Paint.Net is a free photo editing tool originally started as a class project at Washington State University (In fact, it is in my upcoming post “Huge List of Free Software”). IThe software is still maintained by one of the original authors even though he currently works for Microsoft (this is not a Microsoft product).  The tool gets incrementally better with each new release and is an easy to use tool for everyday people who simply want to do basic photo editing like adding color filters and creative effects. Paint.net is fast, stable, and has a small footprint. I use this tool selectively with my wife’s photo business, but it is not a Photoshop replacement for professional use. I highly recommend this tool to anyone wanting to play around with photo editors.  Version 3.30 beta 2 was released today.

Along with the normal bug fixes and enhancements, is a noticeable UI clean-up. If you’ve ever used Paint.Net in the past you undoubtedly noticed the large dialog boxes that sometimes extend beyond your screen. The author has done a good job cleaning up these boxes. Check out this example comparison below. In the top image, is the old UI. You can can see all the ugly “Reset” buttons eating up space.  In the bottom image, the buttons have been replaced and moved to gie the UI a much cleaner look. The are screen-shots running on XP. Paint.net has a much”fresher” look running on Vista.