Graphing with Paint

Some on line math classes require graphing as part of the homework. Of course, you could draw the graphs on paper and scan them in, but you might want to generate your graphs directly on the computer. Fortunately, you probably already have a usable (rather basic) tool for this purpose, Microsoft Paint. If you go under the start option, then to All Programs and then to Accessories you should find paint

The starting point for graphing is a sheet of blank graph paper. This sheet is supplied by Mark Dugopolski, who has given permission for unlimited copies. Save the image on your computer and use it whenever you need to draw a graph.

Right-click on the graph, then select “Save Target As” from the pop-up menu. Make sure that when you save it, the file type is “gif” so that your computer will know to treat it as an image. Remember where you saved the file.

Open the graph with paint, draw a graph, as required by the problem, and save the resulting image as a gif file in a reserved area (I use a sub-folder within "my documents").

Use the brush tool to for drawing guide-dots along the path of the line or curve that you need to graph. You could also use the circle or rectangle tool, but I find the brush easier to work with. The dots drawn with the pencil are too small to see easily.

Use the line drawing tool, rather than the "pencil" or "paint brush" for making a straight line. The line-drawing tool produces a much neater result. To draw a line through two two points, start at one point and draw the line segment through the second point. Then, start at the second point and draw the line segment through the first point. If you are careful, the line segments completely overlap to make one continuous line. If you are not careful enough, there will be a slight blurring as shown in the illustration on the left.

If you want to write text on your graph, make sure that the “Draw Opaque” option is off. Otherwise the text will be surrounded by a distracting white rectangle.

One limitation of Microsoft Paint is the lack of dashed or dotted lines. You can make the line dashed by erasing part of it.

You can draw a reasonable approximation of a curve by connecting several guide-dots with line segments. For a better looking curve, connect the two outermost guide-dots with the curve tool and drag the connecting curve so that it goes through the dots i the middle. This method requires patience, practice, and the frequent use of the erasor.

	The starting point for graphing is a sheet of blank graph paper. This sheet is supplied by Mark Dugopolski, who has given permission for unlimited copies. Save the image on your computer and use it whenever you need to draw a graph. Right-click on the graph, then select “Save Target As” from the pop-up menu. Make sure that when you save it, the file type is “gif” so that your computer will know to treat it as an image. Remember where you saved the file. Open the graph with paint, draw a graph, as required by the problem, and save the resulting image as a gif file in a reserved area (I use a sub-folder within "my documents").
	Use the brush tool to for drawing guide-dots along the path of the line or curve that you need to graph. You could also use the circle or rectangle tool, but I find the brush easier to work with. The dots drawn with the pencil are too small to see easily.
	Use the line drawing tool, rather than the "pencil" or "paint brush" for making a straight line. The line-drawing tool produces a much neater result. To draw a line through two two points, start at one point and draw the line segment through the second point. Then, start at the second point and draw the line segment through the first point. If you are careful, the line segments completely overlap to make one continuous line. If you are not careful enough, there will be a slight blurring as shown in the illustration on the left. If you want to write text on your graph, make sure that the “Draw Opaque” option is off. Otherwise the text will be surrounded by a distracting white rectangle.
	One limitation of Microsoft Paint is the lack of dashed or dotted lines. You can make the line dashed by erasing part of it.
	You can draw a reasonable approximation of a curve by connecting several guide-dots with line segments. For a better looking curve, connect the two outermost guide-dots with the curve tool and drag the connecting curve so that it goes through the dots i the middle. This method requires patience, practice, and the frequent use of the erasor.