Accessing Paint: Windows 7 To 10

Microsoft Paint is a feature included with Microsoft Windows that allows users to create drawings, edit digital pictures, print images, and save picture files using different formats. The steps to open Microsoft Paint vary depending on the Windows version being used. This paragraph will discuss how to open Microsoft Paint on Windows 7 and Windows 10.

Using the Start Menu

• Press the Windows key on your keyboard or click/tap on the Start button in the bottom-left corner of your desktop.
• Once the Start Menu is open, locate and click on the "All Apps" or "All Programs" tab in the left column of the menu.
• This will open a list of all the apps and programs installed on your computer. Scroll down and locate the "Windows Accessories" folder.
• Click on the "Windows Accessories" folder to expand it, and then find and select "Paint" or "Microsoft Paint" from the list of applications.
• Alternatively, you can use the Search function within the Start Menu. Click in the search field and type "Paint" or "mspaint.exe", then press Enter.
• If you plan to use Paint frequently, you can pin it to the Start Menu or create a shortcut on your desktop or taskbar for quick access.

Please note that the above steps are specifically for Windows 10, and the process may vary slightly for different versions of Windows.

Using the Search function

To open Paint in Windows 10 using the search function, you can follow these steps:

Firstly, open the Start Menu by clicking on the Windows icon in the bottom-left corner of your screen. Then, look for a search bar or text field at the top or bottom of the Start Menu. Type "Paint" or "Run" (without the quotation marks) into this search bar and hit Enter. This should bring up the Paint program in your search results. Click on the Paint program or the Open button to launch it.

Alternatively, you can use the Windows key on your keyboard and type "Paint", followed by pressing Enter. This will also bring up the Paint program in your search results, and you can click on it to open Paint.

If you want to create a shortcut to Paint on your taskbar, you can right-click on the Paint icon and select "Create Shortcut" from the drop-down menu. This will place a shortcut on your taskbar, allowing you to quickly access Paint by left-clicking on the icon.

Please note that the steps to open Paint may vary depending on your version of Windows and whether you have the classic or updated version of Paint installed.

Opening image files with Paint

Microsoft Paint is only included with Microsoft Windows and is not available on Macs. The steps to open Microsoft Paint vary depending on the version of Windows you are running.

To open Paint in Windows 10, you can use the search box found near the Start button. Type "Paint" inside it, and once the search results are shown, click or tap the Paint result, or click or tap Open on the right side of the search window. You can also press the Windows key, type Paint, and press Enter.

When you open Paint in Windows 10, you may see a Product alert, as Paint will not be installed together with Windows 10 in the future. Instead, you will need to find it and install it from the Microsoft Store.

Once you have Paint open, you can open image files from inside the app. If you are using Microsoft Paint and are unable to open the image file you need, you may need to use another image editor, as some versions of Paint only support .bmp, or bitmap images. Microsoft Windows 98, Windows Me, and Windows 2000 support opening .bmp, .GIF (Graphics Interchange Format), .jpg, and .jpeg image files. Windows XP added support for .jpg, .jfif, .tif, .tiff, and .png file formats, in addition to the formats supported by previous versions of Windows.

Using the RUN program

To open Paint in Windows 10 using the RUN program, follow these steps:

• Press the "Win + R" keys together on your keyboard to open the Run window. Alternatively, you can click on the Start Menu, then click on "Run".
• Once the Run window is open, type "mspaint" in the text field.
• Press Enter or click/tap "OK" to launch Paint.

• Using the Start Menu: Click on the Start Menu, then navigate to "All Apps" or "All Programs". Scroll down to the Windows Accessories folder and you should find Paint inside.
• Using the Search Function: Press the Windows key on your keyboard or click the Start button, then type "Paint". Click on the Paint program from the search results or simply press Enter.
• Using Cortana: If you have voice activation enabled, you can say "Cortana, open Paint". If not, open the Start Menu, type "Cortana", press Enter, then say "Open Paint".
• Using File Explorer: Start File Explorer and browse to the drive where Windows is installed. Go to "Windows", then "System32", and look for "mspaint.exe". Double-click on this file to start Paint.

Using the File Explorer

To open Windows 7 Paint in Windows 10 using the File Explorer, you can follow these steps:

• Open the File Explorer: You can do this by clicking on the folder icon on the taskbar, which is usually located at the bottom of your screen. This is the quickest way to access File Explorer.
• Navigate to the Windows Folder: Once File Explorer is open, browse to the drive where Windows is installed. Typically, this is the main hard drive, often labelled as the "C:" drive.
• Locate the "Windows" folder: Within the "C:" drive or the equivalent drive where Windows is installed, find and open the "Windows" folder.
• Go to the "System32" folder: Inside the "Windows" folder, locate and open the "System32" folder.
• Find the "mspaint.exe" file: Within the "System32" folder, look for the "mspaint.exe" file. This is the executable file for Paint.
• Double-click to open Paint: Once you've found the "mspaint.exe" file, simply double-click on it, and Paint should open.

Alternatively, you can also use the Search function within File Explorer to locate the "mspaint.exe" file. Right-click on the file and choose "Open with" and then select Paint. This method may be faster if you're not familiar with navigating to the specific folders mentioned in the previous steps.

Frequently asked questions