Paint

You can use Paint to “paint” simple artwork or to edit graphics files from other sources. You might say Paint is something like Adobe Photoshop (well, in the same way you might say the local Cub Scout newsletter is something like The New York Times). Common tasks for this program include making quick sketches, fixing dust specks on scanned photos, and entertaining kids for hours on end.

GEM IN THE ROUGH: Notepad Log Files

As stripped-down as it is, Notepad has one surprising feature not available in any other text processor or word processor: automated log files. Every time you open a certain file, Notepad can automatically insert the current date and time at the bottom of the file, creating a tidy record of when you last worked on it—a nifty way to keep any type of a log, like a record of expenditures or a secret diary.

To set this up, create a new Notepad document (choose File→New). Then type the phrase .LOG at the top of the new document. (Capitalize “LOG,” and put nothing, not even a space, before the period.)

Now save the document (File→Save) wherever you like, and give it a name. (Notepad adds the extension .txt automatically.)

When you next open the file, Notepad types out the date and time automatically and puts your cursor on the next line. Now you’re ready to type the day’s entry.

To make your log file easier to read, press the Enter key to insert a blank line after each entry before saving the file.

When you first open Paint, you get a small, empty painting window. Go like this:

1. From the File menu, choose Properties to specify the dimensions of the graphic you want to create. Click OK.

   Later in your life, you can revisit that command to adjust your graphic’s dimensions.

2. Click a tool on the Home tab, like the Pencil.

   If you need help identifying one of these tools, point to it without clicking. A tooltip identifies the icon by name, and a help message appears at the bottom of the window.

3. Click a “paint” color from the palette.

   You may also want to change the “brush” by clicking the Brushes palette, like the spray-paint splatter shown in Figure 11-7.

   

   Figure 11-7. The Paint tools include shapes, pens for special uses (straight lines and curves), and coloring tools (including an airbrush). The Select tools don’t draw anything. Instead, they select portions of the image for cutting, copying, or dragging to a new location.

4. If you’ve selected one of the enclosed-shape tools, use the Fill pop-up menu to specify a texture (Watercolor, Crayon, or whatever); click Color 2, and then a color swatch, to specify the color for the inside of that shape.

   Some tools produce enclosed shapes, like squares and circles. You can specify one color for the border, and a second color for the fill color inside.

5. Finally, drag your cursor in the image area (see Figure 11-7).

   As you work, don’t forget that you can click the Undo button (the counterclockwise arrow at the very top edge of the window), “taking back” the last painting maneuvers you made.

   For fine detail work, click the View tab, and then click Zoom In. You’ve just enlarged it so every dot is easily visible.

Paint can open and create several different file formats, including BMP, JPEG, and GIF—every file format you need to save graphics for use on a Web site.

Tip

Paint also offers a nifty way to create wallpaper. After you create or edit a graphic, open the File menu. Choose “Set as desktop background”; from the submenu, choose Fill, Tile, or Center to transfer your masterpiece to your desktop.