Software Update: Paint.NET 4.0.6

Version 4.0.6 of Paint.NET has been released. As the name suggests, this program needs the .Net framework to do its job. It started as a study assignment for Washington State University, to replace the Paint included with Windows, but now contains a lot of functionality that we also see in more extensive, commercial packages. Since version 4.0, the program performs a lot faster, especially on multicore processors, but has at least Windows 7 as a system requirement. In this update, among other things, the ability to use custom shapes has been added and several improvements regarding the use on Windows 10 have been observed.

Paint.NET 4.0.6 is now available

This update is probably a little more interesting than you may have been expecting. It has the usual grab bag of small bug fixes, but also includes the ability to install custom shapes (for the Shapes tool, obviously). I’ve also updated everything to look good in Windows 10, and fixed many high-DPI blemishes that had gone unfixed for awhile.

If you’d like more info about custom shapes, you can check out BoltBait’s guide, “How to Install Paint.NET Shapes”, which has installation instructions and a pack of sample shapes. It’s all XAML based and will look very familiar to you if you’ve ever worked with WPF’s Geometry system.

As usual, you can download the update directly from the websiteor you can use the built-in updater via Settings -> Updates -> Check Now.

New:

• You can now create and install custom shapes for the Shapes tool.
• Updated to work better with Windows 10.
• Increased the maximum brush size to 2000.
• IndirectUI-based effect plugins can now provide help text, accessible via the question mark button.
• Effect plugins may now access the current palette via IPalettesService.

improved:

• Reduced memory usage of brush tools when using large brush sizes.

Fixed:

• Holding shift to constrain the angle of the roll control (Layers -> Rotate/Zoom) wasn’t working correctly.
• Various shapes (hexagon, pentagon, triangle, etc.) are now symmetric when holding the shift key.
• Multiple high-dpi blemishes in the main window and many dialog boxes (Settings, Save Configuration, all effect dialogs, etc.)
• Various minor/weird crashes.