How to Change the Default Margins in Paint
By Matt Koble
Microsoft Paint is a free program included in various versions of Microsoft's Windows operating system. Paint allows basic drawing and image editing through easy-to-use drawing, editing, cropping and coloring tools. Microsoft completely redesigned Paint for Windows 7, giving the program more features and depth. When you open Paint, the programs default margins determine the size of the canvas on the page and how much space around your drawing area is left blank upon printing the image.
Turn on your PC and wait for Windows 7 to load. Click the "Start" orb, type "Paint" into the search box, and hit "Enter."
Click the blue "File" menu next to "Home." Unlike previous versions, the button shows an illustration of a file menu instead of actually reading "File."
Hover over "Print" to expand a new menu. Click "Print Preview," showing you an exact preview of how the printed picture would look on paper.
Click "Page Setup" near the left side of the ribbon to bring up a separate window. Under the "Margins" box, you'll see "Left," "Right," "Top" and "Bottom." Enter the margin you'd prefer for each side of the page using inches. For margins smaller than an inch, use decimals like 0.5 for half an inch or 0.25 for a quarter.
Click "OK" and continue editing your image. Consider returning to the "Print Preview" screen before printing or saving your image to ensure the finished image looks well with your desired margins.
Tips
- You can access the "Page Setup" window from the "File" menu's "Print" sub-menu but if you're not in "Print Preview" mode, you won't be able to see how your margin changes alter your image until you print.
- Older versions of Paint have similar margin editing menus under "File," "Page Setup" for those not using Windows 7.
Writer Bio
Matt Koble has been writing professionally since 2008. He has been published on websites such as DoItYourself. Koble mostly writes about technology, electronics and computer topics.