This update has two main changes: a big improvement for startup performance, and availability on the Windows Store. The “Classic” release is still available, of course, and will continue to be updated and maintained on roughly the same schedule as the Store release. I will be publishing another blog post discussing the Store release very soon (edit: here you go).

As usual, you can download the update directly from the website, or you can use the built-in updater via Settings –> Updates –> Check Now. You can also purchase it from the Windows Store, in which case updates will become completely automatic and you’ll never have to worry about it ever again

Here’s the official changelog:

Improved: Startup performance has been improved by about 25%

Startup performance has been improved by about 25% New: Now available on the Windows Store! https://www.microsoft.com/store/apps/9NBHCS1LX4R0

Now available on the Windows Store! https://www.microsoft.com/store/apps/9NBHCS1LX4R0 Improved: Plugins can now be installed per-user into “Documents\paint.net App Files” into folders named Effects, FileTypes, and Shapes. This is required for using plugins with the Store release. To disable this (e.g. for administrators), set the “Plugins/AllowLoadingPluginsFromUserLocations” key to “false” (HKLM\Software\paint.net).

Plugins can now be installed per-user into “Documents\paint.net App Files” into folders named Effects, FileTypes, and Shapes. This is required for using plugins with the Store release. To disable this (e.g. for administrators), set the “Plugins/AllowLoadingPluginsFromUserLocations” key to “false” (HKLM\Software\paint.net). Improved: When using Portable Mode, custom palette files are stored next to the EXE instead of in Documents

When using Portable Mode, custom palette files are stored next to the EXE instead of in Documents Fixed: There was a crash on some systems that may have prevented the app from starting up (MissingMethodException for “System.GC.Collect”)

Enjoy!