".

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staticelf
Why is people so upset by this? Paint3D is still there and works great.

But they should open source it.

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kyriakos
while you could install Paint.net or another alternative, IT departments block
Windows Store from their machines meaning having something built in really did
make a difference.

~~~
animal531
You also get old grouches like me that refuse to touch Win Store, we don't
want to get our hands dirty.

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verytrivial
How does this benefit the average (or newbie or advanced) user?

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nikbackm
Too bad Magnifier wasn't on that list.

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kyriakos
End of an era.

p.s. Paint.net is now part of the Windows Store

