Tab key doesn't 'tab' in MS Paint Text Box anymore - is there a fix?

Hi,

Title says it all really.

I use MS Paint a lot (ask my kids who think I'm mad).

However, with the recent update of Windows (I believe the 'feature' appeared with v.1903), I can't TAB text anymore - indeed it is the subject of this thread on TenForums: New Microsoft Paint Accessibility Features in Windows 10 version 1903

Okay, so this seems to be a 'feature' that MS have imposed. It seems that Brandon LeBlanc of the Windows Insider team is the idiot that foisted this change on all of us with no way to turn the damn thing off!

The TAB key now controls which of the text box's control points (the drag handles) are active and cycles in turn through each one with repeated presses of the TAB key.

Is there any way to turn OFF this feature to get the TAB key working as it did?

I've had a good look in System and Apps and Features (Paint doesn't appear anywhere - either under 'Apps and Features' or under 'Default Apps') and I can't find anywhere where I can change the behaviour of the TAB key.

Anyone know how to do this or are we stuck with this feature that MS have imposed to "improve" our Windows experience.

Thankfully, the space bar still works (I see after trawling the web that some folks have reported that not only have they lost the ordinary TAB functionality but also that their space bar doesn't work!)

Art

I've had a good look in System and Apps and Features (Paint doesn't appear anywhere - either under 'Apps and Features' or under 'Default Apps')

In the search box next to Start on the taskbar, type paint and then select Paint from the list of results.
And you can select as where to add - it pin to start - pin to taskbar

Art,

You could rescue an old version of MS Paint from an old system image.

Mounting the image is explained in Macrium's manual.
Macrium Reflect KnowledgeBase - user guide [version-independent link]

Mount the image then find & rescue its Paint using the procedure in
Rescue Old Windows 10 Applications from Oblivion - Windows Enterprise Desktop

Addn - It keeps its old behaviour even when run within modern Windows versions. I've just tested a June 2017 [Version 1703] copy and it tabs within text as you want it to.

Denis

Hi Denis,

I have an OLD version of Windows 10 (by old, I mean it pre-dates 1809) on a laptop that is currently in the loft.

UPDATE: Just been up to check - it is version 1803, build 17134.556, 64-bit.

I have a clone of the disk in that pc on another drive (which is stored externally - i.e. not plugged into any machine).

Can I get the MS Paint Version off there?

Failing that how do I replace v.2004's version with the x64 version (yes, you are correct in saying I am running the 64-bit version of Windows 10).

The link in post #3 "Rescue Old Windows 10 Applications from Oblivion - Windows Enterprise Desktop" produces a 404 error.



Is this the article you were referncing?

Rescue-Old-Windows-10-Applications-from-Oblivion

In that article, Ed Tittel describes how to copy the old version (he uses the example of SnippingTool.exe) into a folder called D:\OldSnipTool. He cretes a language sub-folder in here for his chosen language (en-us in his case). He places the relevant .exe and the .mui files as follows - SnippingTool.exe into D:\OldSnipTool and SnippingTool.exe.mui into D:\OldSnipTool\en-US

Obviously, he is using D:\ drive as a data drive.

In my case, in the current 2004 version of Windows 10, mspaint.exe is in C:\Windows\system32 and the .mui file is in C:\Windows\System32\en-GB.

So, do I substitute MSOldPaintx64.exe for the 2004 version of mspaint in C:\Windows\system32 and the MSOldPaintx64.exe.mui in C:\Windows\System32\en-GB?

I don't see why you have to create a folder (in Ed's example) called D:\OldSnipTool. Unless this is the old version he is copying to replace the new version (or to put the old version back if it is missing in the new version) of Windows.

I'm also guessing that after a major update, youd have to check which version of (in my case) mspaint the OS was going to use? Seems to make sense.

Cheers,

Art

ArthurDent said:

I have a clone of the disk in that pc on another drive (wich is stored externally - i.e. not plugged into any machine). Can I get the MS Paint Version off there?

Yes

ArthurDent said:

Failing that how do I replace v.2004's version with the x64 version

You do not need to replace anything. You can put the rescued version anywhere you like. It is additional.

ArthurDent said:

The link in post #3 "Rescue Old Windows 10 Applications from Oblivion - Windows Enterprise Desktop" produces a 404 error. Is this the article you were referncing? Rescue-Old-Windows-10-Applications-from-Oblivion

You found the article in its new location correctly. I did not know it had moved.

I'll post again shortly about your more detailed questions concerning the procedure.

Denis

Art,

ArthurDent said:

So, do I substitute MSOldPaintx64.exe for the 2004 version of mspaint in C:\Windows\system32 and the MSOldPaintx64.exe.mui in C:\Windows\System32\en-GB?

There is no need to substitute anything. Just use Ed's suggestion of sticking the paint.exe wherever you want*** and putting its mui file in a subfolder of whatever you have chosen. It is the folder-subfolder relationship that is the significant issue. And you are correct about us using -----\en-GB because that is the language of our Windows.
*** Ed was not trying to suggest that you had to put it on the D:\ drive. That was just what he chose for his example.

You can then make a shortcut to it in the normal manner and stick that into your Start menu or wherever you keep your application links. Call the shortcut PaintOld or somesuch.

Keeping it as an additional item is better than trying to substitute it for the current one because the current one will get overwritten in future updates so you'd have to do it all again later on. That is why Ed suggested making it additional in the first place. He has not tried to replace anything. Neither have I. And I don't think you should.

ArthurDent said:

I'm also guessing that after a major update, youd have to check which version of (in my case) mspaint the OS was going to use? Seems to make sense.

By making it additional [not replacing anything] you can rest assured that it will survive all future updates. So you will not need to check anything.

---

Art,

You are free to stick PaintOld wherever you want. I always put such things in a folder for which Admin permission is required to change things so that Windows is protecting it from hackers.

Some people might stick it in its own subfolder within C:\Program files (x86). All my tools are within a folder C:\Tools that I have created specifically for this purpose. I have a lot of tools in there within subfolders of their own so I can always find things easily. My PaintOld.exe and its subfolder mui thing are in
C:\Tools\External\Microsoft\PaintOld
but you are free to make your own mind up about locations.

My C:\Tools folder has particular permissions applied so that I have to give Admin permission every time I want to change anything in there but that is not very often. The procedure I used to set C:\Tools permissions is given in the annex to
Make Task scheduler run a batch file minimised and with a specific icon - TenForums
- I created C:\Tools, set up the permissions and then they get applied automatically as I create subfolders inside it and add files to them.
- So the permissions job is just a one-off.
- I cannot remember, off the top of my head, whether or not you are familar with setting up permissions. If you have any questions about the proecedure than just fire away.

Denis

@Try3

UPDATE: Complete success!

I put the old 64-bit version of MS Paint in the folder C:\Program Files\Old MSPaint and then copied the .exe file and en-GB folder to here (checked using CMD that I knew the exact path to these files) then navigated to C:\Program Files\Old MSPaint through File Explorer, created a shortcut on the desktop then pinned to both Start Menu and Taskbar (after removing the shortcuts to 'New & Improved' MS Paint) and 'Voila!'

Everything works as it should and I can now happily TAB in a text box in Paint!

One very happy camper!

Thank you Denis

Kind regards,

Art

- - - Updated - - -

xsteveuk said:

In the search box next to Start on the taskbar, type paint and then select Paint from the list of results.
And you can select as where to add - it pin to start - pin to taskbar

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the reply - but I think you misunderstood what I was saying.

It wasn't that I couldn't find Paint (it lurks in Start > Windows Accessories) it was that I was trying to find the app so that I could right-click and modify the new 'Accessibility Features' of Microsoft Paint that had been 'added' since the ver 1903 update in May 2019, but the app (presumably because it is part of the Windows OS and not a stand-alone app) doesn't appear in either 'Apps and Features' or under 'Default Apps' as you might expect it would.

However, if you follow the tread after your post - specifically posts #4 (this link: Rescue-Old-Windows-10-Applications-from-Oblivion), post #6 (for info mainly) and post #7 directly above this post), you should be able to get back an old version of a favourite app if M$oft decide to "update" it as they did with Paint to "improve" it.

Regards,

Art

Art,

You followed up elsewhere with a question on the subject. Here is my braindump on this subject:-

I use EdTittels' method of rescuing those old components as well [also mentioned above a few times].
Rescue Old Windows 10 Applications from Oblivion - Windows Enterprise Desktop

I just stick shortcuts to the rescued versions in my menus***. I also copy the shortcuts into my SendTo folders so I can right-click on a file, SendTo, PaintOld
%userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\SendTo

You want to go further by changing the existing references to point to the rescued versions. I have never bothered going that far.
- If I was going to try, I'd use NirSoft's FileTypesMan to change the file association. I have used FileTypesMan to view associations [albeit with a vague recollection that I once used it to change one] so I cannot help much.
- The links I kept about using it are the sum total of my knowledge of the subject
File Types Manager review - gHacks Tech News
How to make any program the default on Windows 10 - gHacks Tech News
Setting File Associations - Another Step Backwards - TenForums
Using FileTypesMan [dalchina] - TenForums

But I did note these a few months ago and I think they might provide a method for substituting your rescued version [in place of the new version]. Once again, I noted this because it was interesting but have had no reason to try any of it.
Callender post #42
Replacing one application with another - gHacks Tech News
An Introduction to Image File Execution Options - Malwarebytes
example exe substitution [LesFrech #43] - TenForums

But all these methods take a lot of effort and that effort would almost certainly have to be repeated after later Version updates. I'm happy to just have my shortcuts & SendTo entries for old versions.

All the best,
Denis

*** I use Taskbar Toolbars as my menu system rather than the Windows Start menu. See Taskbar Toolbars - Creating and naming, customising, moving [post #20] - TenForumsTutorials