MacPaint
Encyclopedia
MacPaint was a bitmap
-based graphics painting
software program developed by Apple Computer and released with the original Macintosh
personal computer
on January 22, 1984. It was sold separately for US$195 with its word processor
counterpart, MacWrite
. MacPaint was notable because it could generate graphics that could be used by other applications. Using the mouse, and the clipboard
and QuickDraw
picture language, pictures could be cut from MacPaint and pasted into MacWrite documents.
Pictures could also be cut from MacPaint and pasted into the resource fork of any application via ResEdit
, allowing application internationalization
.
The original MacPaint was developed by Bill Atkinson
, a member of Apple's original Macintosh development team. Early development versions of MacPaint were called MacSketch, still retaining part of the name of its roots, LisaSketch. It was later developed by Claris
, the software subsidiary of Apple which was formed in 1987. The last version of MacPaint was version 2.0, released in 1988. It was discontinued by Claris in 1998 because of diminishing sales.
, a member of Apple's original Macintosh development team. The original MacPaint consisted of 5,804 lines of Pascal
computer code
, augmented by another 2,738 lines of 68000
assembly language
. MacPaint's user interface was designed by Susan Kare
, also a member of the Macintosh team. Kare also beta tested MacPaint before release.
MacPaint uses two offscreen memory buffers to avoid flicker when dragging shapes or images across the screen. 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. The original MacPaint was programmed as a single-document interface. The palette positions and sizes were unalterable, as was the document window. This was different from other Macintosh software at the time, which allowed the users to move windows and resize them.
The original MacPaint did not incorporate a 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. MacPaint included a "Goodies" menu which included the FatBits tool. This menu was named the "Aids" menu in prerelease versions, but was renamed "Goodies" as public awareness of the AIDS
epidemic grew in the summer of 1983.
. 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 dedicating to explaining how MacWrite and MacPaint worked together. 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." MacPaint continued to be bundled free with every new Macintosh until the introduction of the Macintosh Plus
in 1986, when it was sold separately to assuage concerns from third-party software developers that their products would not be able to compete.
MacPaint 2.0 was released on January 11, 1988 by Claris
. It added many improvements to the software, including the capability to open and use nine documents simultaneously. The original MacPaint operated as a single document application with a non-movable 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. 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. Claris stopped selling MacPaint in early 1998 because of diminishing sales.
(written in a combination of Assembly and Pascal) is available through the Computer History Museum, along with the QuickDraw
source code, a library to draw bitmapped graphics.
, which cost US$50. Mouse Systems' PC Paint was released for the IBM PC
, and cost US$100. IBM
released their painting package, Color Paint, for the IBM PCjr
for US$100.
Bitmap
In computer graphics, a bitmap or pixmap is a type of memory organization or image file format used to store digital images. The term bitmap comes from the computer programming terminology, meaning just a map of bits, a spatially mapped array of bits. Now, along with pixmap, it commonly refers to...
-based graphics painting
Computer graphics
Computer graphics are graphics created using computers and, more generally, the representation and manipulation of image data by a computer with help from specialized software and hardware....
software program developed by Apple Computer and released with the original Macintosh
Macintosh 128K
The Macintosh 128K machine, released as the "Apple Macintosh", was the original Apple Macintosh personal computer. Its beige case contained a monitor and came with a keyboard and mouse. An indentation in the top of the case made it easier for the computer to be lifted and carried. It had a selling...
personal computer
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
on January 22, 1984. It was sold separately for US$195 with its word processor
Word processing
Word processing is the creation of documents using a word processor. It can also refer to advanced shorthand techniques, sometimes used in specialized contexts with a specially modified typewriter.-External links:...
counterpart, MacWrite
MacWrite
MacWrite was a word processor application released along with the first Apple Macintosh systems in 1984. It was the first such program that was widely available to the public to offer WYSIWYG operation, with multiple fonts and styles...
. MacPaint was notable because it could generate graphics that could be used by other applications. Using the mouse, and the clipboard
Clipboard (software)
The clipboard is a software facility that can be used for short-term data storage and/or data transfer between documents or applications, via copy and paste operations...
and QuickDraw
QuickDraw
QuickDraw is the 2D graphics library and associated Application Programming Interface which is a core part of the classic Apple Macintosh operating system. It was initially written by Bill Atkinson and Andy Hertzfeld. QuickDraw still exists as part of the libraries of Mac OS X, but has been...
picture language, pictures could be cut from MacPaint and pasted into MacWrite documents.
Pictures could also be cut from MacPaint and pasted into the resource fork of any application via ResEdit
ResEdit
ResEdit was a developer tool application for the Apple Macintosh, used to create and edit resources directly in the Mac's resource fork architecture. It was an alternative to tools such as REdit, and the resource compiler Rez. For the average user, ResEdit was generally easier to use, because it...
, allowing application internationalization
Internationalization
In economics, internationalization has been viewed as a process of increasing involvement of enterprises in international markets, although there is no agreed definition of internationalization or international entrepreneurship...
.
The original MacPaint was developed by Bill Atkinson
Bill Atkinson
Bill Atkinson is an American computer engineer and photographer. Atkinson worked at Apple Computer from 1978 to 1990. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of California, San Diego, where Apple Macintosh developer Jef Raskin was one of his professors...
, a member of Apple's original Macintosh development team. Early development versions of MacPaint were called MacSketch, still retaining part of the name of its roots, LisaSketch. It was later developed by Claris
Claris
Claris was a computer software developer formed as a spin-off from Apple Computer in 1987. It was given the source code and copyrights to several programs that were owned by Apple, notably MacWrite and MacPaint, in order to separate Apple's application software activities from its hardware and...
, the software subsidiary of Apple which was formed in 1987. The last version of MacPaint was version 2.0, released in 1988. It was discontinued by Claris in 1998 because of diminishing sales.
Development
MacPaint was written by Bill AtkinsonBill Atkinson
Bill Atkinson is an American computer engineer and photographer. Atkinson worked at Apple Computer from 1978 to 1990. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of California, San Diego, where Apple Macintosh developer Jef Raskin was one of his professors...
, a member of Apple's original Macintosh development team. The original MacPaint consisted of 5,804 lines of Pascal
Pascal (programming language)
Pascal is an influential imperative and procedural programming language, designed in 1968/9 and published in 1970 by Niklaus Wirth as a small and efficient language intended to encourage good programming practices using structured programming and data structuring.A derivative known as Object Pascal...
computer code
Source code
In computer science, source code is text written using the format and syntax of the programming language that it is being written in. Such a language is specially designed to facilitate the work of computer programmers, who specify the actions to be performed by a computer mostly by writing source...
, augmented by another 2,738 lines of 68000
Motorola 68000
The Motorola 68000 is a 16/32-bit CISC microprocessor core designed and marketed by Freescale Semiconductor...
assembly language
Assembly language
An assembly language is a low-level programming language for computers, microprocessors, microcontrollers, and other programmable devices. It implements a symbolic representation of the machine codes and other constants needed to program a given CPU architecture...
. MacPaint's user interface was designed by Susan Kare
Susan Kare
Susan Kare is an artist and graphic designer who created many of the interface elements for the Apple Macintosh in the 1980s. She was also one of the original employees of NeXT , working as the Creative Director.-Background:Kare was born in Ithaca, New York and is the sister of aerospace engineer...
, also a member of the Macintosh team. Kare also beta tested MacPaint before release.
MacPaint uses two offscreen memory buffers to avoid flicker when dragging shapes or images across the screen. 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
Undo
Undo is a command in many computer programs. It erases the last change done to the document reverting it to an older state. In some more advanced programs such as graphic processing, undo will negate the last command done to the file being edited....
feature. In April 1983, the software's name was changed from MacSketch to MacPaint. The original MacPaint was programmed as a single-document interface. The palette positions and sizes were unalterable, as was the document window. This was different from other Macintosh software at the time, which allowed the users to move windows and resize them.
The original MacPaint did not incorporate a 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. MacPaint included a "Goodies" menu which included the FatBits tool. This menu was named the "Aids" menu in prerelease versions, but was renamed "Goodies" as public awareness of the AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
epidemic grew in the summer of 1983.
Release
MacPaint was first advertised in an 18-page brochure in December 1983, following the earlier announcement of the Macintosh 128kMacintosh 128K
The Macintosh 128K machine, released as the "Apple Macintosh", was the original Apple Macintosh personal computer. Its beige case contained a monitor and came with a keyboard and mouse. An indentation in the top of the case made it easier for the computer to be lifted and carried. It had a selling...
. The Macintosh was released on January 24, 1984 with two applications, MacPaint and MacWrite
MacWrite
MacWrite was a word processor application released along with the first Apple Macintosh systems in 1984. It was the first such program that was widely available to the public to offer WYSIWYG operation, with multiple fonts and styles...
. For a special post-election edition of Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
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 dedicating to explaining how MacWrite and MacPaint worked together. 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." MacPaint continued to be bundled free with every new Macintosh until the introduction of the Macintosh Plus
Macintosh Plus
The Macintosh Plus computer was the third model in the Macintosh line, introduced on January 16, 1986, two years after the original Macintosh and a little more than a year after the Macintosh 512K, with a price tag of US$2599...
in 1986, when it was sold separately to assuage concerns from third-party software developers that their products would not be able to compete.
Later versions
Claris
Claris was a computer software developer formed as a spin-off from Apple Computer in 1987. It was given the source code and copyrights to several programs that were owned by Apple, notably MacWrite and MacPaint, in order to separate Apple's application software activities from its hardware and...
. It added many improvements to the software, including the capability to open and use nine documents simultaneously. The original MacPaint operated as a single document application with a non-movable 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. 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. Claris stopped selling MacPaint in early 1998 because of diminishing sales.
Source code release
MacPaint 1.3's source codeSource code
In computer science, source code is text written using the format and syntax of the programming language that it is being written in. Such a language is specially designed to facilitate the work of computer programmers, who specify the actions to be performed by a computer mostly by writing source...
(written in a combination of Assembly and Pascal) is available through the Computer History Museum, along with the QuickDraw
QuickDraw
QuickDraw is the 2D graphics library and associated Application Programming Interface which is a core part of the classic Apple Macintosh operating system. It was initially written by Bill Atkinson and Andy Hertzfeld. QuickDraw still exists as part of the libraries of Mac OS X, but has been...
source code, a library to draw bitmapped graphics.
Influence
MacPaint inspired other companies to release similar products for other platforms. Some of these included Broderbund's DazzleDraw for the Apple IIApple II
The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977...
, which cost US$50. Mouse Systems' PC Paint was released for the IBM PC
IBM PC
The IBM Personal Computer, commonly known as the IBM PC, is the original version and progenitor of the IBM PC compatible hardware platform. It is IBM model number 5150, and was introduced on August 12, 1981...
, and cost US$100. IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
released their painting package, Color Paint, for the IBM PCjr
IBM PCjr
The IBM PCjr was IBM's first attempt to enter the home computer market. The PCjr, IBM model number 4860, retained the IBM PC's 8088 CPU and BIOS interface for compatibility, but various design and implementation decisions led the PCjr to be a commercial failure.- Features :Announced November 1,...
for US$100.
Version history
| Version | Release date | Release information |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | January 24, 1984 | Initial release with System Software 1.0 |
| 1.3 | May 1984 | Released with System Software 1.1 |
| 1.4 | September 1984 | Released with Macintosh 512k Macintosh 512K The Macintosh 512K Personal Computer, also known as the "Fat Mac", is the second of a long line of Apple Macintosh computers, was the first update to the original Macintosh 128K. It was virtually identical to the previous Mac, differing primarily in the amount of built-in memory , which quadrupled... |
| 1.5 | April 1985 | Released with System Software 2.0 |
| 2.0 | January 1988 | Last release |