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 February 21st

how can I add shadows to an object ?

Anonymous on April 16th

how can I open .tif images?

Vlasta site administrator on April 16th

^ Install a plug-in from the Plug-ins tab on the Online page.

airboat233 registered user on April 17th

Hello, I tryed to download new version of RWP. Download was successful, according to download wizzard. When i tryed to open the application, it crashed and could not recover. Had to do a system restore and i now have older version running. Question, should i just try and reinstall? ..(OS windows7 hp service pk 1, internet explorer 10, 4 gig ram, 400g free space, system all up to date) thanks for any help...airboat233

Vlasta site administrator on April 17th

In what way it crashed? Did you use the portable version or the installer?

If you had the older version installed and installed the new one, it is possible that something from the old version remained on your computer. Usually, this should not happen, but who knows. Using the portable version and putting it into a new, empty folder is the easiest way to get it running. If you want the installed version, it may help to uninstall the older one first, then verify the there is nothing left in the application folder (usually C:\Program Files\RealWorld Paint), then go to %APPDATA%\RealWorld\RWPaint and delete the PlugIns folder, which may contain updates for the older version. Then install the new version downloaded from this web (some mirrors, like download.com may have older builds).

airboat233 registered user on April 18th

Hi and thanks a heap. I did the uninstall and checked for left overs (could not find any) and then installed the new version. All is good .Thanks agin airboat233

Anonymous on April 30th

Is pcx the only option for the size of a new canvas / picture? I would need mm or cm and DPI

Vlasta site administrator on April 30th

Yes, only pixels can be used and you can also select dpi (pixels/dpi*25.4 = mm).
But you can use simple expressions when specifying image size. If you want to set the size of your new image to 20mm at 100DPI, you can type "20*100/25.4" (without the quotes) into the Width box and 100 into the Resolution box and it will work.

May I ask why you want to use these physical units at image creation? They only matter at the moment of printing and if you use the print plug-in, you may select desired size in physical units just before printing and see how the image fits onto a page.

Anonymous on May 15th

rwp been walking fine but now all the sudden its not letting me save the pictures. what would cause it to start doing that getting frustrated cause I need the image to save

working*

Vlasta site administrator on May 15th

what RWP version? what image format? any unusual circumstances?

Anonymous

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