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Microsoft Paint
How to Invert Colours in MS Paint Download Article Easily turn colors to their opposites in Microsoft Paint with this user-friendly guide Written by Nicole Levine, MFA
Last Updated: February 19, 2026 Fact Checked
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Using Windows 10, 8, and 7
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Windows Vista and Earlier
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This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Nicole Levine, MFA. Nicole Levine is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. She has more than 20 years of experience creating technical documentation and leading support teams at major web hosting and software companies. Nicole also holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Portland State University and teaches composition, fiction-writing, and zine-making at various institutions. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 978,823 times. Learn more...
This wikiHow teaches you how to use the Invert Colors effect in Microsoft Paint to switch an image's colors to the opposite on the spectrum. If you're using Windows 10, make sure you open the image in Paint, not Paint 3D—Paint 3D does not have a tool that allows you to invert an image's colors.
Steps
Method 1 Method 1 of 2:
Using Windows 10, 8, and 7
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1 Open Microsoft Paint. If you're using Windows 10, you'll have two different Paint apps on your PC. One is called Paint and the other is called Paint 3D. Paint 3D does not have an Invert Colors option. The one you can use to invert colors is called Paint, and you can open it by following these steps:[1]XResearch source
Click the Windows search bar or magnifying glass on the taskbar.
Type paint.
Click Paint. It's the icon that looks like a palette and paintbrush.
2 Open your image in Paint. To do so, click the File menu at the top-left corner, select Open, and then navigate to your image. Once you find it, select it and click Open.[2]XResearch source Advertisement
3 Click the Select menu. It's on the toolbar that runs along the top of the app in the "Image" panel. A list of selection options will expand.
4 Click Select All on the menu. Use this option if you want to invert the colors in the entire image. If you'd prefer to select just one part of the image, choose Free-form selection instead, and then use the mouse to trace the desired area.
5 Right-click the selected area. A menu will expand.[3]XResearch source
6 Click Invert color on the menu. It should be the last option.[4]XResearch source
For a quick color inversion, press the shortcut Ctrl+⇧ Shift+I.
Advertisement Method 2 Method 2 of 2:
Windows Vista and Earlier
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1 Open your image in MS Paint. You can do this by from inside or outside Paint:
Inside Paint: Open MS Paint by clicking the Desktop icon or locating it in the Start menu. Once Paint is open, click File and then Open. Find and select the image that you want to invert, and then click Open.
Outside Paint: Right-click the image file, select Open with, and then choose Paint.
2 Click the Image menu. It's at the top of Paint.
3 Click Invert Colors on the menu. This will immediately invert the colors.
For a quick invert, simply press Ctrl+I.
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Question Can I do it on a Samung? Community Answer MS Paint is a Microsoft product, and a Samsung phone or tablet would be running the Android operating system. A good equivalent is Sketch - Draw & Paint, available in the Play Store. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 5 Helpful 7
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Tips
"BMP, "PNG", "JPG", and "GIF" are common file formats. For most situations, PNG will yield the smallest file size without losing quality. Choose JPG if the image being saved is a photograph, though note that Paint's implementation of the jpeg standard results in lossy images.[5]XResearch sourceThanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
You can use the Select tool, or the free-form select tool to select a specific area of your picture to invert. Thanks Helpful 5 Not Helpful 1
Open a file quickly by pressing Ctrl+O on your keyboard. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
Show More Tips Submit a Tip All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published Name Please provide your name and last initial Submit Thanks for submitting a tip for review! Advertisement
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Written by: Nicole Levine, MFA wikiHow Technology Writer This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Nicole Levine, MFA. Nicole Levine is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. She has more than 20 years of experience creating technical documentation and leading support teams at major web hosting and software companies. Nicole also holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Portland State University and teaches composition, fiction-writing, and zine-making at various institutions. This article has been viewed 978,823 times. How helpful is this? Co-authors: 31Updated: February 19, 2026 Views: 978,823 Categories: Microsoft PaintArticle SummaryX
1. Open the image in the Paint app. 2. Click the Select menu. 3. Click Select all. 4. Right-click the selected area. 5. Click Invert colors. Did this summary help you?YesNo
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Nicholas Blauvelt
May 29, 2017
"I was searching for secrets on a picture, and I needed to test out inverting the picture. I didn't know how, though, and because of this article I learned something new."..." more Rated this article:
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Nicholas Blauvelt
May 29, 2017
"I was searching for secrets on a picture, and I needed to test out inverting the picture. I didn't know how, though, and because of this article I learned something new."..." more Rated this article:
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May 29, 2017
"I had to save printer ink, the original file consisted of lots of black color. Thanks to this article, I can save the ink. "..." more Rated this article: Share yours! More success stories Hide success stories
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Download Article Easily turn colors to their opposites in Microsoft Paint with this user-friendly guide Written by Nicole Levine, MFA 
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Written by: Nicole Levine, MFA wikiHow Technology Writer This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Nicole Levine, MFA. Nicole Levine is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. She has more than 20 years of experience creating technical documentation and leading support teams at major web hosting and software companies. Nicole also holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Portland State University and teaches composition, fiction-writing, and zine-making at various institutions. This article has been viewed 978,823 times. How helpful is this? Co-authors: 31 Updated: February 19, 2026 Views: 978,823 Categories: Microsoft Paint Article SummaryX
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1 Open Microsoft Paint. If you're using Windows 10, you'll have two different Paint apps on your PC. One is called Paint and the other is called Paint 3D. Paint 3D does not have an Invert Colors option. The one you can use to invert colors is called Paint, and you can open it by following these steps:[1] 
2 Open your image in Paint. To do so, click the File menu at the top-left corner, select Open, and then navigate to your image. Once you find it, select it and click Open.[2] Advertisement 
3 Click the Select menu. It's on the toolbar that runs along the top of the app in the "Image" panel. A list of selection options will expand. 
4 Click Select All on the menu. Use this option if you want to invert the colors in the entire image. If you'd prefer to select just one part of the image, choose Free-form selection instead, and then use the mouse to trace the desired area. 
5 Right-click the selected area. A menu will expand.[3] 
6 Click Invert color on the menu. It should be the last option.[4] 
1 Open your image in MS Paint. You can do this by from inside or outside Paint: 
2 Click the Image menu. It's at the top of Paint. 
3 Click Invert Colors on the menu. This will immediately invert the colors. 
Community Answer MS Paint is a Microsoft product, and a Samsung phone or tablet would be running the Android operating system. A good equivalent is Sketch - Draw & Paint, available in the Play Store. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 5 Helpful 7 