The stylus pen delivered with Surface Pro is perhaps the most important accessory for Microsoft’s newest tablet. And while it does a lot of things right, it falters when it comes to supporting pressure sensitivity in a large number of applications.
Andrew already covered the issue in great detail here, but needless to say many users who bought the tablet have already complained about it on Twitter.
Microsoft has been lethal quick to acknowledge the issue and confirmed to ZDNet that it is working on updating the software to make the digital pen work in other programs. In fact, the company explained the issue in great detail:
“Surface Pro uses Windows Inbox Drivers and APIs (application programming interfaces) for the Surface pen, which support advanced features such as pressure sensitivity and eraser functionality. There are a number of apps in the Store that leverage these new Windows APIs and can take advantage of all that the Surface pen has to offer.
The Surface pen does work with Photoshop, which runs on Surface Pro, though advanced features such as pressure sensitivity and eraser functionality may not be available at this time. Microsoft is working with the necessary partners to make advanced features of the Surface pen available across a number of applications in the near future.”
Now whether this update comes in its regular monthly Patch Tuesday series of fixes or as a separate download remains to be seen. If it is the former, then it is reasonable to expect something in March, as this month’s Patch Tuesday is already set to go live in a few hours.
But if it does show up in today’s Patch Tuesday update, you will be the first to know.
All Comments
I got my surface pro in the mail today… Nice machine overall, but the pen has turned out to be garbage so far. Hopefully the update will come soon and fix it.
I was hoping to be able to use this to sketch when away from my machine, but it does not come close to the responsiveness of my cintiq on the applications I run (Toon Boom Harmony animation programs). It also doesn’t work properly on pressure sensitivity or eraser in the program. I’m extremely disappointed in this pen; the pen was a major selling point to me. I’m not a professional artist, but animation is a major hobby of mine.
Pressure sensitivity and eraser is a feature that must be supported by your software. It has nothing to do with MS. Either wait for the upgrade of your software or use keyboard and mouse instead. Last is to change your software but first check if it supports pressure sensitivity and eraser.
Yeah, took boom works great with my two wacom tablets, so it’s either the hardware or driver compatibility. I had a chance to use it on some other programs and the experience varies from good to poor. The wacom pens don’t work on it, so it is diferent technology. Hopefully it will get straightened out. I think the size is great for drawing as I like to draw in different places and positions. Oh well, the price for being an early adopter.
I got my surface pro in the mail today… Nice machine overall, but the pen has turned out to be garbage so far. Hopefully the update will come soon and fix it.
I was hoping to be able to use this to sketch when away from my machine, but it does not come close to the responsiveness of my cintiq on the applications I run (Toon Boom Harmony animation programs). It also doesn’t work properly on pressure sensitivity or eraser in the program. I’m extremely disappointed in this pen; the pen was a major selling point to me. I’m not a professional artist, but animation is a major hobby of mine.
To say the least the pin is a major disappointment. $900 worth of hardware that worked for about 4 weeks. Endless resets, software reinstall and limited support options. I fear that many of the solutions provided, if they
worked, were by accident. Bought the surface for it network capabilities. However when the package as sold to you stops working and even the basic functions of the stylus stop, you have to wonder. Combine this with endless system updates that never complete and the nightmare continues.
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