Microsoft is reshaping its classic Windows Paint app into a more powerful and modern creative tool. With the latest Windows 11 Insider updates, Paint is gaining Photoshop-like capabilities, including a brand-new project file format and customizable editing tools. These changes mark a significant step in transforming Paint from a simple image editor into a professional creative platform.
A New Project File Format: .Paint
The most notable addition is the ability to save projects in a dedicated .paint file format. Similar to Adobe Photoshop’s PSD files, this format preserves layers, adjustments, and edits so users can return to their projects at any time without losing progress.
This improvement eliminates the limitations of saving only in JPG or PNG, which flatten all layers and prevent further fine-tuning. With the new project-based workflow, Paint now offers a more efficient and flexible editing process.
Opacity Controls for Brushes and Pens
Paint is also becoming more customizable with the addition of opacity sliders. Available for both the brush and pen tools, these sliders allow users to adjust transparency levels, enabling more delicate and precise strokes.
The controls are conveniently displayed on the left panel when a tool is selected, making adjustments quick and intuitive. This feature gives Paint users more creative freedom, bridging the gap between casual editing and professional design.
Expanding Beyond Basics: Copilot and AI Features
Microsoft has already been enhancing Paint with AI-powered tools. In 2023, Paint received support for layers and transparency, and in 2024, the company introduced Cocreator, an AI feature capable of generating images.
Now, with project files and opacity controls, Paint is positioned as a stronger rival to professional editors like Photoshop. However, not all users are enthusiastic. Some argue that adding too many AI-driven features could compromise the app’s simplicity, which has long been its biggest strength.
Snipping Tool Gets Smarter
It’s not just Paint receiving attention. Microsoft has also improved the Snipping Tool in recent Windows 11 Insider builds. The new Quick Markup feature allows users to add annotations and highlights directly to screenshots before saving them.
Previously, users often relied on third-party tools like ShareX for such functionality. Now, this is built directly into Windows, making the workflow faster and more convenient.
A Broader Push for Windows Creativity
These updates are part of Microsoft’s larger strategy to strengthen built-in Windows apps. Alongside Paint and the Snipping Tool, Notepad on Copilot+ PCs has gained AI-powered abilities like summarizing, rewriting, and generating text without requiring a Copilot subscription.
For now, the new features are available to Windows 11 Canary and Dev channel testers, but Microsoft is expected to roll them out widely in upcoming public updates.
