Changing the theme and interface size in Paint

How an editor looks affects how you judge pictures in it. Grey surroundings keep your eye honest about colour, a dark theme is easier on tired eyes late at night, and a cramped interface on a high resolution laptop screen is a strain. Paint by Zaweba has a handful of themes, a size setting for the whole interface and remappable shortcuts, so you can make it comfortable before you start.

The themes

There are five. The default is a dark purple theme. There is also a light theme, and three neutral ones: Charcoal, Graphite and Pale Grey.

Which to choose depends on the work. For photographs where colour matters, the neutral greys are the safer choice, because a strongly coloured interface around a picture can nudge how you see its colours. Charcoal and Graphite give a dark surround without a colour cast; Pale Grey suits people who find dark interfaces hard to read in daylight. The purple theme is pleasant for painting and general work. The light theme is good in a bright room.

There is no wrong answer, and you can change it whenever you like.

Interface size

Preferences > Interface sets the size of the interface from 80 to 200 percent.

On a large monitor at normal resolution, 100 percent is usually right, and dropping to 80 or 90 gives the canvas more room. On a small laptop with a very sharp screen, the interface can look tiny at 100, so try 125 or 150. At 200 percent everything is big enough to use comfortably from a distance, for example when showing work on a television.

Change it in small steps and work for a while before deciding. A size that looks large at first often turns out easier on the eyes over a long session.

The same page holds the recent-files list setting, which controls the list of files you opened lately, so it is a good moment to set that too.

Shortcuts that feel familiar

The keyboard shortcuts follow Photoshop's style, so if you have used Photoshop the common keys will already be in your fingers. Where you want something different, Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts lets you remap them. That is useful if you have a habit from another program, a key that is awkward on your keyboard, or a command you use constantly and want on a key of your choosing.

Remap sparingly. Changing the core keys means tutorials and other people's advice will not match your setup. Adding keys for commands you use a lot is lower risk.

A sensible first set-up

When you first install the app, choose a theme, set the interface size so menu text reads easily, and leave the shortcuts alone for a week. Note down anything you keep reaching for through the menus, then give those a key. After that, arrange your panels and save a workspace so the whole set-up comes back each time.

Things to watch for

If colours seem off after a theme change, it is the surround, not the picture. Check the image against a neutral theme before you make colour decisions. And if the interface simply feels too small or too big, the fix is the interface size here rather than squinting or leaning in.

Paint by Zaweba is free software that runs entirely offline, so these settings are yours alone and stay on your computer. They are small settings, but they shape every hour you spend in the app.