How to Use Microsoft® Paint to Personalize JPG Files

The instructions provided below will help you to use Microsoft Paint to work with a jpg file (that is, a picture file), and make some simple changes to it such as add text. These instructions use a free printable jpg file, provided by Mom’s Break (www.momsbreak.com), but you can follow these same steps for working with any jpg file in Paint.

If you need just a little extra help, go to your toolbar (at the top of this screen, you can see the words File, Edit, View, etc.---that is your toolbar), click on View, and then click on Print Layout (if you don’t immediately see it on the drop-down list after you click on View, then click on a little arrow at the bottom of the drop-down list---this will let you see the whole list, and then click on Print Layout). By viewing this document in Print Layout view, you will see arrows that are embedded in the pictures that will help you know where to click. You can also print this tutorial, and all the helpful arrows will appear.

I've done an illustrated tutorial that will show you exactly what to do! So, before you go any further, go to the illustrated instructions:

http://www.janstips.com/Tutorials/Insert-Text-In-Free-Printable-Card.doc

The instructions will open in a new window for your convenience. These instructions contain several pictures, so it might take several (long) seconds for the page to open. Once the page does open, then allow a few extra seconds for all the pictures to appear.

Following along with the illustrated instructions, here's how to personalize jpg files using Microsoft Paint:

1. At the bottom of your computer screen, you should have a “task bar,” which is a blue bar that has little icons in it and shows you what programs are open on your desktop. Look for the Start button to the far left, and click on it. Now click on Programs, then Accessories, and then Paint. This will open Microsoft Paint. Now, as shown in the picture below, click on File, then Open.

2. Locate the jpg file that you want to insert. You locate the file just as you would for any other file that you are looking for, but clicking on the arrow in the “Look for” field, and clicking on the place or folder that has the jpg file. When you find your jpg file, click on it and then click Open.

3. The jpg file will open.

3. You can rotate the picture, if you need to, so that you can read it. If you need to rotate the picture, then on the toolbar, click on Image. In the drop-down menu, select Flip/Rotate.

4. Click on Rotate by angle, and select 90%. Then click OK.

5. Now the picture shows in the correct orientation.

6. To add text, click on the capital letter A (blue arrow). Then move the mouse and click in the picture (yellow arrow), hold down the mouse button and drag the mouse down and to the right (green arrow) to create a text box in the graphic. When you let go of the mouse button, the text box will appear.

Congratulations for getting this far! It may seem like a lot of steps, but everything has been logical, and you’re learning to use Microsoft Paint!

7. Now, to be able to select a font and font size (that is, the style of letters and the letter size), click on View on the tool bar, and click on Text Toolbar.

8. In the Text toolbar, you can select the font.

9. Now type in the text that you want to insert. Notice that the text box may look like it has erased. Don’t panic! You can change the size of the text box by clicking on the bottom dotted line, in the middle where the tiny block is, and drag the text box up to underneath the name.

10. Now you’ve changed the size of the text box.

Now, you are going to get ready to print the page.

11. If you rotated the image, then you will need to restore the orientation of the page (that is, you are going to undo step 3. Click on Image, Flip/Rotate. When the pull-down menu appears, click on Flip horizontal, and click OK.

12. Before you can print it, you may need to adjust the page size so that the entire picture will print on one page. To determine if you have to adjust the size, first view the picture in “Print Preview” mode. Click on File, the click on Print Preview.

13. If you only see a portion of the picture (as you can see below), then you will have to resize it so that it will all print on one piece of computer paper.

14. If you need to re-size, the click on File, Page Setup.

15. In the “Scaling box” pick a setting that is less that 100% (position the cursor after 100, hit backspace three times to clear the field, and then key in a number). As you can see here, the Scaling is set to “Adjust to: 75% of normal size.” Click OK. Repeat steps 12 through 15 until you see the entire picture in the Print Preview screen (step 13).

16. As you can see here, the whole picture now shows in the Print Preview screen and it looks evenly placed on the page. It is now ready to print. Click the Print button.

Congratulations!!!! You have now successfully used Microsoft Paint to personalize a jpg file! At this point, you can experiment by clicking on other icons to find out how they work, or you can click on Help (in the toolbar) to read through the instructions.

For more tutorials, many with easy-to-follow illustrated instructions, go to Jan's Tips Tutorials.

Jan K., The Proofer is a freelance copyeditor and proofreader. Visit Jan’s Portal (http://www.jansportal.com/) for more information about Jan's free crafts, recipes, tutorials, other resource sites, and free content articles, as well as Jan’s business services. Be sure to visit Mom's Break (http://www.momsbreak.com/) for free printable crafts and projects. © Copyright 2005 to present. All rights reserved.