Windows 3.11 Raster Graphics Drawing Tool

This article examines Paintbrush, the built-in graphics application included with Microsoft Windows 3.11. It covers the tool's core functionality, interface, supported file formats, and its historical role as the predecessor to modern Microsoft Paint.

The Built-In Drawing Tool: Paintbrush

In Microsoft Windows 3.11 (both Windows for Workgroups and the standard Windows 3.1 line), the default utility for creating and editing simple raster graphics was Paintbrush. Associated with the executable file pbrush.exe, the program was located in the "Accessories" program group of the Windows Program Manager.

Core Features and Capabilities

Paintbrush provided users with an accessible set of bitmap-editing utilities designed for basic digital art and image manipulation:

  • Drawing Implements: Users could draw freehand using the Brush or Spray Can (airbrush) tools. It also included an Eraser tool and a Color Eraser, which selectively replaced a chosen foreground color with a background color.
  • Geometric Shapes: The application provided tools to draw straight lines, bezier-like curves, rectangles, rounded rectangles, polygons, and ellipses. These shapes could be rendered either as hollow outlines or filled with solid colors.
  • Selection Tools: Two selection mechanisms were available: a rectangular marquee tool and a freeform "scissor" tool, enabling users to move, copy, flip, invert, or shrink and grow selected areas.
  • Text Tool: Users could insert system typography into their graphics using installed TrueType or bitmap fonts, with options for bold, italic, and underline styling.
  • Color Palette: Located at the bottom of the window, the palette allowed users to select foreground and background colors from the system's available 16-color or 256-color display mode.
  • Pixel Editing: The "Zoom In" feature allowed users to magnify specific regions of a canvas to edit individual pixels.

Supported File Formats

Paintbrush primarily operated with two raster formats:

  1. BMP (Windows Bitmap): The native Windows format, supporting monochrome, 16-color, and 256-color images.
  2. PCX (PC Paintbrush format): A legacy raster format widely used in MS-DOS environments, originally created by ZSoft Corporation.

Legacy and Successor

Paintbrush originated in Windows 3.0, replacing the monochrome-only "Paint" app found in Windows 1.0 and 2.0. With the release of Windows 95, Microsoft phased out Paintbrush and introduced a redesigned 32-bit application named Microsoft Paint (mspaint.exe), which retained the basic concepts of Paintbrush while updating the interface and modernizing file format compatibility.