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by Florian Bodoky
Paint gets smarter: New AI functions for Microsoft's cult programme
8.11.2024
Translation: machine translated
Microsoft is adding new AI functions to its Paint drawing programme and Notepad. They want to make Paint more attractive with generative fill and erase functions. There is a "rewrite" feature in Notepad.
As Microsoft reports on its own blog, the company is currently distributing new functions in the Canary and Dev channels of the Windows Insider programme. At the heart of these are further AI assistants for Paint and Notepad.
Paint: Generative erasing and filling
The graphics programme Paint is still trying to catch up with its more powerful counterparts Photoshop and Co. From version 11.2410.28.0, the tool has a generative fill function. You can select an image area and then select "Generative Fill" in the context menu. A box will then open and you can use the corresponding prompts to determine what the fill should look like. Another click on "Create" then executes the order.
Source: Microsoft
If you are not satisfied, you can use the "Try again" button to give Paint the job again. You can also customise the description. One small downer: the function will initially only be available on Snapdragon-based PCs with Copilot+.
The "magic eraser" looks better. This function has been known for some time, for example from Pixel phones or the latest AI update for Apple devices. This is coming to all Windows 11 computers at the end of the test phase.
This feature works in a similar way. You first select the "Generative Erase" item and mark the area in which there is something you want to delete. You can select this freehand, but also in a rectangular shape. Then select the "Apply" option. This not only deletes the object or area in the image, but also fills it with a suitable background based on the rest of the image.
Last but not least, the Image Creator is now available in the preview version. In Europe, this applies to France, Germany and Italy.
AI functions also available for text
There are also AI updates beyond the image area. From version 11.2410.15.0, Microsoft has added a generative AI to the spell checker and correction function in Notepad. This helps to reformulate sentences or adapt the tone of a text to a specific situation - i.e. to make a text friendlier, more embellished or more formal.
Source: Microsoft
To do this, select the text or the text passage and choose the "Rewrite" option in the context menu. Alternatively, you can call up the function with Ctrl+I. The AI then offers three new variants of a text. If you are not satisfied, there is also a "Retry" option for new variants.
Header image: Shutterstock
I've been tinkering with digital networks ever since I found out how to activate both telephone channels on the ISDN card for greater bandwidth. As for the analogue variety, I've been doing that since I learned to talk. Though Winterthur is my adoptive home city, my heart still bleeds red and blue.