How to Remove the White Background in Microsoft Paint

March 2023 · 4 minute read

This wikiHow teaches you how to make a white background transparent using Microsoft Paint. If you're using Windows 10, your computer comes with an updated version of MS Paint (called Paint 3D) that allows you to remove backgrounds with...

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Using MS Paint

  • Picture 23 of How to Remove the White Background in Microsoft Paint Open Paint. You can do this quickly by typing "paint" into the Windows search bar and clicking Paint in the search results.
  • If you have Windows 10, use the "Using Paint 3D" method instead.
  • It's not possible to make the white background transparent in MS Paint. This method will teach you how to cut out the part of the image you want to keep and paste it onto a different background.
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    Click the File menu. It's at the top-left corner of Paint.

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    Click Open.

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    Select an image and click Open. Be sure to select the image with a white background.

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    Click Color 2. It's in the toolbar at the top of the screen, to the right of the color palette.

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    Click the eyedropper icon. It's in the toolbar at the top of the screen (in the "Tools" panel).

  • Picture 29 of How to Remove the White Background in Microsoft Paint Click a blank area of the white background. The background color will now appear in the "Color 2" box.
  • Even if the color of the box was already white, this is just an extra precaution to take in case image's background has any gray or other tints to it.
  • Picture 30 of How to Remove the White Background in Microsoft Paint Click the down-arrow Picture 31 of How to Remove the White Background in Microsoft Paint under ″Select.″ It's in the toolbar that runs along the top of Paint. This displays a drop-down menu.
  • Picture 32 of How to Remove the White Background in Microsoft Paint Click Transparent selection. It's at the bottom of the menu. A check mark will appear next to the option to show that it's selected. The Transparent Select tool ignores the white background when you copy images in Paint and paste them into another image.
  • The Transparent Select tool ignores the white background when you copy images in Paint and paste them into another image.
  • Picture 33 of How to Remove the White Background in Microsoft Paint Click the down-arrow Picture 34 of How to Remove the White Background in Microsoft Paint under ″Select″ again. This re-opens the menu.
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    Click Rectangular selection. It's at the top of the menu. This tool lets you draw a box around the subject to select it.

  • Picture 36 of How to Remove the White Background in Microsoft Paint Select the part of the image you want to keep. Click and drag the mouse until you've surrounded the entire subject, then lift your finger from the button. A dotted rectangular selection box will appear around the selected area.
  • Everything within your selection that doesn't match the color in "Color 2" will be preserved. If the background isn't completely white (such as if there are shadows or objects in the background you don't want to keep), choose Freeform selection instead so you can trace around just the part of the image you want to keep.
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    Click Copy. It's near the top-left corner of Paint in the "Clipboard" panel. This copies your selection.

  • Picture 38 of How to Remove the White Background in Microsoft Paint Create or open a new file. Now that your selection is copied, you can open the image you want to paste it on. You'll be prompted to save or discard the changes to the image you're working on before the new one will open.
  • Click File in the upper-right corner.
  • Click New to create a new file, or click Open to open a different image.
  • Picture 39 of How to Remove the White Background in Microsoft Paint Click Paste. It's near the top-left corner of Paint. This pastes the selected part of the previous image onto the new image.
  • Click and drag the pasted selection to move it.
  • There may still be some white around the edges of the image you pasted. Keep reading to learn how to fix this.
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    Click Color 1. It's next to the palette at the top of the screen.

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    Click the eyedropper tool in the toolbar.

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    Click the background next to the white edges. If there is any white around the edges of the image you pasted, click the background right next to the white edge to select the color directly behind the white edge. This will allow you to paint the white areas to match the selected color.

  • Picture 43 of How to Remove the White Background in Microsoft Paint Click the paintbrush tool. It's the paintbrush icon to the right of the "Tools" panel at the top of Paint.
  • You can click the arrow pointing down below the brush to select different brush types.
  • Picture 44 of How to Remove the White Background in Microsoft Paint Paint over the white edges. Use the brush tool to color over any white edges that may remain around the object you pasted.
  • Zoom in and try not to color within the image.
  • If the background is not a solid color, you may need to use the eyedropper tool more than once.
  • Click the drop-down menu below Size to change brush sizes. Use a larger brush size to color over the bulk of the remaining white edge, then zoom in and switch to a smaller brush for precision.
  • Look for any white parts of the image that the Transparent Select tool didn't copy. Use the brush tool to color them back in.
  • If you accidentally color over a part of the image you don't want to, press Ctrl+Z to undo the mark.
    • David Pac David Pac

    Update 05 March 2020

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