Table of Contents
Set general preferences
In the General tab, you can control different features of Pixelmator Pro, from the way the application and its elements look like and how it displays documents, to how images are opened. You can also turn things like guides, action tooltips, and information labels on or off.
Change Pixelmator Pro appearance
You can work with Pixelmator Pro in light or dark mode. Pixelmator Pro can also adapt to your macOS appearance automatically.
To switch between light and dark appearances:
- Choose Pixelmator Pro > Preferences (from the Pixelmator Pro menu at the top of your screen).
- In the General tab, do one of the following:
- Click the thumbnail of your preferred appearance to select it.
- Select "Set appearance automatically" to set Pixelmator Pro appearance according to the current macOS appearance.
Note: This feature is available on macOS Mojave and later.
Customize the background of the Pixelmator Pro application window
You can change the background color of the Pixelmator Pro application window. Doing this can make it easier to work with documents that might have the same background color as the window background.
- Choose Pixelmator Pro > Preferences (from the Pixelmator Pro menu at the top of your screen).
In the General tab, do one of the following:
- Click the Window Background pop-up menu and choose Higher Contrast.
- Click the color well next to the Window Background pop-up menu to pick a custom background color.
To reset the background color to default, click the Window Background pop-up menu and choose Default.
Customize the transparency grid
The checkerboard grid indicates transparency in an image. In Pixelmator Pro, you can change the color of this grid, adjust its brightness and opacity, or turn off the checkerboard completely.
To customize the transparency grid:
- Choose Pixelmator Pro > Preferences (from the Pixelmator Pro menu at the top of your screen).
In the General tab, do any of the following:
- Click the Transparency color well and pick a color.
- Deselect "Checkerboard" to view transparency in an image as a solid color.
To reset the transparency to default, click Reset Transparency.
Choose the default contents of a new, empty image
When you create a new image in Pixelmator Pro, a background layer is automatically added for you. You can choose it to be black, white, or transparent.
- Choose Pixelmator Pro > Preferences (from the Pixelmator Pro menu at the top of your screen).
- In the General tab, click the New Image Contents pop-up menu and choose White, Black, or Transparent.
Choose how to open JPEG, PNG, and TIFF images
When opening JPEG, PNG, and TIFF images, Pixelmator Pro typically imports them, creating new Pixelmator Pro documents and leaving the originals untouched. This lets you edit images completely nondestructively.
If you'd like to edit destructively, overwriting the originals, you can also customize this:
- Choose Pixelmator Pro > Preferences (from the Pixelmator Pro menu at the top of your screen).
- In the General tab, select or deselect "Import JPEG, PNG, and TIFF images".
Once you're done editing an image, choose File > Save from the File menu at the top of the screen and any changes will be saved directly to the original JPEG, PNG, or TIFF file.
Note: Turning off this option also disables Auto Save and Versions for all documents.
Hide or show tooltips
When you hover a pointer over a tool in the tools sidebar, you can see illustrated tool descriptions along with the links to the dedicated User Guide articles. Tooltips can also accompany actions such as Undo, Redo, Cut, or Paste. Such tooltips show up directly on the canvas as you perform an action.
- Choose Pixelmator Pro > Preferences (from the Pixelmator Pro menu at the top of your screen).
- In the General tab, do any of the following:
- Select or deselect "Show tool description tooltips" to show or hide the tool descriptions.
- Select or deselect "Show action tooltips on the canvas" to show or hide the information labels.