Pinta 2.0 Released with UI Changes (GTK3 Port & .NET6), Improved HiDPI Support

The Paint.NET inspired bitmap image drawing and editing software Pinta 2.0 was released a few days ago.

Pinta is finally ported to GTK3, though GNOME now is shifting to GTK4. Along with .NET6 the UI now looks more native in Ubuntu:

  • The tab bar looks more native in GNOME.
  • Use the standard GTK font chooser (pop up dialog) instead of drop-down selection for Text tool.
  • Change several tools to use spin buttons rather than editable combo boxes.
  • The position / selection information, zoom, and the color palette now moved to bottom status bar.
  • The tool palette displays in a single column with “>” button in the bottom to reach more tools.
  • The “Open Recent menu” is gone. And, “Add-ins” has been removed.
  • The color palette now remember recently used colors.
  • The primary and secondary palette colors are now saved in the application settings
  • And the canvas can now be panned by clicking and dragging with the middle mouse button

How to Install Pinta 2.0 in Ubuntu Linux:

Pinta is available to install as 3 different package formats: native DEB, universal Flatpak and Snap. You may choose one to install or install all of them side by side (will cause duplicated app icons).

Option 1: Snap

The Pinta snap package is available to install from Ubuntu Software. And, if you already install the package before, it should now update to v2.0 automatically.

Option 2: Flatpak

Like Snap, Flatpak is another universal package format runs in sandbox. It installs updates automatically but takes more disk space.

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Ubuntu user may install Pinta as Flatpak by running the commands below one by one:

  • Install Flatpak daemon:
    sudo apt install flatpak
  • Install Pinta from flathub repository:
    flatpak install https://dl.flathub.org/repo/appstream/com.github.PintaProject.Pinta.flatpakref

Option 3: Classic Deb package:

For those prefer the native deb packages, Pinta has a stable PPA though NOT updated at the moment.

User may press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal, and run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:pinta-maintainers/pinta-stable

Once the PPA is updated, Pinta 2.0 will be available to upgrade along with other system packages in Software Updater.

Uninstall Pinta:

To remove Pinta Snap and Deb packages, use Ubuntu Software or run one of the commands below:

sudo snap remove --purge pinta
sudo apt remove --autoremove pinta

And remove the PPA using “Software & Updates” tool under “Other Software” tab.

For the Flatpak package, use command:

flatpak uninstall --delete-data com.github.PintaProject.Pinta

And clear useless run-time libraries via flatpak uninstall --unused.