What you need to know
- Paint.NET recently received an update to version 4.3.3, which improves rendering and startup performance.
- It is the final version of Paint.NET that will support Windows 7, Windows 8.1, or any 32-bit versions of Windows.
- Going forward, the app will only work with 64-bit versions of Windows 11 and Windows 10.
Paint.NET will no longer support Windows 7, Windows 8.1, or any 32-bit versions of Windows going forward. In the future, only 64-bit versions of Windows 11 and Windows 10 will be supported. The move allows the program's developer to focus time on supporting the creative app on modern versions of Windows. As a reminder, Windows 11 is only available as a 64-bit operating system, so this change only affects older versions of Windows.
In the release notes for Paint.NET version 4.3.3, the developer explained why the app will only support 64-bit versions of Windows 11 and Windows 10 going forward.
It has become significantly more difficult and time consuming to support these lately, not very many people are using them, and I can no longer justify the cost and frustration of keeping support for these afloat. Starting with Paint.NET v4.4, only Windows 10 and 11+ will be supported, and only on 64-bit (x64 and ARM64). Once Paint.NET v4.3.3 is released, I will start working on v4.4 and will only release v4.3.x updates on an as-needed basis and only until v4.4 is completed.
Version 4.3.3 migrates Paint.NET To .NET 6. This improves both rendering and startup performance of the application. Here's the complete list of what's new, improved, and fixed in Paint.NET:
- New: The app has been migrated to .NET 6, which has improved both rendering and startup performance
- New translation: Catalan (ca)
- New translation: Corsican (co)
- New translation: Thai (th)
- Changed: The /createMsi command for the installer has been removed. Instead, you can now download MSIs directly from the GitHub releases page.
- Improved various UI controls for Dark Theme, e.g. scrollbars (Win10 v1809+ only)
- Fixed the way various UI controls look on Windows 11, e.g. buttons and drop-down lists
- Fixed the View -> Zoom to Window command when using the keyboard shortcut (Ctrl+B), which was resetting instead of toggling the zoom level
- Improved performance during the "extracting" stage of the installer by migrating away from Nullsoft Scriptable Installer System (NSIS)
- Reduced the download size on ARM64 by about 33%
- Fixed a rendering bug in the Dents and Polar Inversion effects, as reported here: https://forums.getpaint.net/topic/118746-paintnet-update-changed-the-way-the-dents-distortion-filter-works-causing-unwanted-artifactsglitches-was-this-an-intended-change/
- Fixed a memory leak in the selection renderer that was consuming gigabytes of GPU memory, resulting in crashes. Thanks to @Zagna for finding this and testing the fix! https://forums.getpaint.net/topic/118806-paint-crashes-if-you-do-a-selection-glitch-and-then-history-jump-forward/?do=findComment&comment=587772
- Fixed some GDI object leaks, particularly with the Save Configuration dialog, which would eventually result in a crash. Thanks @rechlin for finding and reporting this! https://forums.getpaint.net/topic/118785-crash-due-to-running-out-of-gdi-objects/
- Fixed a memory leak in Settings -> Tools. Thanks @otuncelli for finding this! https://forums.getpaint.net/topic/118785-crash-due-to-running-out-of-gdi-objects/#comment-588468
- Fixed an issue that was preventing new plugins from loading their native DLL dependencies as specified in their .deps.json file
- Fixed the app crashing after an effect plugin crashes when you choose to restart the app
- Fixed a crash while drawing a selection, right-clicking on the History window before releasing the left mouse button, and then clicking to redo a history entry, as reported here: https://forums.getpaint.net/topic/118806-paint-crashes-if-you-do-a-selection-glitch-and-then-history-jump-forward/
- Fixed a text rendering bug in some parts of the UI, mostly in Effects, as reported by @midora over at https://forums.getpaint.net/topic/118866-paintnet-43-footnote-of-indirectui-control-in-filetype-shows-artifacts-after-scrolling/
- Fixed the "untitled:" file name argument prefix, which was preventing Window Clippings from being able to send screenshot
- Fixed some registry keys that were not being deleted during uninstall
- Fixed the PdnRepair utility on Windows 7
- Fixed some inconsistencies with the MSI as compared to v4.2.16 which were causing problems for some deployments
- Updated the bundled AvifFileType to v1.1.17.0, courtesy of @null54, which updates the AOM version and fixes a crash when reading large EXIF blocks. See its GitHub releases page for more info.
There are a few different ways to download Paint.NET. It's available through the Microsoft Store for $7. This cost helps fund the development of the app. You can also get Paint.NET for free through the app's website or GitHub.
Paint.net is a powerful image editor that's been around for years. Despite being available for free, it competes with much more expensive pieces of photo editing software.
