Paint.net is free graphic software that can be used to edit images and photos to make them more attractive. This is the most preferred web creation software because it has many unique features. The features include an instinctive and new user interface, the tremendous results of special effects and limitless options for undo. This is indeed a powerful tool that was initially introduced to simplify and enhance the use of Microsoft Paint, but eventually became the most popular photo editing software available today.

The following are some easy ways of using this software.

How to Resize Image

Certain digital images need to be resized before they can be used. You can easily do this using Paint.net software. The following are the instructions you can follow to resize an image.

• Click on 'Open Folder' button to select the image you want to resize.
• After selecting the image, click on the 'Image' option available at the top of the navigation bar. Click on the 'Resize' option from the drop-down menu. A pop up box will appear.
• You should pick a 'Resampling' style that is suitable for your project. The most common option you can look out for is 'Best Quality'.
• You have two further options. You can either select to resize the image by absolute size or by percentage. Select whichever option you like. In case you chose the absolute size option, don’t forget to check the '‘Maintain aspect ratio' box in order to maintain the picture quality.
• To resize by percentage, resize it through the up or down arrow. To resize it with absolute size, enter the value in the box.
• Once the picture is set at your required size, use the 'Save As' option to save it with a new name.

How to Crop Images

In order to extract the picture you need from all the rest of the unwanted items, the image needs to get cropped. This is how you can do it on Paint.net:

• Select the picture you wish to crop by selecting the 'Open Folder' icon from the navigation bar.
• On the third navigator bar, you can access the tool selector menu. Select the 'ellipse select' or 'rectangle select' tool from the drop-down menu. Different options allow you to crop the picture with different shapes.
• Select the area you wish to leave. Drag your mouse from one corner to the other by holding the left mouse button.
• Once the area you want to extract is highlighted with a dotted outline, click on the 'Image' button and select 'Crop to Selection'. This way your picture will be extracted.

  .png, .gif, .jpg – When Should I Use?

A web design may require different types of image formats. However, it may be a little confusing to decide which file type is appropriate. Find out.

• .gif

Graphics Interchange Format is the most appropriate format to display indexed-color images i.e. it can only be displayed with 256 colors as minimum. It is not recommended for pictures that are rich with color.

• .jpg

Joint Photographic Experts Group is a format that is suitable to display photographs or images that have continuous tone on the web. Jpg format supports Grayscale color modes, RGB (millions of colors) and CMYK. Unlike .gif, .jpg does not preserve transparency.

• .png

Portable Network Graphics is a mixture of the other two format types. However, it supports background transparency without jagged edges and supports 24-bit images unlike .gif. Png supports Bitmap, Grayscale, Indexed Color and RGB mode images.

Choose the image format according to its visibility and quality on the web.