LPL Creative Graphics Practicum : MS Paint : The Image Menu

MS Paint : Menus
The Image Menu

Next to the File and Edit menus, the Image Menu is probably the menu where you’ll find the most useful features. You won’t use these as often as the File and Edit menu commands, but you can think of the commands in the Image Menu as being your Paint "power tools". You can use these tools to alter your image or selection in a number of interesting and useful ways.

Flip/Rotate Flip will allow you to "flip" the selection over like a pancake. You can choose between horizontal or vertical for the direction of your flip. This is good if you need to create a "mirror image" of a selection.
Rotate will rotate the selection. The Rotate command in Paint is not extremely flexible, so you’re limited to right-angle rotations (that is, 90, 180, and 270 degrees of rotation.)

Stretch/Skew Stretch will let you change the proportions of the selection, making them narrower, wider, shorter, or taller. The ratio of the selection’s height and width will change, and will result in some distortion of the image.
Skew is similar to stretch, but it affects opposing edges oppositely. For example, a horizontal skew might shift the top of the image to the right while the bottom of the image stretches to the left. This results in an effect that can be used in making an illusion of 3-d Perspective.

Invert Colors You’ll get an effect similar to a photographic negative.

Attributes Here is where you can change the basic image attributes such as height and width (which can be measured in pixels, inches, or centimeters), colors (switch between b&w and color), and transparency (may not be available for all file types.)

Clear Image Self-explanatory; this wipes out the image, leaving you with a blank file with the same image dimensions.

Draw Opaque Works with the selection. If unchecked, any background color (the default is white) in your selection will be treated as transparent. This transparency can be observed by moving the selection around – as the transparent portions of the image move over other areas of the image, you should be able to see those areas peeking through the selection. If unchecked, the background color will remain opaque when the selection is moved about in the image.

Go on to the Colors Menu.

Flip/Rotate	Flip will allow you to "flip" the selection over like a pancake. You can choose between horizontal or vertical for the direction of your flip. This is good if you need to create a "mirror image" of a selection. Rotate will rotate the selection. The Rotate command in Paint is not extremely flexible, so you’re limited to right-angle rotations (that is, 90, 180, and 270 degrees of rotation.)
Stretch/Skew	Stretch will let you change the proportions of the selection, making them narrower, wider, shorter, or taller. The ratio of the selection’s height and width will change, and will result in some distortion of the image. Skew is similar to stretch, but it affects opposing edges oppositely. For example, a horizontal skew might shift the top of the image to the right while the bottom of the image stretches to the left. This results in an effect that can be used in making an illusion of 3-d Perspective.
Invert Colors	You’ll get an effect similar to a photographic negative.
Attributes	Here is where you can change the basic image attributes such as height and width (which can be measured in pixels, inches, or centimeters), colors (switch between b&w and color), and transparency (may not be available for all file types.)
Clear Image	Self-explanatory; this wipes out the image, leaving you with a blank file with the same image dimensions.
Draw Opaque	Works with the selection. If unchecked, any background color (the default is white) in your selection will be treated as transparent. This transparency can be observed by moving the selection around – as the transparent portions of the image move over other areas of the image, you should be able to see those areas peeking through the selection. If unchecked, the background color will remain opaque when the selection is moved about in the image.