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P: Pen Tablet & Windows Ink

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
August 20, 2020
104 replies
7168 views

Hello everybody.

With the latest Photoshop update (21.2.2), the fix we had to get the pressure sensitivity back with the PSUserConfig.txt fix is no longer working.

This fix was necessary to work properly with a Pen Stylus on Windows, without using the Windows Ink features.

We are used to turn of Windows Ink systematicaly when using a Pen Tablet because it causes a lot of issues. (Wacom and other brands)

Why Windows Ink is not suitable

Windows Ink ON :

1-There is a 1 second delay with every new clic and drag before the cursor catches up with the stylus. It happens when dragging a window, using a slider to adjust a value (in photoshop or any other app), resizing a layer, and even when drawing. So the begining of each new stroke will freeze for 1 sec before catching up to the movement of the stylus. You can imagine the hell it can be when hatching, or doing fast repetitive movements/adjustements.

2-Certain applications, like Chrome for exemple, don't respond to the stylus for certain things. You can't move the chrome window around at all when windows ink is enabled. You can't drag and drop email in your inbox from one tab to another, some clics and double clics aren't registered at all ...etc.

3-Windows Pen & Stylus fonctionnalites are working against a fluid use of a Stylus. Especially the infamous "Press and hold" setting, that needs to be disabled systematically if you don't want this "mouse freezing blue circle of death" to appear each time you stop moving your hand for more than half of a second. (I suspect this functionnality to be responsible for the lag before each new stroke, even when you have it turned off)

4-Just while typing this post, I've discoverd a new issue. With Windows Ink enabled, it is impossible to select text by dragging over it with the stylus. I had to drop it and use my mouse each time I wanted to edit a sentence.

Windows Ink OFF:

1-Everything works perfectly.

2-Pressure sensitivity in Photoshop is gone, and need to be reactivated with PSUserConfig.

These are all the reasons (I can think of right now) why we have no choice but to disable Windows Ink, and use the WinTab alternative to get the pressure sensitivity back in Photoshop.

I hope you now understand why enabling Windows Ink is not a solution.

We had a solution, please do not take it away from us.

I'm assuming that everyone would love to use regular settings, and not to have to tamper with this kind of work around, but unfortunatly that is not possible.

Again, using WinTab is not a choice, it is essential for any serious workflow.

I'm currently paying for the full Adobe suite, and not being able to work properly is a big issue right now. Not knowing when this will be resolved is very worrisome.

PS: "Windows Ink" or "Pen and Touch" drivers on Windows, are currently pushing for touch and tablet functionnalities. These are cumbersome and unfit for any professional Stylus use.

Windows

Show previous replies

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hayungs

Known Participant

Or they excuse themselves out of the problem by pointing to their new apps like Fresco which are at best Alpha phase and doesn't solve the problem inside PS.

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FeedbackCommunityMember

Inspiring

If Adobe would listen to painters, we would have got a more powerful brush engine by now. Their main target group obviously is mediocre photographers.

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hayungs

Known Participant

For YEARS and on almost every Update we get new problems with Tablet support. Can't Adobe with it's billions of profits afford pay some professional digital painters as consultants for the developer team?
Is nobody of Adobe using their own software to experience all these problems in daily usage?

mattstix

Known Participant

We're all bored of this and it's been going on for years. It's not a small problem like the dozens of others on this site. this issue makes Photoshop unusable for many.

Today I sent the below email, copying in all three CEOs of Adobe, Microsoft and Wacom. Now I KNOW neither they nor anyone 10 levels below them will read them, however it may get passed to someone who may pay attention.

I suggest others do the same and they may notice. If everyone who has commented on here does it in the next day or so, someone "up top" will hopefully spot a pattern!

Then again, probably not but it's worth a shot!

To: snarayen@adobe.com; Nobu.Ide@wacom-europe.com; satyan@microsoft.com

The Windows Ink / Wacom / Photoshop triangle of doom

Dear all,

I write as one of many, many customers of all three of your respective companies who are currently totally hamstrung by the failure in compatibility between your respective systems, that used to work perfectly.

As you (or rather, whoever actually reads this) will find here and here, Windows users are experiencing insurmountable problems caused by Windows Ink and Adobe’s latest release of Photoshop, not just with regard Wacom tablets but given their dominance, predominantly so.

Photoshop 21.2.2 has removed the slapdash workaround that thousands of Windows users have had to use in recent years, in order to make the pressure sensitivity flaunted by Wacom (and other tablet manufacturers) actually work, without the myriad other issues that using Windows Ink causes. This workaround has been removed in the latest Photoshop, crippling the workflows of potentially thousands of creatives who pay you all to use their products. This was knows as “PSuserconfig.txt”. The latest release has removed this workaround and forced tablet users to make one of two undesirable choices:

Turn on Windows Ink to retain pressure sensitivity but suffer UIs rendered unusable by lagging sliders, enormously reduced stylus functionality, repeated popups, zoom issues.... the list goes on and can be read extensively on the links above. OR....
Turn off Windows Ink and remove all the issues above BUT without pressure sensitivity – destroying the workflow of designers, photographers, digital painters etc. globally

Neither option is acceptable and these problems have been going on for YEARS. I am just an enthusiast and this is not ruining my career. BUT I still pay hard earned money to you all and am bored with these failings. I pity those who are struggling to make a living in the pandemic but are hampered by things that worked fine suddenly not working, for no reason and with no explanation.

When I say YEARS, I mean YEARS. The Wacom/Adobe/Windows Ink issues are legendary.

I know the individuals addressed in this email won’t read this but I live in hope that it will be passed to those who will.

Please, please sort this out. It’s making your companies look foolish across the creative industries.

Just a suggestion!

Loekvugs

Known Participant

If you share the link to the forum thread with the most comments then we can all start adding more comments to it. I don't know how much that would help, but at least it might get some attention.

Loekvugs

Known Participant

I'm so glad more people are talking about this. When I switched from windows 7 to 10 I was surprised by how bad Windows Ink worked. Having it enabled just to have pressure in photoshop causes so many other functionality problems.

I really hope one of these things happen. Either Photoshop should work fine without Windows Ink and without PSuserconfig.txt or Microsoft should add way more options to the Windows Ink settings.

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Babelur

Participant

I have bamboo cte-650 and problem with pen pressure too. Сan't work in the latest version of photoshop.

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PhilT_GP

Known Participant

I am using the XP-Pen 640 - same issues. the PSUserSettings has worked in the past.
I believe this is 99% compatible with the Wacom tables.