Microsoft adds two Killer photo editing features to MS Paint

Despite having stayed mostly untouched for almost 40 years, the photo editor now matches today's possibilities thanks to two new additions.

[{"selector":"#anim-b1c4b54d-fff1-4b73-86aa-c58a566f8b7b","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-47e6f844-71f1-413b-93b4-775f52072905","keyframes":{"transform":["scale(1)","scale(1.5)","scale(0.95)","scale(1)"],"offset":[0,0.33,0.66,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1450,"easing":"ease-in-out","fill":"both","iterations":1}]

Transparency and layers, two very significant new capabilities, are now supported in Microsoft Paint.

[{"selector":"#anim-ebdff52e-3099-4042-b250-39684ada8169","keyframes":{"transform":["scale(1)","scale(1.5)","scale(0.95)","scale(1)"],"offset":[0,0.33,0.66,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1450,"easing":"ease-in-out","fill":"both","iterations":1}] [{"selector":"#anim-1327224b-95c9-4ff0-adf5-b0a2218defdd","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

Users have the ability to open and edit PNG files with a transparent background thanks to transparency, as the name suggests.

[{"selector":"#anim-9d7e09d8-a211-4bc8-9fb3-3727f0df9e0a","keyframes":{"transform":["scale(1)","scale(1.5)","scale(0.95)","scale(1)"],"offset":[0,0.33,0.66,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1450,"easing":"ease-in-out","fill":"both","iterations":1}] [{"selector":"#anim-ea4bfcb1-1500-43cc-8d31-a8b6088780a6","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

As with most photo editors, a checkerboard background indicates the part of the picture that's transparent.

[{"selector":"#anim-a53d9d7d-0a26-42bf-bca4-2557e1e01954","keyframes":{"transform":["scale(1)","scale(1.5)","scale(0.95)","scale(1)"],"offset":[0,0.33,0.66,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1450,"easing":"ease-in-out","fill":"both","iterations":1}] [{"selector":"#anim-bbc11f21-220b-4a0c-a2cb-a2df3ef4b70d","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

Users may now layer shapes, text, and other images on top of one another and then rearrange the layers as desired thanks to layers.

[{"selector":"#anim-b1512cf4-ca99-40ca-bf46-a06dee46ac06","keyframes":{"transform":["scale(1)","scale(1.5)","scale(0.95)","scale(1)"],"offset":[0,0.33,0.66,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1450,"easing":"ease-in-out","fill":"both","iterations":1}] [{"selector":"#anim-1de807c3-e1e7-4777-bd83-9d9d24f05c98","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]

If you combine transparency and layers together, erasing the top layer will show the layer underneath.

[{"selector":"#anim-4b146d8a-1738-46b8-ab9d-2c722cabad63","keyframes":{"transform":["scale(1)","scale(1.5)","scale(0.95)","scale(1)"],"offset":[0,0.33,0.66,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1450,"easing":"ease-in-out","fill":"both","iterations":1}] [{"selector":"#anim-1f022ea3-494e-402d-aef1-681a043cf894","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}]