MacPaint#FatBits

MacPaint was written by Bill Atkinson, a member of Apple's original Macintosh development team. The original MacPaint program consisted of 5,804 lines of Pascal computer code, augmented by another 2,738 lines of 68000 assembly language.{{sfnp|Hertzfeld|2005|page=174}} MacPaint's user interface was designed by Susan Kare, also a member of the Macintosh team.{{cite magazine | last = McGeever | first =C | title = Q&A: Susan Kare: 'I Never Planned to Be a Guiding Force in the Macintosh Design' | magazine = InfoWorld | volume=6| issue=37 | page = 64 | date = September 10, 1984| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hy8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA64}} Kare also beta-tested MacPaint before release.

MacPaint allows users to edit a 576-by-720 pixel, 72-dpi bitmap (slightly wider than the screen, and slightly more than twice as tall as the screen). A drawing canvas occupies most of the screen real estate, offering a viewport into a portion of the bitmap, with toolbars and pattern palettes around it.{{cn|date=March 2023}}

MacPaint uses two offscreen memory buffers to avoid flicker when dragging shapes or images across the screen.{{harvp|Hertzfeld|2005|page=171}} One of these buffers contained the existing pixels of a document, and the other contained the pixels of its previous state. The second buffer was used as the basis of the software's undo feature. In April 1983, the software's name was changed from MacSketch to MacPaint.{{sfnp|Hertzfeld|2005|page=172}} The original MacPaint was programmed as a single-document interface. The palette positions and sizes were unalterable, as was the document window. This differed from other Macintosh software at the time, which allowed users to move windows and resize them.

The original MacPaint did incorporate a double zoom function. Instead of a zoom function, a special magnification mode called FatBits was used. FatBits showed each pixel as a clickable rectangle with a white border. The FatBits editing mode set the standard for many future editors.{{sfnp|Hertzfeld|2005|page=147}} MacPaint included a "Goodies" menu which included the FatBits tool. This menu had been named the "Aids" menu in prerelease versions, but was renamed "Goodies" as public awareness of the AIDS epidemic grew in the summer of 1983.{{sfnp|Hertzfeld|2005|pages=155-156}}{{Citation |last=Atkinson |first=Bill |title=MacPaint: Version 1.5 |date= April 1985|url=http://archive.org/details/mac_Paint_2 |access-date=16 March 2023}}

MacPaint was first advertised in an 18-page brochure in December 1983, following the earlier announcement of the Macintosh 128K.{{cite web|url=http://www.digibarn.com/collections/ads/apple-mac/index.htm|title=Apple Macintosh 18 Page Brochure|publisher=DigiBarn Computer Museum|access-date=April 24, 2006}} The Macintosh was released on January 24, 1984, with two applications, MacPaint and MacWrite. For a special post-election edition of Newsweek in November 1984, Apple spent more than US$2.5 million to buy all 39 of the advertising pages in the issue. The Newsweek advertisement included many pages dedicated to explaining how MacWrite and MacPaint worked together.{{cite web|url=http://www.guidebookgallery.org/ads/magazines/macos/macos10-newsweek|title=1984 Newsweek Macintosh ads|publisher=GUIdebook, Newsweek|access-date=April 24, 2006}} After launch, a New York Times reviewer noted how MacPaint unfolded numerous graphic possibilities for the personal computer; he went further to say "it is better than anything else of its kind offered on personal computers by a factor of 10."

File:MacPaint 2.0 screenshot.png

MacPaint 2.0 was released on January 11, 1988, by Claris.{{cite news | title = Apple Computer unit introduces enhanced versions of MacDraw, MacProject, MacWrite and MacPaint | agency = Reuters | date = January 11, 1988}} It added many improvements to the software, including the capability to open and use up to nine documents simultaneously.{{cite magazine | last = Martinez | first = Carlos Domingo | title = MacPaint (Software Review) | magazine = MacUser | page = 103 |date=July 1988 | url=https://archive.org/details/MacUser8807July1988/page/n103/mode/2up| volume=4| issue=7}} The original MacPaint operated as a single-document application with an immovable window. MacPaint 2.0 eliminated this limitation, introducing a fully functioning document window, which could be sized up to 8 x 10". Several other features were introduced, such as a Zoom tool, MagicEraser tool for undo actions and stationary documents. MacPaint 2.0 was developed by David Ramsey, a developer at Claris.{{cite news | title = Apple fires key programmer | work = Newsbytes | date = July 4, 1989}} MacPaint 2.0 was sold for US$125, with a US$25 upgrade available for existing users of MacPaint. Claris discontinued technical support for the original MacPaint in 1989.{{cite news | title = Claris restricts tech support | work = MacWEEK | page = 1 | date = February 7, 1989}} Claris stopped selling MacPaint in early 1998 because of diminishing sales. There has been an unofficial update called MacPaint X which is 3.0 beta, mainly for people who wished to be able to use the program.

Since 2010, MacPaint 1.3's source code (written in a combination of Assembly and Pascal) has been available through the Computer History Museum,{{cite web | url = http://www.computerhistory.org/highlights/macpaint/ | title = MacPaint and QuickDraw Source Code | work = Computer History Museum | date = July 20, 2010}} along with the QuickDraw source code, a library to draw bitmapped graphics,{{cite web|url=http://www.businessweek.com/technology/ByteOfTheApple/blog/archives/2010/07/apple_donates_macpaint_source_code_to_computer_history_museum.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120209010310/http://www.businessweek.com/technology/ByteOfTheApple/blog/archives/2010/07/apple_donates_macpaint_source_code_to_computer_history_museum.html |archive-date=2012-02-09 |publisher=businessweek.com |date=2010-07-20 |title=Apple Donates MacPaint Source Code To Computer History Museum |first=Erik |last=Hesseldahl}} due to the support of Steve Jobs.{{cite web|url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/06/the-quest-to-save-todays-gaming-history-from-being-lost-forever/ |first=Kyle |last=Orland |title=The quest to save today's gaming history from being lost forever |website=Ars Technica |date=2015-06-01 |access-date=2016-01-17|quote= "[Jobs] sent a one line e-mail saying it was a good idea, and it was done the next day," Spicer recalled. "Having an internal advocate is key."}}

MacPaint inspired other companies to release similar products for other platforms;{{cite magazine | last = Bartimo | first = J | title = Programs Paint a Rosy Picture | magazine = InfoWorld | pages = 38–39 | date = October 8, 1984 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ci8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA38 | volume=6| issue=41}} within a year a half-dozen clones existed for the Apple II and IBM PC.{{cite magazine | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6C4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA30 | title=Macintosh: Success And Disappointment | magazine=InfoWorld| volume=7| issue=8| date=1985-02-25 | access-date=27 January 2015 | last=Bartimo| first=Jim | pages=30}} Some of these included Broderbund's Dazzle Draw for the Apple II, Mouse Systems' PCPaint for the PC, and IBM's Color Paint for the IBM PCjr.{{cite magazine | last = Elmer-Dewitt | first = Philip | title = The New Breeds of Software | magazine = Time | date = March 18, 1985 | url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,963402,00.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080510084626/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,963402,00.html | url-status = dead | archive-date = May 10, 2008 | access-date=April 26, 2008}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

• [http://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?story=MacPaint_Evolution.txt MacPaint Evolution from folklore.org]
• [http://www.computerhistory.org/highlights/macpaint/ Source code of MacPaint in the Computer History Museum]
• [http://www.macpaint.org/ Macpaint.org, a historical collection of Macpaint images]

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Category:Raster graphics editors

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