Microsoft Paint gets Photoshop like support for layers and transparency feature

Microsoft has finally added two new Photoshop like features to its Paint app, letting users add, remove and manage layers as well as support for opening transparent PNGs.

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Microsoft says the new features will soon be available to everyone. (Image Source; Microsoft)

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Microsoft recently announced it is adding support for layers and transparency to the Paint image editor. The tech giant says users can now edit layers to create complex digital art and save transparent PNGs.

In a blog post, Microsoft says the feature can be used on Paint v11.2308.18.0 or newer and is currently available to Windows Insiders as part of the Canary and Dev Channels. Similar to how the feature works in Photoshop, users will be able to add, remove and manage layers in an image and can easily stack shapes, image elements and text on top of each other.

The new ‘Layer’ button can be found in the toolbar. Clicking on it will open a panel on the right side of the image. Here, you can choose to add new layers or change the order to see what the stacked image elements look like and even choose to duplicate or merge individual layers.

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You can see the new features in action in the image above. (Image Source: Microsoft)

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Microsoft has also added support for transparency and the ability to open and save transparent PNGs. When users work with a single layer, they will now be able to notice a checkerboard pattern which suggests that parts of the picture are transparent. Also, if you erase any content from the canvas, it won’t be painted white. And for those working with multiple layers, deleting a layer will now reveal the content underneath it.

The blog suggests that layers and transparency features are currently being tested and will be rolled out to everyone in the future, so it might take some time for them to appear on your device.

Earlier this month, Microsoft added another useful feature to the Paint app that lets users remove background from any image in a few clicks. Combined with the newly announced layers feature, it looks like Paint will be used by many as an alternative to Photoshop.