slightly OT: using a Wacom tablet with dual monitors

[Per-Anders]

It's down to how you set things up in each program, typically though if one screen is smaller than the other it ust creates an overall rectangle that both screens fit into and maps to that (so in certain areas on the tablet the cursor will jsut be up against the edge of the smaller screen), you can of couse map it so that the wacom only works on one monitor, there's even a tool out there that lets you use this setup and a hotkey to swap between screens, or you have have it spread accross both. some people have had problems with certain apps on dualscreens and wacoms, so far i've been lucky and haven't had any such issues.

[3DBond]

From wacom.com:

The new Intuos3 4x6 pen tablet is designed for serious photographers, designers and artists seeking optimal pen control and comfort when working with a widescreen display. The Intuos3 4x6 joins Wacom's Intuos3 6x11 and 12x19 models to form a complete range of professional pen tablets that feature active areas matched to the screen aspect ratio of widescreens and dual monitors. This latest Intuos tablet provides 20% more active area than the model it replaces (Intuos3 4x5).

I realize you don't have a wide format tablet, but I'm sure the drivers are the same will allow you to utilize a second monitor without much trouble.

Only hiccup I can think of is unless you map out a strip on the top and bottom, your movement proportions could be off a little. As in, your cursor movement side to side will be smaller on the tablet relative to the movement you see on screen compared to up and down. I hope that's worded ok.

[joeski4d]

, you can of couse map it so that the wacom only works on one monitor, there's even a tool out there that lets you use this setup and a hotkey to swap between screens, or you have have it spread accross both. some people have had problems with certain apps on dualscreens and wacoms, so far i've been lucky and haven't had any such issues.

Thanks for the info... I would want the wacom to work on both screens, as I've gotten so comfortable with using the wacom for "everything" that I don't even touch the mouse because i have no where near the control..

One thing that bugs me a bit with the wacom is when you hover over an icon, in say PS cs2, the "tool tips" don't show up unless I steady the cursor over the icon and slowly pull back so that the pen is far enough away from the tablet that it doesn't register anymore... I'm on a Mac btw... do you notice this issue as well?

thanks,

Joe

[Per-Anders]

That's jsut a limitation because the OS only shows up tooltips one the cursor has been static for long enough, i don't think there's anything that wacom could do about that aside from maybe having a "freeze" or "enable/disbale" button on the tablet (maybe there's a way to map that to one of the buttons).

[3DBond]

I am on a Mac, running 10.4.8.

I personally don't like tool tips much so I typically disable them all together. Precision clicks are best handled by a mouse in most cases. Luckily, being left-handed helps in this case as I mouse with my right. :)

I wish I could use my tablet exclusively, however I have a recurring issue where if I use the tablet for mousing around a great deal, my entire interface will behave as though the Option key is being held.

I contacted Wacom about this and had an extensive back and forth with one of their tech support reps. It seems to be a known issue and they hope to fix it with the next driver release.

[3DBond]

To add to Per's post, some apps let you set how quickly tool tips pop up. InDesign for sure has a 'Fast' option. Photoshop currently doesn't, perhaps CS3.

This might help a little, but any movement after the tip appears will result in it disappearing again.... so read fast! :D

[Meteoro]

there's even a tool out there that lets you use this setup and a hotkey to swap between screens

I'm really interested in this tool, if you remember the name or something please post it.

Thanks.

[Fuzatron]

Here ya go...
http://wacomswitch.illusoft.com/

[Meteoro]

Here ya go...
http://wacomswitch.illusoft.com/

Cheers :-)

[Rabbitroo]

I use a Wacom with two 23" Cinema HD displays. The setup for my pen is the default setup but instead of the top of the pen-switch doing a double-click, I have it set to toggle between pen and mouse modes. The pen-mode is set to proportionally represent the right screen, which is normally my work area, and I put panels/palettes/info/refs on the left screen. When I want to access the left screen, I switch at a click to mouse-mode and just mouse over to the left screen (sometimes with two swipes) and the click again to pen-mode to resume working on the right screen. I'm right handed, so I keep the keyboard under my left hand and I'm pretty adept with keyboard shortcuts to minimize interruptions to my workflow.

-K

[joeski4d]

I picked up a 19" LG widescreen LCD panel at BestBuy for $249 last night. It's amazing how much the prices of these monitors have come down. I didn't put a whole lot of effort into researching different models.. I just wanted a decent size, thin bezels, and good price. Since the bulk of the 2nd screens workload is palette storage, I didn't see the need to drop a lot of $$ on this. But for the money, I'm very impressed. My g5 has had the ability to drive 2 screens since I bought it over 2 yrs ago.... nice to finally take advantage of this.

So far, the Wacom has been working great. I remapped the pad to decrease the height of the active tablet area, which keeps the extra-wide screen proportions reasonable. The tracking speed of pentip/cursor has increased, which was a little tricky at first, but I've gotten used to it. I actually like it, I've always been one to keep my mouse speed cranked up pretty high. If the need to get really delicate comes up, it's pretty easy to crank it down a notch or two.

I haven't had a chance to spend much time in Cinema4D yet, but I setup my layout and I can already smell the workflow boost.

Oh, one Question... How does adding a second monitor affect the performance of the graphics card vs. running just 1 screen? So far, I haven't noticed a hit, but I haven't opened a large model/scene in C4d yet.

thanks for all the input-


Joe

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