🖌️ PAINTER – Complete User Guide

Welcome to PAINTER, a retro-style drawing program with layers, effects, and multiple tools.

🖥️ Interface Overview

The screen is divided into:

• Top Bar → Window title

• Menu Bar → File, Edit, Image, Layers

• Toolbox (Left) → Drawing tools

• Canvas (Center) → Where you draw

• Layers Panel (Right) → Manage layers

• Color Palette (Bottom) → Choose colors

• Status Bar → Shows tool, position, layer, size

🎨 Drawing Tools (Left Panel)

✏️ Pencil (P)

Draw freehand lines.

• Uses foreground color.

• Size and tip shape affect the stroke.

🧹 Eraser (E)

Erases using background color.

• Erases faster with bigger brush sizes.

🪣 Fill (F)

Flood fills an area with the selected color.

• Click inside a closed area to fill it.

💉 Color Picker (I)

Picks a color from the canvas.

• Left click → sets foreground color.

• Right click → sets background color.

╱ Line (L)

Draws a straight line.

• Click and drag.

□ Rectangle (R)

Draws rectangles.

• Use Outline or Solid mode.

○ Ellipse (C)

Draws circles and ellipses.

• Click and drag.

△ Triangle (T)

Draws a triangle shape.

★ Star (S)

Draws a 5-point star.

➜ Arrow (A)

Draws an arrow with an arrowhead.

💨 Spray (X)

Creates a spray-paint effect.

• Hold mouse button to spray continuously.

A Text (W)

Adds text to the canvas.

• Click to start typing.

• Press Enter to confirm.

• Press Escape to cancel.

• Font size depends on brush size.

⬚ Selection (V)

Creates a rectangular selection.

• Click and drag to select an area.

🧰 Shape Options

Fill Mode

• □ Outline → Border only

• ■ Solid → Filled shape

Brush Size

Choose different brush thicknesses.

Brush Tip

• ● Round

• ■ Square

• — Flat

• ╱ Diagonal

Each tip changes how strokes look.

🎨 Colors

• Click a color → sets foreground color.

• Right click a color → sets background color.

• Click the two color squares → swap colors.

• Use the custom color picker to choose any color.

📂 Menu Functions

📁 File

New

Creates a new blank canvas.

Open

Opens an image file.

Save (Ctrl + S)

Saves your drawing as PNG.

Exit

Closes the program.

✏️ Edit

Undo (Ctrl + Z)

Reverts the last action.

Select All

Selects the entire canvas.

Clear Layer

Clears only the active layer.

Clear All

Clears all layers.

🖼️ Image

Flip Horizontal

Flips the active layer horizontally.

Flip Vertical

Flips vertically.

Invert Colors

Reverses all colors.

Grayscale

Converts to black and white.

🗂️ Layers

New Layer

Adds a new layer.

Delete Layer

Removes selected layer.

Duplicate Layer

Creates a copy.

Move Layer Up / Down

Changes layer order.

Flatten Layers

Merges all layers into one.

🗂️ Layers Panel

Each layer has:

• 👁 Visibility toggle

• Thumbnail preview

• Name (double-click to rename)

• Opacity slider (0–100%)

The top layer appears in front.

⌨️ Keyboard Shortcuts

Key	Tool
P	Pencil
E	Eraser
F	Fill
I	Picker
L	Line
R	Rectangle
C	Circle
T	Triangle
S	Star
A	Arrow
X	Spray
W	Text
V	Selection
Ctrl + Z	Undo
Ctrl + S	Save
Ctrl + N	New