MS Paint can be very useful

I used to take Microsoft Paint for granted. I saw it every once in a while in the Accessories folder when I was looking for the Calculator or Notepad but never really used it. Then I starting using screen capture programs at work to take screenshots for user guides, manuals, online helps, etc. When I was on my personal computer, I had no idea how to take a screenshot without a fancy program, and then I finally remembered Paint. Since then, I’ve used it for screenshots, creating and editing pictures/photos, and testing.

• To take a screenshot, press the Print Screen key on your keyboard to take a “picture” of what’s on the screen, open Paint, and press Ctrl-V to paste it into Paint. You can crop the screenshot, add arrows, or whatever else you want to do in there.

• It’s also useful for creating pictures or editing photos (mostly mixing and matching them). If you need to paste your friend’s head on a polar bear, you can do that (you don’t need a program for hundreds of dollars). If you need to draw a landscape in Paint and then add a picture of yourself, you can do that too. I’ve even framed a drawing I created in Paint.

• Recently, I realized it’s also useful in testing. I’ve been testing a XenApp Desktop (a virtual desktop) for my client and was experiencing a lag. In general, I do things fast (type, shortcuts, etc.) and was having a hard time explaining to developers how my virtual desktop was slower than my physical laptop. There was a lag – I noticed it but they did not. I told them to open Paint in the XenApp Desktop and also on their physical computer. Then use the pencil to draw something in Paint in both desktops to see the difference. At that point, they understood – they experienced it.

Paint is as basic as it comes. I’m sure there are free applications that I can download from the internet that do the same thing (and better), but I’d rather just use what’s on my computer (since I can).