Tux Paint
versión 0.9.35
## A simple drawing program for children ##
Copyright © 2002-2025 by various contributors; see AUTHORS.txt.
https://tuxpaint.org/
enero 9, 2025
+-------------------------------------------------+
| Table of Contents |
|-------------------------------------------------|
| I. About Tux Paint |
| II. Using Tux Paint |
| A. Launching Tux Paint |
| B. Title Screen |
| C. Main Screen |
| D. Available Tools |
| 1. Drawing Tools |
| a. "Paint" Tool (Brush) |
| b. "Stamp" Tool (Rubber Stamps) |
| c. "Lines" Tool |
| d. "Shapes" Tool |
| e. "Text" and "Label" Tools |
| f. "Fill" Tool |
| g. "Magic" Tool (Special Effects) |
| h. "Eraser" Tool |
| 2. Other Controls |
| a. "Undo" and "Redo" Commands |
| b. "New" Command |
| c. "Open" Command |
| d. "Save" Command |
| e. "Print" Command |
| f. "Slides" Command (under "Open") |
| g. "Quit" Command |
| h. Sound Muting |
| E. Controlling Tux Paint |
| III. Loading Other Pictures into Tux Paint |
| IV. Further Reading |
| V. How to Get Help |
| VI. How to Participate |
+-------------------------------------------------+
I. About Tux Paint
### A. What Is "Tux Paint"? ###
Tux Paint is a free drawing program designed for young children (kids ages 3
and up). It has a simple, easy-to-use interface, fun sound effects, and an
encouraging cartoon mascot who helps guide children as they use the program. It
provides a blank canvas and a variety of drawing tools to help your child be
creative.
### B. Objectives ###
→ Easy and Fun ←
Tux Paint is meant to be a simple drawing program for young children. It is
not meant as a general-purpose drawing tool. It is meant to be fun and easy
to use. Sound effects and a cartoon character help let the user know what's
going on, and keeps them entertained. There are also extra-large
cartoon-style mouse pointer shapes.
→ Extensibility ←
Tux Paint is extensible. Brushes and 'rubber stamp' shapes can be dropped
in and pulled out. For example, a teacher can drop in a collection of
animal shapes and ask their students to draw an ecosystem. Each shape can
have a sound which is played, and textual facts which are displayed, when
the child selects the shape.
→ Portability ←
Tux Paint is portable among various computer platforms: Windows, Macintosh,
Linux, etc. The interface looks the same among them all. Tux Paint runs
suitably well on older systems, and can be built to run better on slow
systems.
→ Simplicity ←
There is no direct access to the computer's underlying intricacies. The
current image is kept when the program quits, and reappears when it is
restarted. Saving images requires no need to create filenames or use the
keyboard. Opening an image is done by selecting it from a collection of
thumbnails. Access to other files on the computer is restricted.
→ Accessibility ←
Tux Paint offers a number of accessibility options, including increasing
the size of control buttons, changing the UI font, options to control the
cursor (mouse pointer) using the keyboard or other input devices (joystick,
gamepad, etc.), an on-screen keyboard, and "stick" mouse clicks.
### C. License ###
Tux Paint is an Open Source project, Free Software released under the GNU
General Public License (GPL). It is free, and the 'source code' behind the
program is available. (This allows others to add features, fix bugs, and use
parts of the program in their own GPL'd software.)
See COPYING.txt for the full text of the GPL license.
### D. What's New in Tux Paint version 0.9.35? ###
→ Improved color picker ←
Better behavior when clicking/tapping and dragging hue/saturation box and
value slider.
→ Text clipboard paste support ←
The "Text" and "Label" tools support pasting the copy/paste clipboard.
→ "Hearts" Magic tool ←
Draw a trail of floating hearts. ←
→ "Sparkles" Magic tool ←
Draw a trail of falling sparkles. ←
→ "Stars" Magic tool ←
Draw a trail of stars. ←
See CHANGES.txt for the complete list of changes.
II. Using Tux Paint
### A. Launching Tux Paint ###
## 1. Linux/Unix Users ##
Tux Paint should have placed a launcher icon in your KDE and/or GNOME
menus, under 'Graphics.'
Alternatively, you can run the following command at a shell prompt
(e.g., "$"):
$ tuxpaint
If any errors occur, they will be displayed on the terminal (to
STDERR).
## 2. Windows Users ##
[Tux Paint Icon]
Tux Paint
If you installed Tux Paint on your computer using the 'Tux Paint
Installer,' it will have asked you whether you wanted a 'Start' menu
short-cut, and/or a desktop shortcut. If you agreed, you can simply run
Tux Paint from the 'Tux Paint' section of your 'Start' menu (e.g.,
under 'All Programs'), or by double-clicking the 'Tux Paint' icon on
your desktop, if you had the installer place one there.
If you're using the 'portable' (ZIP-file) version of Tux Paint, or if
you used the 'Tux Paint Installer,' but chose not to have shortcuts
installed, you'll need to double-click the "tuxpaint.exe" icon in the
"Tux Paint" folder on your computer.
By default, the 'Tux Paint Installer' will put Tux Paint's folder in
"C:\Program Files\TuxPaint\", though you may have changed this when you
ran the installer.
If you used the 'ZIP-file' download, Tux Paint's folder will be
wherever you extracted the contents of the ZIP file.
## 3. macOS Users ##
Simply double-click the "Tux Paint" icon.
[Title screen]
### B. Title Screen ###
When Tux Paint first loads, a title/credits screen will appear.
Once loading is complete, press a key or click or tap in the Tux Paint
window to continue. (Or, after about 5 seconds, the title screen will
go away automatically.)
### C. Main Screen ###
The main screen is divided into the following sections:
[Tools: Paint, Stamp, Lines, Shapes, Text, Magic, Label, Undo, Redo,
Eraser, New, Open, Save, Print, Quit]
→ Left Side: Toolbar ←
The toolbar contains the drawing and editing controls.
[Canvas]
→ Middle: Drawing Canvas ←
The largest part of the screen, in the center, is the drawing
canvas. This is, obviously, where you draw!
💡 Note: The size of the drawing canvas depends on the size of Tux
Paint. You can change the size of Tux Paint using the Tux Paint
Config. configuration tool, or by other means. See the Options
documentation for more details.
[Selectors - Brushes, Letters, Shapes, Stamps]
→ Right Side: Selector ←
Depending on the current tool, the selector shows different things.
e.g., when the Paint Brush or Line tool is selected, it shows the
various brushes available. When the Rubber Stamp tool is selected,
it shows the different shapes you can use. When the Text or Label
tool is selected, it shows various fonts.
[Colors - Black, White, Red, Pink, Orange, Yellow, Green, Cyan, Blue,
Purple, Brown, Grey]
→ Lower: Colors ←
When the active tool supports colors, a palette of colors choices
will be shown near the bottom of the screen. Click one to choose a
color, and it will be used by the active tool. (For example, the
"Paint" tool will use it as the color to draw with the chosen
brush, and the "Fill" tool will use it as the color to use when
flood-filling an area of the picture.)
On the far right are three special color options:
x Color Picker
The "color picker" (which has an outline of an eye-dropper)
allows you to pick a color found within your drawing.
(A shortcut key is available to access this feature quickly;
see below.)
x Rainbow Palette
The rainbow palette allows you to pick any color by choosing
the hue, saturation, and value of the color you want. A box on
the left displays hundreds of hues — from red at the top
through to violet at the bottom — at hundreds of saturation/
intensity levels — from pale & washed-out on the left through
to pure on the right. A grey vertical bar provides access to
hundreds of value levels — from lighest at the top through to
darkest at the bottom.
Click the green checkbox button to select the color, or the
"Back" button to dismiss the pop-up without picking a new
color.
You may also set this tool's color to that of other color
choices:
% Whichever built-in color is selected, if any
% The Color Picker's current color
% The Color Mixer's current color
x Color Mixer
The "color mixer" (which has silhouette of a paint palette)
allows you to create colors by blending primary additive colors
— red, yellow, and blue — along with white (to "tint"), grey
(to "tone"), and black (to "shade").
You may click any button multiple times (for example, red + red
+ yellow results in a red-orange color). The ratios of colors
added are shown at the bottom.
You can start over (reset to no colors in your picture) by
clicking the "Clear" button. You can also undo or redo multiple
steps of mixing, in case you made a mistake (without having to
start over).
Click the green checkbox button to select the color, or the
"Back" button to dismiss the pop-up without picking a new
color.
⌨ When the active tool supports colors, a shortcut may be used for
quick access to the "color picker" option. Hold the [Control] key
while clicking, and the color under the mouse cursor will be shown
at the bottom. You may drag around to canvas to find the color you
want. When you release the mouse button, the color under the cursor
will be selected. If you release the mouse outside of the canvas
(e.g., over the "Tools" area), the color selection will be left
unchanged. (This is similar to clicking the "Back" button that's
available when bringing up the "color picker" option via its button
the color palette.)
⚙ Note: You can define your own colors for Tux Paint. See the "
Options" documentation.
(Example tip: 'Pick a shape. Click to pick the center, drag, then let
go when it is the size you want. Move around to rotate it, and click to
draw it.')
→ Bottom: Help Area ←
At the very bottom of the screen, Tux, the Linux Penguin, provides
tips and other information while you use Tux Paint.
### D. Available Tools ###
## 1. Drawing Tools ##
a. "Paint" Tool (Brush) ←
The Paint Brush tool lets you draw freehand, using various brushes
(chosen in the Selector on the right) and colors (chosen in the
Color palette towards the bottom).
If you hold the mouse button down, and move the mouse, it will draw
as you move.
Some brushes are animated — they change their shape as you draw
them. A good example of this is the vines brush that ships with Tux
Paint. These brushes will have a small "filmstrip" icon drawn on
their Selector buttons.
Other brushes are directional — they will draw a different shape
depending on what direction you are painting with them. An example
of this is the arrow brush that ships with Tux Paint. These brushes
have a small 8-way arrow icon drawn on their Selector buttons.
Finally, some brushes can be both direction and animated. Examples
of this are the cat and squirrel brushes that ship with Tux Paint.
These brushes will have both the "filmstrip" and 8-way arrow icons.
As you draw, a sound is played. The bigger the brush, the lower the
pitch.
Brush Spacing
The space between each position where a brush is applied to the
canvas can vary. Some brushes (such as the footprints and
flower) are spaced, by default, far enough apart that they
don't overlap. Other brushes (such as the basic circular ones)
are spaced closely, so they make a continuous stroke.
The default spacing of brushes may be overridden using by
clicking within the triangular-shaped series of bars at the
bottom right; the larger the bar, the wider the spacing. Brush
spacing affects both tools that use the brushes: the "Paint"
tool and the "Lines" tool.
⚙ Note: If the "nobrushspacing" option is set, Tux Paint won't
display the brush spacing controls. See the "Options"
documentation.
b."Stamp" Tool (Rubber Stamps) ←
The Stamp tool is like a set of rubber stamps or stickers. It lets
you paste pre-drawn or photographic images (like a picture of a
horse, or a tree, or the moon) in your picture.
As you move the mouse around the canvas, an outline follows the
mouse, showing where the stamp will be placed, and how big it will
be. Click on the canvas where you wish to place the stamp.
→ Stamp Categories ←
There can be numerous categories of stamps (e.g., animals,
plants, outer space, vehicles, people, etc.). Use the Left and
Right arrows near the bottom of the Selector to cycle through
the collections.
→ Stamp Rotation ←
Using the rotation toggle button near the bottom right, you can
enable a rotation step when placing stamps. Once you've placed
the stamp, choose the angle to rotate it by moving the mouse
around the canvas. Click the mouse button again and the stamp
will be added to the drawing.
⚙ Note: If "stamp rotation" option is disabled, the stamp will
be drawn on the canvas when you let go of the mouse button.
(There's no rotation step.) See the "Options" documentation to
learn about the "stamp rotation" ("stamprotation") option.
📜 Note: The stamp rotation feature was added to Tux Paint in
version 0.9.29.
→ Stamp Controls ←
Prior to 'stamping' an image onto your drawing, various effects
can sometimes be applied (depending on the stamp):
* Some stamps can be colored or tinted. If the color palette
below the canvas is activated, you can click the colors to
change the tint or color of the stamp before placing it in
the picture.
* Stamps can be shrunk and expanded, by clicking within the
triangular-shaped series of bars at the bottom right; the
larger the bar, the larger the stamp will appear in your
picture.
* Many stamps may be flipped vertically, or displayed as a
mirror-image, using the control buttons at the bottom
right.
⚙ Note: If the "nostampcontrols" option is set, Tux Paint won't
display the Rotation, Mirror, Flip, or sizing controls for
stamps. See the "Options" documentation.
→ Stamp Sounds ←
Different stamps can have different sound effects and/or
descriptive (spoken) sounds. Buttons in the Help Area at the
lower left (near Tux, the Linux penguin) allow you to re-play
the sound effects and descriptive sounds for the
currently-selected stamp.
c."Lines" Tool ←
This tool lets you draw straight lines using the various brushes
and colors you normally use with the Paint Brush.
Click the mouse and hold it to choose the starting point of the
line. As you move the mouse around, a thin 'rubber-band' line will
show where the line will be drawn. At the bottom, you'll see the
angle of your line, in degrees. A line going straight to the right
is 0°, a line going straight up is 90°, a line going straight left
is 180°, a line going straight down is 270°, and so on.
Let go of the mouse to complete the line. A "sproing!" sound will
play.
Some brushes are animated, and will show a pattern of shapes along
the line. Others are directional, and will show a different shape
depending on the angle of the brush. And finally some are both
animated and directional. See "Paint", above, to learn more.
Different brushes have different spacing, leaving either a series
of individual shapes, or a continuous stroke of the brush shape.
Brush spacing may be adjusted. See the brush spacing section of the
"Paint" tool, above, to learn more.
d."Shapes" Tool ←
This tool lets you draw some simple filled, and un-filled shapes.
Select a shape from the selector on the right (circle, square,
oval, etc.).
Use the options at the bottom right to choose the shape tool's
behavior:
→ Shapes from center ←
The shape will expand from where you initially clicked, and
will be centered around that position.
📜 This was Tux Paint's only behavior through version 0.9.24.)
→ Shapes from corner ←
The shape will extend with one corner starting from where you
initially clicked. This is the default method of most other
traditional drawing software.
📜 This option was added starting with Tux Paint version 0.9.25.
⚙ Note: If shape controls are disabled (e.g., with the
"noshapecontrols" option), the controls will not be presented, and
the "shapes from center" method will be used.
In the canvas, click the mouse and hold it to stretch the shape out
from where you clicked. Some shapes can change proportion (e.g.,
rectangle and oval may be wider than tall, or taller than wide),
others cannot (e.g., square and circle).
For shapes that can change proportion, the aspect ratio of the
shape will be shown at the bottom. For example: "1:1" will be shown
if it is "square" (as tall as it is wide); "2:1" if it is either
twice as wide as it is tall, or twice as tall as it is wide; and so
on.
Let go of the mouse when you're done stretching.
→ Normal Shapes Mode ←
Now you can move the mouse around the canvas to rotate the
shape. The angle your shape is rotated will be shown at the
bottom, in degrees (similar to the "Lines" tool, described
above).
Click the mouse button again and the shape will be drawn in the
current color.
→ Simple Shapes Mode ←
If the "simple shapes" option is enabled, the shape will be
drawn on the canvas when you let go of the mouse button.
(There's no rotation step.)
⚙ See the "Options" documentation to learn about the "simple
shapes" ("simpleshapes") option.
e."Text" and "Label" Tools ←
Choose a font (from the 'Letters' available on the right) and a
color (from the color palette near the bottom). You may also apply
a bold, and/or an italic styling effect to the text. Click on the
screen and a cursor will appear. Type text and it will show up on
the screen. (You can change the font, color, and styling while
entering the text, before it is applied to the canvas.)
Press [Enter] or [Return] and the text will be drawn onto the
picture and the cursor will move down one line.
Alternatively, press [Tab] and the text will be drawn onto the
picture, but the cursor will move to the right of the text, rather
than down a line, and to the left. (This can be useful to create a
line of text with mixed colors, fonts, styles and sizes.)
Text from the clipboard (copy/paste buffer) can be inserted with
the "Text" and "Label" tools by pressing the [Control] + [V] key
combination on a physical keyboard, or clicking the "Paste" button
in Tux Paint's on-screen keyboard. If the text would exceed the
right edge of the canvas, it will wrap to a new line of text (going
back to the previous space or dash ('-') if possible). If the text
hits the bottom of the canvas, the pasting will abort, truncating
the text.
Clicking elsewhere in the picture while the text entry is still
active causes the current line of text to move to that location
(where you can continue editing it).
→ "Text" versus "Label" ←
The Text tool is the original text-entry tool in Tux Paint.
Text entered using this tool can't be modified or moved later,
since it becomes part of the drawing. However, because the text
becomes part of the picture, it can be drawn over or modified
using Magic tool effects (e.g., smudged, tinted, embossed,
etc.)
When using the Label tool (which was added to Tux Paint in
version 0.9.22), the text 'floats' over the image, and the
details of the label (the text, the position of the label, the
font choice and the color) get stored separately. This allows
the label to be repositioned or edited later.
To edit a label, click the label selection button. All labels
in the drawing will appear highlighted. Click one — or use the
[Tab] key to cycle through all the labels, and the [Enter] or
[Return] key to select one — and you may then edit the label.
(Use they [Backspace] key to erase characters, and other keys
to add text to the label; click in the canvas to reposition the
label; click in the palette to change the color of the text in
the label; etc.)
You may "apply" a label to the canvas, painting the text into
the picture as if it had been added using the Text tool, by
clicking the label application button. (This feature was added
in Tux Paint version 0.9.28.) All labels in the drawing will
appear highlighted, and you select one just as you do when
selecting a label to edit. The chosen label will be removed,
and the text will be added directly to the canvas.
⚙ The Label tool can be disabled (e.g., by selecting "Disable
'Label' Tool" in Tux Paint Config. or running Tux Paint with
the "nolabel" option).
📜 The ability to paste text from the clipboard was added in Tux
Paint 0.9.35
→ International Character Input ←
Tux Paint allows inputting characters in different languages.
Most Latin characters (A-Z, ñ, è, etc.) can by entered
directly. Some languages require that Tux Paint be switched
into an alternate input mode before entering, and some
characters must be composed using numerous keypresses.
When Tux Paint's locale is set to one of the languages that
provide alternate input modes, a key is used to cycle through
normal (Latin character) and locale-specific mode or modes.
Currently supported locales, the input methods available, and
the key to toggle or cycle modes, are listed below.
* Japanese — Romanized Hiragana and Romanized Katakana —
right [Alt] key or left [Alt] key
* Korean — Hangul 2-Bul — right [Alt] key or left [Alt] key
* Traditional Chinese — right [Alt] key or left [Alt] key
* Thai — right [Alt] key
💡 Note: Many fonts do not include all characters for all
languages, so sometimes you'll need to change fonts to see the
characters you're trying to type.
→ On-screen Keyboard ←
An optional on-screen keyboard is available for the Text and
Label tools, which can provide a variety of layouts and
character composition (e.g., composing "a" and "e" into "æ").
Run Tux Paint with the "--onscreen-keyboard" option, or enable
that setting in Tux Paint's configuration file, to enable it.
Multiple layouts are offered (currently "QWERTY" and "ABC"),
which the user can switch between. Additional configuration
options allow specifying a default layout, as well as
preventing the layout from being changed.
The on-screen keyboard appears at the bottom or top of the Tux
Paint window, obscuring part of the canvas, depending on where
the text insertion cursor is placed. Along with alphabetic,
numeric, and some punctuation keys, the keyboard provides:
* A "Backspace" key (⇐) to remove the previous character
* A "Carriage Return" ("Return"/"Enter") key (⏎) to end the
current input and begin a new one on the following line
(below and to the left)
* A "Tab" key (⇔) to end the current input and begin a new
one at the current cursor position
* A "Shift" key (⇑) to shift alphabetic keys from lowercase
to uppercase, access more punctuation, etc.
* A "Caps Lock" key (⤒) to toggle permanent shifting of
alphabetic keys from lowercase to uppercase (click it again
to disable caps lock)
* A "Compose" key ("Cmp"), to initiate character composition
(e.g., click "Cmp", "a", "e" to produce an "æ" character)
* An "Alternate Graphics" key ("AltGr") to access additional
characters (e.g., "¿", "ß", etc.)
* An "Alternate" key ("Alt")
* A "Paste" key to paste the current clipboard's text into
the Text or Label tool
* Left and right arrows (← & →) to access different on-screen
keyboard layouts
⚙ See the "Options" and "Extending Tux Paint" documentation for
more information.
f."Fill" Tool ←
The 'Fill' tool 'flood-fills' a contiguous area of your drawing
with a color of your choice. Three fill options are offered:
x Solid — click once to fill an area with a solid color.
x Brush — click and drag to fill an area with a solid color using
freehand painting.
x Linear — click and then drag to fill the area with color that
fades away (a gradient) towards where you drag the mouse.
x Radial — click once to fill an area with a color that fades
away (a gradient) radially, centered on where you clicked.
x Shaped — click once to fill an area with a color that fades
away (a gradient), following the contours of the shape you're
filling.
x Eraser — click once to erase an area, exposing the solid color
background, or starter or template background image, upon which
the drawing was based. (See Available Tools > Drawing Tools >
"Eraser" Tool and Other Controls > 'Starter' & Template Images
.)
📜 Note: Prior to Tux Paint 0.9.24, "Fill" was a Magic tool (see
below). Prior to Tux Paint 0.9.26, the "Fill" tool only offered the
'Solid' method of filling. 'Shaped' fill was introduced in Tux
Paint 0.9.29.
g."Magic" Tool (Special Effects) ←
The Magic tool is actually a set of special tools. Select one of
the 'magic' effects from the selector on the right. Then, depending
on the tool, you can either click and drag around the picture, and/
or simply click the picture once, to apply the effect.
The Magic Tools
See the instructions for each Magic tool (in the 'magic-docs'
folder).
Magic Controls
If the tool can be used by clicking and dragging, a 'painting'
button will be available on the left, below the list of Magic
tools on the right side of the screen. If the tool can affect
the entire picture at once, an 'entire picture' button will be
available on the right.
⚙ Note: If the "nomagiccontrols" option is set, Tux Paint won't
display the painting or entire picture controls. See the "
Options" documentation.
💡 If the magic controls are disabled, the Magic plugin may make
separate tools available, one for painting and one that affects
the entire pictre.
Magic Sizing
Some tools offer different sizing options. If so, a slider will
appear at the bottom right side of the screen. This may affect
the radius of a special effect (e.g., Darken) or painted object
(e.g., Patterns), or other attributes (e.g., large versus small
Brick shapes).
⚙ Note: If the "nomagicsizes" option is set, Tux Paint won't
display the sizing controls. See the "Options" documentation.
💡 If the sizing option is disabled, the Magic plugin may simply
offer a default size (e.g., Patterns), or it may make separate
tools available with different pre-set sizes (e.g., Bricks and
Googly Eyes).
📜 This option was added starting with Tux Paint version 0.9.30.
⚙ Note: If the "ungroupmagictools" option is set, Tux Paint won't
split Magic tools into groups of related tools, and instead present
them all as one large list. See the "Options" documentation.
h."Eraser" Tool ←
This tool works similarly to the Paint Brush. Wherever you click
(or click and drag), things you've added to your drawing will be
erased, exposing the background that you chose when you started the
drawing, be it a solid color, the background of a 'Starter' image,
or a 'Template' image. (See Available Tools > Other Controls >
"New" Command.)
A number of eraser types are available, each offering multiple
sizes are available:
x Square — Square-shaped erasers that completely remove parts of
your drawing.
x Circle (solid) — Circle-shaped erasers that completely remove
parts of your drawing.
x Fuzzy-edged Circle — Circle-shaped erasers with soft edges that
blend with the background.
x Transparent Circle — Circle-shaped erasers that blend your
drawing with the background. Release and click again to expose
more and more of the background.
As you move the mouse around, an outline follows the pointer,
showing what part of the picture will be erased.
As you erase, a 'squeaky clean' eraser wiping sound is played.
⌨ Hold the [X] key while clicking for quick access to a small sharp
round eraser (not available when the Text or Label tools are
selected, when you're in the process of rotating a stamp or shape,
or when using an interactive magic tool). Release the mouse to
return to your currently-selected tool.
## 2. Other Controls ##
a."Undo" and "Redo" Commands ←
Clicking the "Undo" button will undo (revert) the last drawing
action. You can even undo more than once!
⌨ Note: You can also press [Control / ⌘] + [Z] on the keyboard to
Undo.
Clicking the "Redo" button will redo the drawing action you just
un-did via the "Undo" command.
As long as you don't draw again, you can redo as many times as you
had undone!
⌨ Note: You can also press [Control / ⌘] + [R] on the keyboard to
Redo.
b."New" Command ←
Clicking the 'New' button will start a new drawing. A dialog will
appear where you may choose to start a new picture using a solid
background color, or using a 'Starter' or 'Template' image (see
below). You will first be asked whether you really want to do this.
When you use the 'Eraser' tool things you've added to your drawing
will be removed, exposing the background you chose when starting a
new drawing. (See Available Tools > Drawing Tools > "Eraser" Tool.)
⌨ Note: You can also press [Control / ⌘] + [N] on the keyboard to
start a new drawing.
→ Special Solid Background Color Choices ←
Along with the preset solid colors, you can also choose colors
using a rainbow palette or a "color mixer". These operate
identically to the options found in the color palette shown
below the canvas when drawing a picture. See Main Screen >
Lower: Colors > Special color options for details.
'Starter' & Template Images ←
* 'Starters' can behave like a page from a coloring book — a
black-and-white outline of a picture, which you can then
color in, and the black outline remains intact — or like a
3D photograph, where you draw in between a foreground and
background layer.
* 'Templates' are similar, but simply provide a background
drawing to work off of. Unlike 'Starters', there is no
layer that remains in the foreground of anything you draw
in the picture.
When using the 'Eraser' tool or the 'Eraser' mode of the 'Fill'
tool, the original image from the 'Starter' or 'Template' will
reappear. (See Available Tools > Drawing Tools > "Eraser" Tool
and "Fill" Tool.)
The 'Flip' and 'Mirror' Magic tools affect the orientation of
the 'Starter' or 'Template', as well. (See Available Tools >
"Magic" Tool (Special Effects) > Flip and Mirror.)
When you load a 'Starter' or 'Template', draw on it, and then
click 'Save,' it creates a new picture file — it doesn't
overwrite the original, so you can use it again later (by
accessing it from the 'New' dialog).
⚙ You can create your own 'Starter' and Template images. See
the Extending Tux Paint documentation's sections on 'Starters'
and Templates.
💡 You can also convert your saved drawings into Templates
directly within Tux Paint, from the 'Open' dialog. See "Open",
below.
→ Erasing Exported Template Images ←
If you've selected a Template in your personal templates
folder, and it was created from within Tux Paint (using the
"Template" button in the "Open" dialog), you may remove it from
within Tux Paint, too. An 'Erase' (trash can) button will
appear at the lower right of the list. Click it to erase the
selected template. (You will be asked to confirm.)
💡 Note: On Linux, Windows, and macOS, the picture will be
placed in your desktop's trash can / recycle bin (where you may
recover and restore it, if you change your mind).
⚙ Note: The 'Erase' button may be disabled, via the "noerase"
option.
⚙ Note: The solid colors can be placed at the end of the 'New'
dialog (below the Starters and Templates), via the "newcolorslast"
option.
c."Open" Command ←
This shows you a list of all of the pictures you've saved. If there
are more than can fit on the screen, use the up and down arrows at
the top and bottom of the list to scroll through the list of
pictures.
Click a picture to select it, and then...
x Click the green 'Open' button at the lower left of the list to
load the selected picture. You will then be able to edit it.
(Alternatively, you can double-click a picture's icon to load
it.)
💡 If choose to open a picture, and your current drawing hasn't
been saved, you will be prompted as to whether you want to save
it or not. (See "Save," below.)
x Click the brown 'Erase' (trash can) button at the lower right
of the list to erase the selected picture. (You will be asked
to confirm.)
📜 Note: On Linux (as of version 0.9.22), Windows (as of version
0.9.27), and macOS (as of version 0.9.29), the picture will be
placed in your desktop's trash can / recycle bin (where you may
recover and restore it, if you change your mind).
⚙ Note: The 'Erase' button may be disabled, via the "noerase"
option.
x Click the 'Export' button near the lower right to export the
selected picture to your export folder. (e.g., "~/Pictures/
TuxPaint/")
From the "Open" screen you can also:
x Click the blue 'Slides' (slide projector) button at the lower
left to go to slideshow mode. See "Slides", below, for details.
x Click the blue 'Template' button at the lower left to go to
convert the selected picture into a new template, which can be
used as the basis for new drawings.
📜 Note: The Template creation feature was added to Tux Paint in
version 0.9.31. To learn how to create Templates outside of Tux
Paint, see Extending Tux Paint
⚙ The Template creation feature can be disabled (e.g., by
selecting "Disable 'Make Template'" in Tux Paint Config. or
running Tux Paint with the "notemplateexport" option).
x Click the red 'Back' arrow button at the lower right of the
list to cancel and return to the picture you were drawing.
⌨ Note: You can also press [Control / ⌘] + [O] on the keyboard to
bring up the 'Open' dialog.
d."Save" Command ←
This saves your current picture.
If you haven't saved it before, it will create a new entry in the
list of saved images. (i.e., it will create a new file)
💡 Note: It won't ask you anything (e.g., for a filename). It will
simply save the picture, and play a "camera shutter" sound effect.
If you have saved the picture before, or this is a picture you just
loaded using the "Open" command, you will first be asked whether
you want to save over the old version, or create a new entry (a new
file).
⚙ Note: If either the "saveover" or "saveovernew" options are set,
it won't ask before saving over. See the "Options" documentation.
⌨ Note: You can also press [Control / ⌘] + [S] on the keyboard to
save.
e."Print" Command ←
Click this button and your picture will be printed!
On most platforms, you can also hold the [Alt] key (called [Option]
on Macs) while clicking the 'Print' button to get a printer dialog.
Note that this may not work if you're running Tux Paint in
fullscreen mode. See below.
→ Disabling Printing ←
The "noprint" option can be set, which will disable Tux Paint's
'Print' button.
⚙ See the "Options" documentation.
→ Restricting Printing ←
The "printdelay" option can be set, which will only allow
occasional printing — once every so many seconds, as configured
by you.
For example, with "printdelay=60" in Tux Paint's configuration
file, printing can only occur once per minute (60 seconds).
⚙ See the "Options" documentation.
→ Printing Commands ←
(Linux and Unix only)
Tux Paint prints by generating a PostScript representation of
the drawing and sending it to an external program. By default,
the program is:
lpr
This command can be changed by setting a "printcommand" option
in Tux Paint's configuration file.
An alternative print command can be invoked by holding the "
[Alt]" key on the keyboard while clicking clicking the 'Print'
button, as long as you're not in fullscreen mode, an
alternative program is run. By default, the program is KDE's
graphical print dialog:
kprinter
This command can be changed by setting a "altprintcommand"
option in Tux Paint's configuration file.
⚙ See the "Options" documentation.
→ Printer Settings ←
(Windows and macOS)
By default, Tux Paint simply prints to the default printer with
default settings when the 'Print' button is pushed.
However, if you hold the [Alt] (or [Option]) key on the
keyboard while clicking the 'Print' button, as long as you're
not in fullscreen mode, your operating system's printer dialog
will appear, where you can change the settings.
You can have the printer configuration changes stored between
Tux Paint sessions by setting the "printcfg" option.
If the "printcfg" option is used, printer settings will be
loaded from the file "printcfg.cfg" in your personal folder
(see below). Any changes will be saved there as well.
⚙ See the "Options" documentation.
→ Printer Dialog Options ←
By default, Tux Paint only shows the printer dialog (or, on
Linux/Unix, runs the "altprintcommand"; e.g., "kprinter"
instead of "lpr") if the [Alt] (or [Option]) key is held while
clicking the 'Print' button.
However, this behavior can be changed. You can have the printer
dialog always appear by using "--altprintalways" on the
command-line, or "altprint=always" in Tux Paint's configuration
file. Conversely, you can prevent the [Alt]/[Option] key from
having any effect by using "--altprintnever", or "altprint=
never".
⚙ See the "Options" documentation.
f."Slides" Command (under "Open") ←
The 'Slides' button is available in the 'Open' dialog. It can be
used to play a simple animation within Tux Paint, or a slideshow of
pictures. It can also export an animated GIF based on the chosen
images.
→ Chosing pictures ←
When you enter the 'Slides' section of Tux Paint, it displays a
list of your saved files, just like the 'Open' dialog.
Click each of the images you wish to display in a
slideshow-style presentation, one by one. A digit will appear
over each image, letting you know in which order they will be
displayed.
You can click a selected image to unselect it (take it out of
your slideshow). Click it again if you wish to add it to the
end of the list.
→ Set playback speed ←
A sliding scale at the lower left of the screen (next to the
'Play' button) can be used to adjust the speed of the slideshow
or animated GIF, from slowest to fastest. Choose the leftmost
setting to disable automatic advancement during playback within
Tux Paint — you will need to press a key or click to go to the
next slide (see below).
💡 Note: The slowest setting does not automatically advance
through the slides. Use it for when you want to step through
them manually. (This does not apply to an exported animated
GIF.)
→ Playback in Tux Paint ←
To play a slideshow within Tux Paint, click the 'Play' button.
💡 Note: If you hadn't selected any images, then all of your
saved images will be played in the slideshow!
During the slideshow, press [Space], [Enter] or [Return], or
the [Right arrow] — or click the 'Next' button at the lower
left — to manually advance to the next slide. Press [Left
arrow] to go back to the previous slide.
Press [Escape], or click the 'Back' button at the lower right,
to exit the slideshow and return to the slideshow image
selection screen.
→ Exporting an animated GIF ←
Click the 'GIF Export' button near the lower right to have Tux
Paint generate an animated GIF file based on the selected
images.
💡 Note: At least two images must be selected. (To export a
single image, use the 'Export' option from the main 'Open'
dialog.) If no images are selected, Tux Paint will not attempt
to generate a GIF based on all saved images.
Pressing [Escape] during the export process will abort the
process, and return you to the 'Slideshow' dialog.
Click 'Back' in the slideshow image selection screen to return to
the 'Open' dialog.
g."Quit" Command ←
Clicking the 'Quit' button, closing the Tux Paint window, or
pushing the [Escape] key will quit Tux Paint.
You will first be prompted as to whether you really want to quit.
If you choose to quit, and you haven't saved the current picture,
you will first be asked if wish to save it. If it's not a new
image, you will then be asked if you want to save over the old
version, or create a new entry. (See "Save" above.)
⚙ Note: If the image is saved, it will be reloaded automatically
the next time you run Tux Paint -- unless the "startblank" option
is set.
⚙ Note: The 'Quit' button within Tux Paint, and quitting via the
[Escape] key, may be disabled, via the "noquit" option.
In that case, the "window close" button on Tux Paint's title bar
(if not in fullscreen mode) or the [Alt] + [F4] key sequence may be
used to quit.
If neither of those are possible, the key sequence of [Shift] +
[Control / ⌘] + [Escape] may be used to quit.
⚙ See the "Options" documentation.
h.Sound Muting ←
There is no on-screen control button at this time, but by using the
[Alt] + [S] keyboard sequence, sound effects can be disabled and
re-enabled (muted and unmuted) while the program is running.
Note that if sounds are completely disabled via the "nosound"
option, the [Alt] + [S] key combination has no effect. (i.e., it
cannot be used to turn on sounds when the parent/teacher wants them
disabled.)
⚙ See the "Options" documentation.
### E. Controlling Tux Paint ###
## 1. Using a Mouse or Trackball ##
Tux Paint's main mode of operation is via any device that appears to
your operating system as a mouse, including standard mice, trackballs,
and trackpads, as well as drawing tablets (usually operated with a
stylus) and touch screens (operated with a finger and/or a stylus) (see
"Using a Tablet or Touchscreen" below for more information).
For drawing and controlling Tux Paint, only a single mouse button is
used — typically, on multi-button mice, this will the left mouse
button, but this can usually be configured at the operating system
level. By default, Tux Paint will ignore input from the other button
(s). If a user attempts to use the other button(s), a pop-up dialog
will eventually appear reminding them that only one button is
recognized Tux Paint. However, you may configure Tux Paint to accept
any button as input (see the Options documentation).
# a. Scrolling #
Many input devices offer a way to quickly scroll within applications —
many mice have a scroll wheel, trackballs have scroll rings, and
trackpads recognize certain "scroll" gestures (e.g., two-finger
vertical motion, or vertical motion on the edge of the trackpad). Tux
Paint supports scrolling input to allow quick scrolling through certain
lists (e.g., Stamps, Magic tools, and the New and Open dialogs).
Tux Paint will also automatically scroll if you click and hold the
mouse down on an scroll button — the "up" and "down" arrow buttons that
appear above and below scrolling lists.
# b. Mouse Accessibility #
Other devices that appear as a mouse can be used to control Tux Paint.
For example:
- Head pointing/tracking devices
- Eye gaze trackers
- Foot mice
Tux Paint offers a "sticky mouse click" accessibility setting, where a
single click begins a click-and-drag operation, and a subsequent click
ends it. (See the Options documentation.)
## 2. Using a Tablet or Touchscreen ##
As noted above, Tux Paint recognizes any device that appears as a
mouse. This means drawing tablets and touchscreens may be used.
However, these devices often support other features beyond X/Y motion,
button clicks, and scroll-wheel motion. Currently, those additional
features are not supported by Tux Paint. Some examples:
- Pressure and angle
- Eraser tip
- Multi-touch gestures
## 3. Using a Joystick-like Device ##
Tux Paint may be configured to recognize input from any game controller
that appears to your operating system as a joystick. That even includes
modern game console controllers connected via USB or Bluetooth (e.g.,
Nintendo Switch or Microsoft Xbox game pads)!
Numerous configuration options are available to best suit the device
being used, and the user's needs. Analog input will be used for coarse
movement, and digital "hat" input for fine movement. Buttons on the
controller can be mapped to different Tux Paint controls (e.g., acting
as the [Escape] key, switching to the Paint tool, invoking Undo and
Redo operations, etc.). See the Options documentation for more details.
## 4. Using the Keyboard ##
Tux Paint offers an option to allow the keyboard to be used to control
the mouse pointer. This includes motion and clicking, as well as
shortcuts to navigate between and within certain parts of the
interface. See the Options documentation for more details.
III. Loading Other Pictures into Tux Paint
### A. Overview ###
Tux Paint's 'Open' dialog only displays pictures you created with Tux
Paint. So what do you do if you want to load some other drawinng or
even a photograph into Tux Paint, so you can edit or draw on it?
You can simply convert the picture to the format Tux Paint uses — PNG
(Portable Network Graphic) — and place it in Tux Paint's "saved"
directory/folder. Here is where to find it (by default):
→ Windows Windows 8, Windows 10, Windows 11 ←
In the user's "AppData" folder:
e.g., "C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\TuxPaint\saved\"
(Note: The "AppData" folder is hidden (not visible) by default. You
can enter the path manually in the location bar of your file
browser (e.g., File Explorer).)
You can use the %APPDATA% variable as a shorthand, i.e.
"%APPDATA%\Tuxpaint\Saved".
You can use the [⊞ (Windows)] + [R] key combination to bring up the
Run command window, and then type the path and hit [Enter / Return]
.
→ macOS ←
In the user's "Application Support" folder:
e.g., "/Users/username/Library/Application Support/TuxPaint/saved/"
→ Linux / Unix ←
In the user's "home directory" folder:
e.g., "/home/username/.tuxpaint/saved/"
(Note: The ".tuxpaint" folder is hidden (not visible) by default.
You can enter the path manually in the location bar of your file
browser (e.g., GNOME Files or Dolphin).)
You can use the $HOME variable as a shorthand, i.e.
"$HOME/.tuxpaint/saved".
→ Haiku ←
In the user's "settings" folder:
e.g., "/boot/home/config/settings/TuxPaint/saved/"
💡 Note: It is also from this folder that you can copy or open pictures
drawn in Tux Paint using other applications, though the 'Export' option
from Tux Paint's 'Open' dialog can be used to copy them to a location
that's easier and safer to access.
### B. Using the import script, "tuxpaint-import" ###
Linux and Unix users can use the "tuxpaint-import" shell script which
gets installed when you install Tux Paint. It uses some NetPBM tools to
convert the image ("anytopnm"), resize it so that it will fit in Tux
Paint's canvas ("pnmscale"), and convert it to a PNG ("pnmtopng").
It also uses the "date" command to get the current time and date, which
is the file-naming convention Tux Paint uses for saved files.
(Remember, you are never asked for a 'filename' when you go to save or
open pictures!)
To use this script, simply run it from a command-line prompt, and
provide it the name(s) of the file(s) you wish to convert.
They will be converted and placed in your Tux Paint "saved" directory.
💡 Note: If you're doing this for a different user (e.g., your child)
you'll need to make sure to run the command under their account.)
Example:
$ tuxpaint-import grandma.jpg
grandma.jpg -> /home/username/.tuxpaint/saved/20211231012359.png
jpegtopnm: WRITING A PPM FILE
The first line ("tuxpaint-import grandma.jpg") is the command to run.
The following two lines are output from the program while it's working.
Now you can load Tux Paint, and a version of that original picture will
be available under the 'Open' dialog. Just double-click its icon!
### C. Importing Pictures Manually ###
Windows, macOS, and Haiku users who wish to import arbitrary images
into Tux Paint must do so via a manual process.
Load a graphics program that is capable of both loading your picture
and saving a PNG format file. (See the documentation file "PNG.html"
for a list of suggested software, and other references.)
When Tux Paint loads an image that's not the same size as its drawing
canvas, it scales (and sometimes smears the edges of) the image so that
it fits within the canvas.
To avoid having the image stretched or smeared, you can resize it to
Tux Paint's canvas size. This size depends on the size of the Tux Paint
window, or resolution at which Tux Paint is run, if in fullscreen. (
Note: The default resolution is 800x600.) See "Calculating Image
Dimensions", below.
## 1. Naming the File ##
Save the picture in PNG format. It is highly recommended that you name
the filename using the current date and time, since that's the
convention Tux Paint uses:
YYYYMMDDhhmmss.png
- YYYY = Year
- MM = Month (two digits, "01"-"12")
- DD = Day of month (two digits, "01"-"31")
- HH = Hour (two digits, in 24-hour format, "00"-"23")
- mm = Minute (two digits, "00"-"59")
- ss = Seconds (two digits, "00"-"59")
Example: "20210731110500.png", for July 31, 2021 at 11:05am.
Place this PNG file in your Tux Paint "saved" directory/folder. (See
above.)
## 2. Calculating Image Dimensions ##
This part of the documentation needs to be rewritten, since the new
"buttonsize" option was added. For now, try drawing and saving an image
within Tux Paint, then determine what size (pixel width and height) it
came out to, and try to match that when scaling the picture(s) you're
importing into Tux Paint.
IV.Further Reading
Other documentation included with Tux Paint (found in the "docs" folder
/directory) includes:
→ Using Tux Paint: ←
x OPTIONS.html
Detailed instructions on command-line and configuration-file
options, for those who don't want to use the Tux Paint Config.
tool to manage Tux Paint's configuration.
x 'Magic' Tool Documentation ("magic-docs")
Documentation for each of the currently-installed 'Magic'
tools.
x Frequently Asked Questions ("FAQs") about Tux Paint
Answers to, and solutions for, some common questions about, and
problems with, using Tux Paint.
→ How to extend Tux Paint: ←
x EXTENDING.html
Detailed instructions on extending Tux Paint: creating brushes,
stamps, starters, and templates; adding fonts; and creating new
on-screen keyboard layouts and input methods.
x PNG.html
Notes on creating PNG format bitmapped (raster) images for use
in Tux Paint.
x SVG.html
Notes on creating SVG format vector images for use in Tux
Paint.
→ Technical information: ←
x INSTALL.html
Instructions for compiling and installing Tux Paint, when
applicable.
x SIGNALS.html
Information about the POSIX signals that Tux Paint responds to.
x MAGIC-API.html
Creating new Magic tools using Tux Paint's plugin API.
→ Development history and license: ←
x AUTHORS.txt
List of authors and contributors.
x CHANGES.txt
Summary of what has changed between releases of Tux Paint.
x COPYING.txt
Tux Paint's software license, the GNU General Public License
(GPL)
V.How to Get Help
If you need help, there are numerous ways to interact with Tux Paint
developers and other users:
- Report bugs or request new features via the project's bug-tracking
system
- Participate in the various project mailing lists
- Contact the developers directly
To learn more, visit the "Contact" page of the official Tux Paint
website: https://tuxpaint.org/contact/
VI.How to Participate
Tux Paint is a volunteer-driven project, and we're happy to accept your
help in a variety of ways:
- Translate Tux Paint to another language
- Improve existing translations
- Create artwork (stamps, starters, templates, brushes)
- Add or improve features or magic tools
- Create classroom curriculum
- Promote or help support others using Tux Paint
To learn more, visit the "Help Us" page of the official Tux Paint
website: https://tuxpaint.org/help/
VII.Follow the Tux Paint project on social media
Tux Paint maintains a presence on a variety of social media networks,
where we post updates and artwork.
- Follow @tuxpaint.bsky.social on Bluesky
- Join the Tux Paint page on Facebook
- Follow @TuxPaintDevs on Instagram
- Follow @tuxpaint@floss.social on Mastodon
- Follow u/TuxPaintDevs on Reddit
- Follow @TuxPaintDevs on Threads
- Follow @TuxPaintDevs on TikTok
- Follow Tux Paint on Tumblr
- Subscribe to @TuxPaintOfficial on YouTube
VIII. Trademark notices
- "Linux" is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.
- "Microsoft" and "Windows" are registered trademarks of Microsoft
Corp.
- "Apple" and "macOS" are registered trademarks of Apple Inc.
- "Haiku" is a registered trademark of Haiku, Inc.
- "Facebook", "Instagram", and "Threads" are registered trademarks of
Meta Platforms, Inc.
- "Mastodon" is a registered trademark of Mastodon gGmbH.
- "Reddit" is a registered trademark of Reddit, Inc.
- "TIK TOK" is a trademark of Bytedance Ltd.
- "Tumblr" is a registered trademark of Tumblr, Inc.
- "YouTube" is a registered trademark of Alphabet, Inc.
