Hide Floating Windows in Paint.NET Shortcut

This guide explains how to hide floating utility windows in Paint.NET to maximize your canvas workspace. While many photo editors use a single master toggle to hide all interface elements at once, Paint.NET handles floating panels differently. You will learn the exact shortcut keys required to hide these panels, how to quickly clear your screen, and alternative methods for keeping your workspace unobstructed.

Paint.NET does not feature a single dedicated shortcut key to hide all floating windows simultaneously. Instead, the application assigns individual function keys to toggle each of the four utility windows on and off:

• F5: Toggles the Tools window.
• F6: Toggles the History window.
• F7: Toggles the Layers window.
• F8: Toggles the Colors window.

To quickly achieve a clean view of your canvas using the keyboard, press F5, F6, F7, and F8 in sequence. Pressing the same keys again restores each panel to its previous position on the screen.

Alternatively, you can toggle these windows using the user interface. In the top-right corner of the menu bar, four square icons correspond to Tools, History, Layers, and Colors. Clicking an active, highlighted icon closes that specific floating window, while clicking an inactive icon reopens it.

Paint.NET also provides an automatic transparency feature designed to prevent floating windows from blocking your view. When you draw, select, or move the cursor close to an active floating panel, the window automatically becomes semi-transparent, allowing you to see the canvas underneath without manually closing any panels.