How to Edit Text in Paint 3D

Tech & Gaming
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Paint 3D handles text differently from classic Paint and there are a few things worth knowing about how the text tool works and what its limitations are.

Adding text in Paint 3D

  1. Open Paint 3D and open your image or canvas
  2. In the top toolbar, click the Text icon (looks like a capital A)
  3. On the right sidebar, choose between 2D text and 3D text
  4. Click anywhere on the canvas to place a text box
  5. Type your text
  6. Use the sidebar options to change font, size, color, bold, italic, and alignment
  7. Click outside the text box or press Escape when done

2D text vs 3D text

2D text behaves like standard text – flat on the canvas, like what you’d expect from a basic image editor. Use this for captions, labels, or annotations.

3D text creates text as a 3D object that can be rotated, resized in 3D space, and given a material/color. It’s more visually interesting but harder to position precisely and isn’t appropriate for all use cases.

Editing existing text

This is where Paint 3D’s limitation becomes apparent. Once you’ve clicked away from a text box and it’s been rasterized into the canvas (flattened into the image), you cannot edit that text. It becomes pixels, not editable text.

If you want to edit text later, use the History/Undo (Ctrl+Z) to go back before the text was committed. There’s no way to re-select and edit already-committed text.

The workaround: Keep text on a separate layer if you need to edit it later. Paint 3D supports layers (Canvas menu > Layers panel). Place text on its own layer and don’t flatten until you’re finished editing.

Changing text color

In the text sidebar, there’s a color swatch. Click it to open the color picker. You can use standard colors, enter a hex code for precise color matching, or use the eyedropper to match a color from the canvas.

Limitations vs other tools

Paint 3D’s text tool is functional but limited compared to dedicated image editors. For precise text placement, font control, or non-destructive text layers, GIMP (free) or Canva (web-based, free tier) are better options. For documents or presentations, Word or PowerPoint handle text far more flexibly.