Wacom Intuos Pen and Touch Tablet with Xara P&GD9

I jumped in to using my new Wacom Intous Pen and Touch Tablet (medium, non-Pro, $199) with Windows 7 on a tower computer, wide screen monitor, and Xara P&GD9. This is generally available (bought mine at a local Best Buy). The medium size works well with a medium size computer screen and a small one might work well with a small laptop screen. It is WiFi ready, but does not come with the hardware modules. Instead of purchasing these accessory modules, I used an USB extension cord which solved the tethering issues for me (stock cable is rather short). The Intuos Pro version is more expensive, has built in WiFi hardware, and has more function buttons.

At first I thought the Intuos/Xara interface was quirky, panning at the wrong time or shifting tool functions, but I had the Wacom set up wrong. There are several pitfalls in setting it up. The Wacom tablet settings program is tucked away in a Wacom folder at the bottom of the Start Programs menu. I moved it to my task bar during the setup process. This Wacom settings program may have several drawing programs listed, so make sure you select Xara. Each time I restart this settings app it deselects Xara, so I have to select it again. I recommend that you leave the Wacom settings app open or minimize it as you try different settings. The stock button settings were lousy and were causing the glitches. I opened Xara help and searched for "key shortcuts" and printed out the 5 pages of Xara key shortcuts. The Intuos tablet has two buttons top left and two buttons top right and the Pen has side switch with top and bottom buttons and an eraser end button. Use the key strokes listed in the key shortcuts. For example, I wrongly thought selecting "back" would be "undo", which it is not. You get to name the function which helps if you use show expressions (clicking a button shows the button functions in a semi transparent window). Here is what I changed my settings to and it really helped, being more intuitive and glitch free.

Tablet:
Ctrl Z..............................Ctrl Num-
"Undo"............................"Zoom Out"
---------------------------------------
F4..................................Ctrl Num+
"Shape Edit"....................."Zoom In"

Pen:
Eraser- erase
Top button: F2 "Select"
Bottom button: F3 "Freehand draw/paint"

Mapping: Force Proportions checked on so my drawing motions on the tablet are the same as on my horizintally elongated screen. This will have less effect if the shape of your tablet and screen are closer in proportion.

Tablet: after you get used to the button functions and like them, you can go back to tablet settings and uncheck the Show Expressions box so the function window does not pop up and get in the way or distract you.

I did some drawings before this setup and it took a long time with needing to use the mouse and undo frequently. After this setup my work flow is much, much faster (needing the keyboard and mouse far less) and control is more intuitive. My early problems were not due to Xara, but due to a poor Tablet and Pen setup. This is not rocket science but might help people new to graphics tablets, like me.

I have two Bamboo tablets, the older one is attached to my work PC, and the newer one (with wireless accessories) lives at home. In both cases, I've disabled the tablet buttons entirely, as I ended up brushing against them by accident far more often than actually using them. For the pen buttons, the first one is set to act as the Ctrl modifier, mainly for use in Paint Shop Pro where Ctrl-clicking picks up a color under the cursor. The second button is set to Ctrl-Z (Undo).

-- Ben

I think the Bamboo name has been dropped with tablets (there are still Wacom Bamboo pens). The new Wacom Pen and Touch Tablet has the buttons at the top corners. They don't get in the way when drawing but sometimes get hit when picking up the tablet.

Yes, the Bamboo name was absorbed into the Intuos line.

-- Ben

Here is a portrait of Wilhelm Roentgen from an old photo, done with the Wacom Intuos Pen and Touch Tablet
and Xara P&GD9 with the new control settings. Very easy to do.
Attachment 100207

Very nice indeed, easy to do?, I'd say most would find it a challenge.

Well done

Jim

Here's another portrait using the same hardware setup.
Teddy Roosevelt this time (posted on other threads too).
Attachment 100208