Paint Forge's interface includes a menu bar, tool options bar, right sidebar panels, floating panels, a status bar, and a command palette for quick access to any feature.
Command Palette
Press Ctrl+K to open the Command Palette — a searchable list of all available commands across every category. Type to filter by name. Recent commands appear at the top. Many commands include inline descriptions to explain what they do.
Multi-token search: Type multiple words to narrow results. For example, "flip canvas" matches "Flip Canvas Horizontal".
Menu Bar
The menu bar provides access to all features organized into five menus:
File
New Project — create a blank canvas from 11 built-in project type templates (General, Photo Editing, Digital Illustration, Comic, Pixel Art, Graphic Design, UI Design, Logo Design, Social Media, Animation, Advanced) with type-specific canvas size, default tool + variant, recommended toolbar, default layer structure, canvas helpers (rulers, grid, snap modes, smart guides, composition guide, transparent background, DPI), workspace layout (animation panel, reference panel, navigator, palette pinned), and curated color palette where relevant; surfaces a Setup details panel showing exactly what each preset configures with live palette swatches, plus your own saved presets (drag-to-reorder, edit, delete, share to community, import/export JSON) and a community feed of shared presets you can install in one click
Open Project — browse and load cloud-saved projects
Recent Projects — quick access to the last 5 opened projects
Save (Ctrl+S) — save to cloud (requires sign-in)
Import Image — upload an image file to the canvas
Export (Ctrl+Shift+Alt+S) — export canvas as PNG/JPEG/WebP/AVIF/SVG/PSD/PDF
Quick Export (Ctrl+Alt+E) — re-export instantly using your saved export settings, no dialog
Export Active Layer — export just the active layer to a file
Export as GIF — animated GIF export from layers
Batch Export — export layers or objects individually as a ZIP
Duplicate Project — create an independent copy of the current project
Snapshots — save, browse, rename, and restore named project snapshots
The right sidebar contains six tabbed panels: Layers, Colors, Objects, Library (saved-object library), Canvas Settings, and Slices. Toggle the sidebar with the \ key. Only the active panel renders for performance. The Properties panel, Filters panel, and Effects panel are embedded within the Objects tab and appear contextually when objects are selected.
Objects Panel
Lists all objects on each layer in z-order. Drag to reorder. Each object shows inline fill/stroke color swatches and a type icon. Right-click any object for a context menu with Select, Rename, Duplicate, Show/Hide, Lock/Unlock, and Delete actions.
Layers Panel
The layer tree with drag-and-drop reordering. Each layer shows visibility toggle (eye icon), lock toggle, opacity slider, and blend mode dropdown. Features include:
Search by name or extended syntax (type:group, blend:multiply, color:red, empty, locked, hidden)
Filter chips: Locked, Hidden, Has Mask, Adjustment, Group, Has Vector, Has Raster, Empty, Has Color
Group folders with collapse/expand, collapse/expand all buttons
Alt+click eye icon to solo a layer
Recent and favorite blend modes in dropdown
Color label indicator (8 colors for organization)
Layer thumbnail with hover preview (200×150)
Alpha lock toggle (Grid3×3 icon)
Layer mask thumbnail and editing controls
Properties Panel
Displays transform inputs (X, Y, Width, Height, Angle) for selected objects. Includes:
Fill and stroke styling with solid/gradient/pattern options
Manages slices — named rectangular export regions for UI and game-asset workflows. Drag to reorder (z-order), search and filter, align/distribute multiple slices, toggle visibility and lock, set color labels and tags, and edit per-slice export overrides. Auto-slice from layers, a grid, the active selection, or frame-group cels. Slices export to individual files, sprite sheets, design tokens, animations, and spec sheets. See the Slices & Asset Export page for the full workflow.
History (Top Bar)
The undo/redo history is accessed via the History dropdown in the top bar (the clock icon). It shows a full timeline of actions with timestamps and a color-coded category badge per entry (paint, filter, transform, layer, selection, object, general). Click any entry to jump to that point in history. A snapshot button creates a named checkpoint you can return to at any time.
Color Bar
The Color Bar is a floating canvas-level strip showing the current foreground and background colors, plus a palette switcher. It provides quick color access without opening the full Colors panel. Toggle it from View > Toggle Color Bar or the command palette (view:pinnedpalette).
Floating Panels
The Navigator, Reference Panel, and Camera Setups panels float over the canvas and share one positioning system: each panel snaps to one of 8 positions around the canvas (the corners, edge centers, and side middles). Drag a panel by its header — all 8 snap positions appear as outlines, with the one you'll land on highlighted. Positions already holding another panel tint amber; dropping there is allowed — panels stack, with each newcomer fanning out diagonally so every header stays visible, and clicking any panel brings it to the front.
Action
Control
Move a panel
Drag its header onto any snap position
Move with the keyboard
Click or Tab to the header, then Arrow Keys
Return to default position
Home (with the header focused)
Collapse / expand
Double-click the header, or Enter / Space when focused
Cancel a drag
Esc while dragging
Bring to front
Click anywhere on the panel
Resize
Drag the handles on the edges away from the snap anchor
Panel positions, sizes, and collapsed states are remembered per user across all projects. Use Window > Reset Workspace Layout (or the command palette) to restore every panel to its default position.
Navigator Panel
A mini-overview thumbnail of your entire canvas with a red rectangle showing the current viewport. Click or drag on the thumbnail to pan. Includes a zoom slider with +/- buttons and a percentage label that syncs with the main zoom level.
Reference Panel
A floating panel for reference images. Upload or drag-drop images, then zoom/pan/adjust opacity to reference while you work. Click on a reference image to sample its color. Supports multiple image tabs. Resizable from 200-600px. Toggle from View menu or Command Palette.
Mobile & Touch UI
On mobile and tablet devices, Paint Forge adapts its interface with a touch-optimized layout. Key mobile-specific elements include:
Mobile Canvas Controls
A floating pill bar (hidden on desktop) appears at the bottom of the canvas in portrait mode and along the right edge in landscape mode. It contains:
Undo and Redo buttons with disabled-state toasts (throttled to prevent spam)
Active tool indicator — tap to open the full tool grid for switching tools
Color picker showing the current brush color — tap to open the color panel
Layer Cycle button — tap to go to the next layer, long-press to go to the previous layer
Fit to Screen and Fullscreen Toggle buttons
Delete Selected button (shown when objects are selected)
Zoom Out, Zoom %, and Zoom In controls
Rotation badge (shown when the canvas is rotated) — tap to reset to 0°
All buttons are 44px minimum touch targets with haptic feedback (navigator.vibrate)
Tool Hotbar
The tool hotbar is a configurable set of quick-access tool slots embedded in the mobile canvas controls pill. The number of slots adjusts automatically based on screen size. Long-press any hotbar slot to open the full tool grid and replace that slot. Double-tap a hotbar slot to open that tool's options panel.
Touch Gestures
Gesture
Action
Pinch
Zoom in/out (with haptic feedback at zoom limits)
Two-finger drag
Pan the canvas
Two-finger rotate
Rotate the canvas view
Two-finger tap
Undo
Three-finger tap
Redo
Double-tap
Tool-specific action (e.g. open options)
Long-press on canvas
Open context menu (500ms, cancels on 10px move)
Gesture feedback: A zoom percentage and rotation pill appears at the gesture center during pinch/rotate gestures and fades out 600ms after the gesture ends. Tapping to select objects triggers a brief haptic vibration.
Tool Options Bar
Below the menu bar, the tool options bar shows context-sensitive controls for the active tool. Each tool has its own set of options — brush size/opacity/variant, shape fill/stroke, text font/size, selection feather, etc. Tool option panels are lazy-loaded for performance.
Many tools support tool presets — save, load, rename, delete, export, and import preset configurations per tool via the Bookmark icon in the options bar.
Status Bar
The status bar at the bottom of the canvas displays:
Element
Description
Active Tool
Name of the currently selected tool
Active Layer
Name of the current layer (truncated if long)
Cursor Coordinates
X, Y position in document pixels
Color Under Cursor
HEX color swatch — click to copy to clipboard
Canvas Dimensions
Width × Height in pixels
DPI
Document DPI and physical dimensions (inches)
Zoom
Current zoom percentage — click rotation value to reset
Rotation
Canvas rotation in degrees — click to reset to 0°
Undo/Redo Label
Name of the next undo or redo action
Pixel Selection
Selection area and percentage of canvas
Symmetry Indicator
Current symmetry mode (green) — click to disable
Outline Mode
Indicator pill when outline mode is active
Quick Mask
Indicator when Quick Mask mode is active
Context Menus
Right-click in different areas for context-specific menus:
Location
Actions
Canvas (object selected)
Cut, Copy, Paste, Paste in Place, Select All, Deselect, Edit Path (paths), Edit Text (text/textbox), Simplify Path, Crop Image (images), Relink Image (images), Convert to Path (text), Set/Clear Key Object, Copy Style, Paste Style, Copy as SVG
Add Guide Here, Clear All Guides, Toggle Snap to Guides
Find & Replace
Press Ctrl+F to open Find & Replace. Search objects by name, type, color, or text content. Navigate through results with Previous/Next buttons. Replace text content across matching objects. Shows "X of N" result counter.
Dialogs
Paint Forge includes over 80 specialized dialogs accessible from menus, panels, and the command palette. A representative selection:
Export Dialog — format selection, quality, scale presets (0.5×–4×) and custom scale (0.1×–10×), live file size preview
GIF Export — animated GIF from layers with frame delay, loop mode, scale, and progress indicator
Account Settings — change password, delete account (when signed in)
Snapshots — create, restore, rename, and delete named project snapshots
Restore Project — offers to restore an auto-saved project when Paint Forge is reopened after closing with unsaved changes
Project Picker — browse and load cloud-saved projects with thumbnail preview
Upload Image — file picker with drag-and-drop support and file type/size validation
Brush Tip Dialog — browse, import, and manage custom stamp brush tips
Tool Presets Dialog — manage saved tool presets across all tools with import/export
Tool Help Dialog — contextual reference for the currently active tool (tips and description)
New Project — 11 built-in project templates with type-specific canvas / tools / layers / palette + a Setup details panel, plus user-saved presets (drag-reorder, share to community, import/export) and a community-shared preset feed you can install in one click
Add to Portfolio — attach the current artwork to a portfolio with title and description
Grow/Shrink Selection — pixel expansion or contraction of the pixel selection
Feather Selection — blur the edge of the pixel selection by a configurable radius
Color Range — select pixels by color similarity with tolerance control