How to Resize an Image With Paint.Net

Co-authored by Boris Polissky

Last Updated: April 24, 2024

There are a lot of programs out there that will resize your images. Paint.net is a free open-source alternative to much higher priced software with a much lower learning curve.

1

Install Paint.net on your computer.

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Download Paint.net from http://www.getpaint.net/download.html . If you don't already have Paint.net, it's easy to install.

2

Open the image you want to resize.

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Open Paint.net and select the image you want to resize. You can also right-click the file on your computer, choose Open with , and then select Paint.net .

3

Click the "Image" menu and choose "Resize."

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The size is broken into width and height.

4

Check the "Maintain aspect ratio" box.

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By doing so, you can change the value of the width, and Paint.NET will automatically calculate the correct value for the height (or vice versa) so the photo won't get distorted.

5

Enter a smaller width.

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If you don't want to do pixels, you can choose a different measurement from the drop-down menu.

6

Adjust the height and click "OK."

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Since the aspect ratio is maintained, the height will adjust automatically. If it's too tall, you can adjust the height manually—the width will update automatically so the photo isn't warped.
- Don't be afraid to experiment! Paint.NET has a nice undo function that will quickly restore your photo to its original size (plus, you have that backup copy).

7

Save the photo.

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Click File , choose Save As , type new name, and click OK .

8

Adjust the Quality setting.

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If you lower the quality, the file size will be smaller. If you don't care about file size at all, just leave the slider at 95% or 100%.

9

Click "OK" to finish.

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The new file is now saved to your computer.

Community Q&A

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Question

When I do resize my image, it just gets really blurry. How do I fix this?

Community Answer

Create a new image with more pixels, then resize it.

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How to Resize an Image With Paint.Net

Steps

Install Paint.net on your computer.

Open the image you want to resize.

Click the "Image" menu and choose "Resize."

Check the "Maintain aspect ratio" box.

Enter a smaller width.

Adjust the height and click "OK."

Save the photo.

Adjust the Quality setting.

Click "OK" to finish.

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