Using Paint

Using Paint
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Using Paint is fun, but it can be frustrating. I'm not going to tell you everything you need to know to use the application. One of it's secondary goals of most computer education classes is to help reduce your anxiety (if it exists) about exploring or trying something new, so you're going to have to poke around a bit and figure some things out. All Windows applications have a dedicated help function. I know, I know.......usually you can't find what you need when you go looking for it, but we'll give it the benefit of the doubt for now. That means that if you're in Wordpad and select Help from the menu bar, or press the F1 key, the Help window that opens will pertain to Wordpad, not Windows or some other application. Help is usually divided into three sections: Contents, Index, and Search. Contents allows you to view/browse the information in Help like you would a table of contents in a book. Using Index is much like using the index in a book. You enter letters to spell what you're looking for, and Help locates topics beginning with those letters. The Search function is simply a keyword search of the contents. Use whichever method fits your style. Here's a few hints to get you started:

Objects appear to be drawn in layers. An object drawn later goes on top of an object drawn earlier. If the second object is not filled, then the first object shows through. If the second object is filled, it obscures the first object, hence the reason for "starting from the bottom up."
Left click a color to change the line/border color, right click to change the fill color.
Pay attention to the options that appear below the double toolbar on the left hand side of the Paint window. They change, depending upon the tool you have selected in the tool bar, and determine such things as whether or not a fill color is used, line thickness, etc. It might be smart to open Paint and play awhile.
Using the Text tool can be confusing. You must select the Text Button first, then select a location for the text in the drawing. Click and drag to form a "Text Box" to contain your text. If the Text Formatting Toolbar doesn't appear on your screen, try View-->Text Toolbar. Someone may have turned it off on you!
If you really run into problems, and can swallow your pride, ask an eight year old. They love this stuff!

AFTER you've saved, we'll assume that you need to transfer the monitor drawing into Wordpad. It could be almost any word processor or other application, but we'll work with WordPad. To do that:

First, we need to place a copy of the image on the clipboard. We begin by opening Wordpad.
Return to Paint by clicking it's button on the Taskbar.
Slect the Rectangular Cutting Tool (dotted rectangle, top row of right hand too bar), or the Free-hand cutting tool (dotted star, top row, left hand column).
Point to an area just to the upper left of the image or portion of the image that you wish to copy.
Hold down the left mouse button, and click-and-drag a box around the monitor, or, if using the Free Hand tool, draw an enclosure around what you wish to copy. When the box or enclosure completely surrounds the drawing, release the mouse button.
Select: Edit->Copy from the menu bar, or hold down the Ctrl key and press the C key, or click the Copy button (two pieces of paper) on the toolbar at the top of the Paint window.
Return to Wordpad by selecting the Wordpad button on the task bar.
Place the insertion point in the document where you want the image to be pasted.
Select Edit->Paste from the menu bar, press Ctrl+V (hold down the Ctrl key and press the V key), or click on the Clipboard button on the toolbar to paste a copy of the selected image into your Wordpad document.
The object may not be the size you want it to be when it first arrives. You can use the sizing handles on the object (the little boxes on the corners and middle of each side) to size the paint object. Just use click and drag. Be careful! In many word processors, the image will show on the screen when it extends outside the drawing area, but won't print that portion.
The drawing may be aligned in most word processors by first selecting the object, then using the align function/button as appropriate. Note: depending on the processor, the alignment selection may affect not only the drawing object, but the text (if any) in the paragraph where the object is placed.
After you have the drawing sized and where you want it, save your Wordpad file.