my calligraphy brushes in Illustrator don´t have the option "pressure" available anymore.
I have a Wacom Intuos and this problem is only since two weeks or so. Before, I was able to create new calligraphy brushes with pressure sensitivity available.
Can anyone please help me? I need this function desperately.
I´m on a Windows 11 Enterprise, Version 10.0.22631 Build 22631
The tablet driver is version 6.4.5-2 (it was recently updated, yes)
And the tablet is an Intuos Pro L, PTH 851, Version 1.0.0.209
I suspect it could be the tablet driver (yet everything here seems to be running fine, but before I updated it, Illustrator and Photoshop were complaining about the tablet driver being outdated).
In Photoshop I still have pressure sensitivity though.
Another suspect could be a third-party-app, the driver of my mouse (Evoluent) has newly been installed too (3 or 4 weeks ago).
Do you have Windows Ink enabled in the Wacom Tablet driver? Usually that option has to be checked for the tablet to have any pressure sensitive operations. Turning on Windows Ink unfortunately opens a big can of worms in other respects. I really wish Wacom could develop a tablet driver that completely bypasses Windows Ink.
Sometimes I have to reboot the computer because the Wacom tablet driver sometimes stops responding. It's often necessary to reboot Windows after installing an update for the Wacom tablet driver. That might fix those issues. Of course Windows Ink creates all sorts of other issues, such as interferring with any press and hold functions. The small asterisk usually appears next to the Pen tool or Brush tool when the tool is going to start drawing a new path.
Have you tried resetting Illustrator's Preferences file (press and hold Ctrl+Alt+Shift when launching Illustrator)? It could clear out some "gunk" to make it possible for you to bring up Calligraphic Brush Options when double-clicking one of the brush icons in the Brushes palette.
The asterisk will only appear next to tools like the Brush tool when the tool isn't adding to or editing an existing path. When the asterisk is there any clicking will begin a new path.
Hallo, also nach diversen Adobe-Support-Anrufen habe ich nun parallel zur aktuellsten Illustrator-Version 28.2 noch die Version 27.7 installiert - der Support-Mitarbeiter sagte, es sei der Wacom Treiber, der hier Probleme macht.
In Version 27.7 klappt nun auch die Drucksensitivität beim Kalligrafie-Pinsel wieder. Sie hoffen darauf, dass Wacom bald ein Update rausbringt, das das Problem behebt.
Oops, I´m sorry. Once again in English: After a few calls of the Adobe Support I now have installed Illustrator version 27.7 parallel to the current version. In version 27.7, the pressure sensitivity is still available for calligraphy brushes.
Adobe says they are hoping that Wacom will publish a new update for their driver soon, because this seems to be a problem caused by the Wacom driver.
I really wish Wacom would develop a driver that did not rely on Windows Ink at all. My opinion of Windows Ink could not be any lower. I don't know what Microsoft's developers (or executives higher up) were thinking when they dreamed up that garbage. That junk should be resident only on certain Microsoft Surface products; it doesn't need to be present across all installations of Windows. I have to leave Windows Ink disabled in the Wacom tablet driver because I just can't put up with the ways Windows Ink disrupts the basic operations of the pen and tablet.
The biggest problem is operations that involve pressing the pen tip down and dragging. Windows Ink blocks it. In doing so, everything from animated zoom in Illustrator to moving scroll bars on a window is disabled. I've tried lots of different settings combinations and even hacks into the Windows Registry. The dreaded circle icon thing might disappear, but nothing fully gets rid of the problem. It's like playing whack-a-mole. Windows Ink adds other aggravations. If I want to select and copy a string of text Windows Ink wants to "help" me do that by getting in the way again. And if I click into an empty text field that stupid handwriting text window pop up is bound to jump in the way. Windows Ink doesn't care if my computer has a really great mechanical keyboard with CherryMX switches. It often doesn't care if I tried disabling the text entry pop-up in Windows' settings. Windows Ink thinks my computer is an Apple Newton from the early 1990's. I've complained to Wacom about these problems. Either they can't do anything about it or the complaints are falling on deaf ears.
I'm a PC guy, but when I need to do some pressure sensitive drawing tasks I have to use my iPad Pro and Apple Pencil. The device works like it should and lets me maintain my sanity.
I know exactly what you mean! At home, I used to have problems with that dreaded white circle too, until I googled and discovered that you can disable it. With my older Wacom, everything now works fine and I can illustrate in Photoshop properly. By now I have an iPad too, and I love painting on it, even if I haven´t created a brush like my go-to brush in Photoshop yet. It´s much more effortless with the iPad.
I don´t like that Windows is such a nanny system and takes away decisions out of users hands too...
I suspect the root of the problem with Windows Ink (and other problems in the Windows OS) involves executives making decisions that are motivated more by boosting stock prices rather than improving the experience of computer users. Windows Ink is literally a solution in search of a problem. But the bosses insisted on forcing it into the operating system anyway. All of the aggravations I described about Windows Ink would not exist if these guys would just test their software properly.
In regard to my reference of the Apple Newton, my smart phone is a Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. It has an S-Pen. My previous phone, a Note 5, had a pen as well. I'll use the pen to click on buttons or hand write notes, such as my grocery list. But I have never hand-written responses to text messages using that pen. I always use the on-screen keyboard. It's faster.
After months of having no pressure sensitivity in Adobe Illustrator, and my company has forbidden to use an older version of Illustrator, I finally found the solution and it´s very simple:
Go to Edit > Settings Down at the end of the list you find "devices" > go there Activate the radio button for "Enable Wacom" (the terms may vary, I only have a German version of Illustrator, but you will find your way!)
Fixed!!! I had to adjust the pressure sensitivity in the Wacom settings for Illustrator a little, but finally, the "pressure" option when creating a brush is active again!!!
My God Adobe, please - it´s impossible that no one in user support knows about this problem!!!
Yeah, checking that box often doesn't do anything to help. The Blob Brush might act like it is responding to pressure sensitive actions from the Wacom Pen, but then in other sessions it may not. You'll get monotone strokes when drawing. Enabling Windows Ink in the Wacom Tablet driver is the only way to get reliable pressure sensitive functions from the pen. But enabling Windows Ink also enables a LOT of extremely aggravating behaviors to take over the computer. Windows Ink is probably the thing I despise most about the Windows OS.
In my case it was the only thing which enabled the "pressure" option in the brushes again.
I had the problem that whenever I created a new brush, this option was greyed out. And it was only by chance I stumbled over this possibilty in the settings. If I was a self-employed illustrator which was dependent on this function for illustrations, only to discover this months later how to enable it again, it would have been a catastrophe, work-wise.
These days, if I want to draw something with pressure sensitive response I'll use my iPad and Apple Pencil. I don't have to fight with it like I do with the Wacom tablet. Anyone could figure Microsoft would take notice of the Apple Pencil and iPad settings and mimic that on Windows. But they don't. Windows Ink just sucks.
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