MS Paint - inaccurate pixel management problem after May '19 update

So typically I use MS Paint frequently for basic image manipulation - ie. Copy/Paste duplication etc.

However after the last software update, back in May, the new features have significantly affected my ability to continue using this tool.
Their focus, it appears, was to make it easier to draw freeform utilizing the keyboard arrows and various hotkeys. (Here's a link regarding the new features.)

My standard operation was to select a section of an image - copy/paste duplication - and then line up the copied selection next to the original with a 1pixel gap separating the two. I could accomplish this before by just nudging the duplication with the arrow keys, as it would only nudge the image by 1pixel, providing exceptional accuracy. Except now the arrow keys feel "looser" and are too inaccurate to make such precise manipulations. I tried holding shift - but even that nudges it by 2-3 pixel points at a time. What a frustrating issue.

If anyone knows of a way to change the MS Paint settings to force a 1-pixel nudge using the arrow keys (like the way it was before the May update) I would greatly appreciate your input. Thanks.
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Yes, this is a bug in version 1903, it's fixed in version 20H1:
MSPAINT arrow key behaviour? : Windows10

cruTech3000 said:

...accomplish this before by just nudging the duplication with the arrow keys, as it would only nudge the image by 1pixel, providing exceptional accuracy. Except now the arrow keys feel "looser" and are too inaccurate to make such precise manipulations...

LEOPEVA64 said:

Yes, this is a bug in version 1903, it's fixed in version 20H1: MSPAINT arrow key behaviour? : Windows10

I am amazed that MS could break something as classic and simple as Paint. Yes, on testing I find that in 1903 MS Paint has the bug you describe.

What you can do if you still have an un-upgraded machine to hand is copy MS Paint from 1809 (or ealier), put it in a separate folder somewhere and run it from there. The bug is entirely inside MS Paint, an older version does not exhibit this bug even when run in 1903. I tested this with the 1703 version of Paint that I long ago tucked away in a 'Old Windows apps' folder under C:\Program files.

Bree said:

There are two files you require: mspaint.exe and mspaint.exe.mui. The first can be found in C:\Windows\System32\ the .mui file is in a language-specific sub-folder of System32

Can I backup MS Paint?

If you don't have another machine, but have not yet deleted Windows.old you should find your old MS Paint there too. Another place to find it (if you have install media for 1809 or earlier) is to open the sources\Install.esd with 7-Zip File Manager.

Thank you to LeoPeva64 for providing a link to the "classic" build. Installed and tested, works perfectly.
Thanks also to Bree for providing some helpful tips.

My heroes.

There's one last thing left to address. How do I get it so that the pathway, when clicking on "EDIT" in the context shell menu, redirects to the "classic" app, rather than the default one?
C:\Windows\System32\mspaint1

cruTech3000 said:

There's one last thing left to address. How do I get it so that the pathway, when clicking on "EDIT" in the context shell menu, redirects to the "classic" app, rather than the default one?
C:\Windows\System32\mspaint1

Since there's been little activity towards this, I decided to fix it myself. In case anyone else would like to know.

To change the "Edit" destination path (at least for images), I used RegEdit.
Navigate to here:
Computer\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations\image\shell\edit\command

For me, all I had to do was modify the existing key.
"%systemroot%\system32\mspaint1.exe" "%1"
Simply added in the number 1, which points to my "classic" Paint exe in the system32 folder.

As it is, I consider this topic now solved.
Thanks again.