Using Advanced Paint Features

By now you probably have a good idea how to use the basic features of the Paint program. Paint includes a number of other features and capabilities that allow you to create more sophisticated drawings and edit them move exactly. These features are covered in this lesson.

Using Other Sources for Drawing Material

Until now, you have created simple objects yourself and worked with objects supplied to you. But there are a number of other sources for material that you can use in your drawings.

Importing Graphic Files into Paint

Import means to bring into Paint a graphic file that was created outside of Paint. You can import graphic files that were created with another painting or drawing program. You can also convert a paper drawing or photograph to an electronic file format. How? With a devise called a scanner. Then, once converted to a graphic file, that drawing or photograph too can be imported into Paint.

You must follow these guidelines when importing graphic files:

q You can import only graphic files that have BMP, MSP, or PCX formats. BMP is the original format for bitmap (thus the extension .bmp). MSP is the format for Microsoft Paint files (from earlier versions of Windows). PCX is the graphic-file format used in PC Paint (an applications by Zsoft Corporation). PCX is a well-known standard for graphic files.

q You need both a monitor and a video adapter capable of displaying all of Paint’s 256 colors. If your equipment is capable of displaying only16 colors, when you import a 256-color image Paint will adjust the colors to the 16-color limitation (obviously, the imported graphic will lose some of the original’s color). If you have a monochrome monitor, your image will display only in shades of black and white.

To import a file into Paint, use the Open command on the File menu. Save the imported file using any of Paint’s file types.

Capturing Screens

Another source of material for Paint is your computer screen itself. You can capture any image that appears on the screen by using the Print Screen key. (Your key may read Prt Scrn or Print Scrn.)

To capture a screen:

q Press the Print Screen key to capture the entire screen.

q Press Alt+Print Screen to capture the active window.

Some keyboards require that you press Shift+PrintScreen to capture and copy the entire display to the Clipboard.

Nothing noticeable happens when you capture the screen, but the captured screen is stored on the Clipboard just like a cut or copied object. To use the capture, use the Paste command to place it in your drawing.

Viewing a Bitmap Larger Than the Screen

When you use the Open command to import a graphic file or when you paste an image from the clipboard into Paint, Paint adjusts to accommodate the imported image. If the image is larger that the drawing area, the entire graphic will be placed in memory, but only part of it will be visible. You can use the scroll bars to view those areas outside the drawing area.

If the image is only slightly larger than the drawing area, you can create more space by closing the toolbox, color box, and status bar (click each on the Vie menu). Of course, you can select them again whenever you’re ready.

If you still need more space, click View Bitmap on the Vie menu to hide everything except your picture. To reverse the View Bitmap command, press any key; the hidden screen components will reappear.

Step-by-Step 7.1

1. Start Paint and maximize the Paint window, if necessary.

2. Screen-capture a copy of the Solitaire window:

a. Open and maximize Solitaire.

b. Press the Print Screen key. (The Print Screen key is next to F12 key.) A copy of the Solitaire window is copied to the Clipboard.

c. Close the Solitaire program.

d. Return to Paint using the taskbar.

3. Select Paste from the Edit menu. If a message box asks if you’d like the bitmap enlarged, click Yes.

4. Scroll the image with both the horizontal and the vertical scroll bars. Notice that the entire Solitaire window has been reproduced on your drawing area. Leave the image on-screen for the next Step-by-Step.

Hot Tip: If you have the text tool selected, screen-capture does not work!

Using the Zoom Option

The Zoom option magnifies the drawing on your screen and is therefore useful for editing. You can use the Zoom option to repair a drawing, change color in very small areas, or even redraw a portion of a graphic.

When you select Zoom from the View menu, a submenu allows you to choose Large Size or Custom. Large Size enlarges your drawing by 400%. If you choose Custom, the Custom Zoom dialog box appears as shown in the figure, letting you select from among five zoom sizes. Paint’s Zoom mode is also called a fat-bit editor because it enlarges each bit (makes it “fat”) so that you can edit it.

While you are zoomed in on the drawing, you can add a thumbnail that shows the area in its 100% size. To add a thumbnail to the screen, choose Zoom again and then choose Show Thumbnail from the submenu. In the upper-left corner of the drawing area, a small window appears with a normal-size view of the magnified area. Any changes you make to the image will be reflected in the thumbnail.

Paint also offers a grid option to help you in the editing process. To display the grid, choose Zoom and then Show Grid from the submenu.

Each square in the magnified area represents one pixel of the image. You can change any pixel to either the foreground or the background color by clicking the mouse on that pixel with one of the toolbox tools. To put the current foreground color in a pixel, click the left button; to put the current background color in, click the right button. You can paint a group of pixels at once in either the foreground color or the background color by holding down the appropriate mouse button and dragging the mouse.

Step-by-Step 7.2

1. Your screen should show the image of the Solitaire window.

2. Select Zoom from the View menu, and then choose Custom from the submenu.

3. In the Custom Zoom dialog box, click the 800% option, and then click OK button.

4. Select Zoom again and choose Show Grid from the submenu. Your screen should resemble the figure to the right.

5. Choose Zoom once again and select Show Thumbnail to show a portion of the Solitaire screen in normal size. Point to the title bar of the Thumbnail window and drag it to the right side of the screen.

6. Choose the Pencil tool, if necessary.

7. Select dark red for the foreground color and yellow for the background color.

8. Paint all the blue pixels inside the box of cards (the Solitaire icon) red:

a. Point to one of the blue pixels on the box front.

b. Press and hold down the left mouse button and slowly drag across all the blue pixels.

9. Paint all the white pixels on the card sticking out of the box yellow by holding down the right mouse button and slowly dragging across the white pixels. Your screen should resemble the figure to the right. (you cannot tell the colors – ask Mrs. Jones to open a file named solitaire cards)

10. Fill the white letters of the word Solitaire with dark red.

a. Choose the Fill With Color tool.

b. Position the tip of the pointer anywhere in a letter.

c. Click the left mouse button.

d. Repeat steps 10b-c until all the letters are red.

11. Close the Thumbnail by clicking its Close button.

12. Choose Zoom and Normal Size on the View menu to return to normal size. Save the drawing as

Solitaire lastname initial to the class folder and to a second place. Leave the image on-screen for the next Step-by-Step.

Using Pixel Coordinates

Paint provides two ways for you to control exactly where an object is located and how big it is. The two measurement boxes at her far right of the status bar show you as you draw where the object is located on the screen and the size of your object. Paint measures objects in pels (short for picture element), the individual dots that makes up an image. The rectangle shown in the figure, for example was started at pixel location 96,68 and measure 203 by 138 pels. The first pixel location number reflects from left to right; the second number indicates the position from top to bottom.

Step-by-Step 7.3

1. Choose New from the File menu to display a new screen. Do not save changes to the current drawing. Save the new file as IP Logo lastnameinitial in the 256 Color Bitmap file type to the class folder and to a 2^nd place. Create the logo shown in the figure by following the steps below.

2. Draw the parts of the logo:

a. Choose the Line tool and select the thinnest line from the selection area.

b. Choose the Rectangle tool. Start at 45, 50 and create a box that measures 321 X 117 pels.

c. Create another box that starts at 66, 84 and measures 18 X 67 pels.

d. Choose the Ellipse tool. Start at 65, 64 and create an ellipse that measures 21 X 14 pels.

e. Choose the Rounded Rectangle tool. Start at 106, 64 and create a rectangle that measures 249 X 87 pels.

3. Paint the background area blue.

4. Add the text:

a. Change the foreground color back to black.

b. Use Arial, 14 point, bold italic and key some text of your choice. Do not use International Printers.

5. Save the file to the class folder and to a 2^nd place.

Hot Tip: Remember that it is easier if you create the text elsewhere on the drawing area and then drag the text into place.