RealWorld Paint help index

RealWorld Paint is a freeware image/photo/animation editor. It can be used to create or edit computer images or animations, convert images to animations and back. RealWorld Paint can also be used for photo retouching.

Note: other RealWorld applications are capable of editing image just like RW Paint. All information available in this section is directly applicable to RealWorld Icon Editor, RealWorld Cursor Editor and RealWorld Photos.

Getting started

If you have installed RealWorld Paint on your computer, you can start it by double-clicking the RealWorld Paint icon on your desktop or from the Windows start menu. If you are using the portable version, double-click the RWPaint(.exe) file after you have unzipped the archive.

Creating new images and animations

Clicking on the File->New menu command or switching to the Create tab in an empty window displays a list of available wizards:

• New raster image - activate this icon to create a new empty image. Width, height and background color of the create image can be specified in the right column.
• Image from clipboard - creates image from content of clipboard. If you find an image on the web, right-click on it in Firefox and select "Copy image", then use the "Image from clipboard" wizard.
• Capture desktop - the application window hides for a moment and the desktop without the Paint.COM window is captured and opened in the editor.

Opening files

RealWorld Paint is by default able to open (and save) images and animations in the following formats:

• .bmp - Windows bitmap.
• .jpg - JPEG photograph.
• .png - PNG image.
• .gif - GIF image or animation
• .webp - WebP photograph.
• .jp2/.jpc - JPEG2000 image.
• .psd - Photoshop image with layers are some layer styles.
• .xcf - GIMP image with layers
• .pdn - Paint.net image with layers.
• .rli - RealWorld image or animation with layers and styles. This is the native format of RealWorld applications. RLI specification.

Additional formats may be available if plug-ins are installed.

To open an image, click on the Open tab in an empty window or click on the Open command in the File menu. Alternatively, drag and drop an image from a file manage on the RealWorld Paint window. If you frequently open image with RealWorld Paint, consider associating selected file types with RealWorld Paint and open image by simply double-clicking them in Windows Explorer.

Using drawing tools

Paint offers several drawing tools and fill styles. Drawing tools may use the active color or fill style to fill interior of shapes.

• Drawing tools - overview of available tools.
• Drawing modes - tools are affected by current modes.
• Fill styles - ways of filling drawn shapes.

Tutorials

• Creating a simple blue button with glassy look
• Adding reflections and shadows to images
• How to make scripted noise generator

Core concepts

Reading the following sections will help you understand how things work inside the RealWorld Designer framework. It is recommended for users wanting to customize the look and functionality of the application and for plug-in developers.

• Window Layout - this corner-stone of the application controls the content of the entire window and the main menu.
• View State - communication medium between individual parts of the application. A need-to-know topic for people wanting to customize the user interface and functionality.
• Localized Strings - how use text in multiple languages in items configurable by the end users.
• Scripting - introduction to creation of scripted filters or other operations.
• Plug-ins - technical information for plug-in developers.
• Stateless GUI - RealWorld application use strictly stateless user interface methods. Learn why and what are the consequences.

Getting more help

The crucial pieces of information are available directly in RWPaint's user interface:

• Read the tooltips and/or descriptions in application status bar (the line at the bottom of each window) to learn about individual menu commands or dialog controls.
• Click the lightbulb toolbar button or the "What now?" menu command to display list of frequently used actions.
• Search this web using the search box in the upper right corner.
• Ask a question on a public discussion board

Recent comments

- show all comments

Anonymous on October 23rd 2014

I cant find the bleedin "magic wand" lads!

Vlasta site administrator on October 23rd 2014

In the first drawing tool group, together with other selection tools. (Only works with raster images.)

Anonymous on November 7th 2014

I need to enlarge an image that I imported in so it doesn't look gross and blurry.

Vlasta site administrator on November 7th 2014

That cannot be easily done, the information simple isn't there.

Anonymous on December 14th 2014

how do I flip a line

Anonymous on January 22nd

Hi vlasta I have a question whenever I create an animation for sometime and save it the drawings and lines are normal then when i save it a different time and open the file the lines are ruined what i mean by that is that when I begin to draw the lines are neat and perfect and i recently opened what I created the animation is messed up because the lines are stat-icky and theyre not neat as when I first created them. Is there any way i can return my drawing to normal? this happens so much my animation is on dithering either I saves the file as it is

Vlasta site administrator on January 22nd

Could you send me the problematic file to info@rw-designer.com ? I have hard time imagining what exactly happened.

Anonymous on January 24th

how do I crop a particular image out of a photo to use in a separate layout?

Anonymous on February 16th

The magic wand selection isn't working right (doesn't show the full selected area, it's cut off in some points even when the color is the same) and it's slowing down the application. I tried reopening the program and making the image smaller, neither worked. This has never happened before. What might be the problem?

^ Looks like it might be the "continuous boost" option doing it. Nevermind.

Anonymous on February 20th

Every time I save a GIF file, the colors get contra-ed, blue goes red and vice versa, it's so annoying! Is there a way to stop this?

Anonymous

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