Paint.NET is one of the best freeware image editors on the market. Its ease of use and compatibility with external plugins make it intuitive and flexible, an ideal combination for not overwhelming the user with advanced features while still enabling expansion. A tool that never materialized in the standard version of Paint.NET is Content Aware Fill for repairing defects (among other things), but thanks to an open source plugin, today we can add it without any hassle.
If you are thinking about removing people and objects from a photograph, we have several options for you. Magic Eraser and CleanUp.pictures work perfectly in any browser, while in the case of Android, TouchRetouch appears with a very reasonable price. Now, if you prefer a desktop tool, nothing stops you from downloading Krita to access its smart patch, and it would be a rude mistake on our part to forget PhotoDemon with its repair mode.
However, today I would like to add one more alternative, focused on Paint.NET. This image editor does not need any introduction, but the Content Aware Fill function is conspicuously absent, unless... we use a plugin. Fortunately, Nicholas Hayes created an open source port of the Resynthesizer plugin available in GIMP, and its installation in Paint.NET is very simple.
Installing Content Aware Fill in Paint.NET
- Make sure you have the latest available version of Paint.NET (4.3.12 at the time of writing)
- Go to Nicholas Hayes' GitHub profile and download a copy of the plugin
- Unzip the zip file, and copy the ContentAwareFill.dll file to C:\Program Files\paint.net\Effects (or follow the correct path if it is installed elsewhere)
- Open the image to process with Paint.NET, select the element you want to remove, and activate Content Aware Fill in the menu Effects -> Selection
The plugin allows us to make different combinations to optimize its result. We can specify the source of the sample (all around, both sides, and top/bottom), its size in pixels, and the direction of the fill (edges to center, center outward, or random). The best part is that the plugin applies changes in real time, and this works as a very effective preview. If the result has errors, use another configuration. This Content Aware Fill in Paint.NET will be very useful with many images, don't miss it!
Official site and download: Click here
