Update: July 11 - Microsoft has announced that the updated Paint app with dark mode and other features is now available for Windows Insiders in the Beta channel, with the version number 11.2304.26.0.
Original story: Many Windows 11 users have been waiting patiently for the company"s Paint app to add a dark mode. Some people were not so patient. Mod developers have been putting in a dark mode feature in Paint via third-party apps for a while now.
Today, the long wait is over, at least if you are a member of the Windows Insider program. Microsoft revealed today that Insiders in the Dev and Canary channels can download the new version (11.2304.17.0) of the Paint app. Yes, it does finally include a dark mode.
Microsoft stated:
With this update, we are introducing support for dark mode in Paint. By default, Paint will adapt to your system theme preferences, but you can change this option yourself on the brand-new settings page.
In addition to the new dark mode, the new Paint app for Dev and Canary Insiders includes some new features and improvements for its zoom mode:
The classic presets are still available, but you can now also zoom in and out with finer granularity increments on the zoom slider or set a custom zoom value for even greater precision. We are also introducing a new fit to screen option to quickly optimize zoom to match your window size.
Microsoft has also made changes to the Paint App"s Image Properties dialogs:
They now match the style of the new Windows 11 design and fit in with the new Paint app backdrop as well as many accessibility and usability improvements to dialogs throughout the app. We have also improved access key and keyboard shortcut support throughout the app for improved accessibility and productivity with keyboard.
There"s no word yet on when these features will be available for all Windows 11 users. Hopefully the rest of us won"t have to wait too much longer to get the dark mode in the Paint app.