Wacom - can it be used as a touchpad?

Alright guys, simple question to the WACOM users.
Can it be used as a touchpad?

I am interested in it because I want a nice big touchpad for my homemade system.

So can it be used for this reason,
and can it be used with your finger rather than a stylus pen?

Sorry if this is a mundane question, I just thought about it last night in a dream, and I have only seen Wacom's at use from a distance at work.

K-TRON

 

Not exactly, you have to use the magnetic pen, however I do believe they have finger tip things you can wear as a substitute and that would work.

I have a Graphire 4 the 4x5 model. It has been very handy at times, esp for photoshop. Once your effective with a Wacom its much faster then even a mouse.

A mouse or touchpad you have to move the cursor from one place to the next, the wacom maps its surface area to your monitors resolution so if you know you have an icon you want to click on the top left corner of your screen and your cursor is on the bottom right. Instead of scrolling all the way across you just touch the top left and the cursor magicly pops there instantly.

If you do not install the wacom drivers it acts like a mouse though where you must scroll, so if for some reason you prefer this you can still do it.

Also there are gestures in the software, so a fast flick left will act as the back button while browsing for instance.

In trying to find a "finger pen" I found this wich you may find an interesting read: http://www.dcviews.com/press/Wacom-Dualpad.htm

I was not able to find what I was looking for though so maybe I only thought it existed. It could be something you can make yourself though, them patent it get rich and give me part of the profit.

 

I have a wacom digitizer panel built-in to my cf-19
It responds to tap so you have left click and using the required pen with a button has a right click as well
It’s a bit of a hassle though
There is slightly larger sized portable touchpads made by Cirque that will plug into ps2 or usb
Check those out


Alex

 

Wacom has two technologies:
The good and well known EMR® Technology. Used in every tablet PC, Bamboo, Intuos, Cintiq, ...
This is the technology which needs a pen, which gets powered through induction.

Then Wacom developed a second technology: RRFCTM (Reversing Ramped Field Capacitive) Touch Technology
Which is a capacitive touch panel developed by Wacom. Sadly they haven't released a product with this technology yet.

The Wacom EMR sensor board is placed behind a display and needs the pen, the Wacom RRFCTM enabled CAPPlus boards are placed in front of a display and do not need a pen.

Because there isn't a product with a CAPPlus technology released yet, we only have informations about the traditional wacom boards which need a pen and are pressure sensitive.
Those work as a tablet, with absolute mouse coordinates. But you can also switch to the mouse mode which then uses relative coordinates (but it's very sensitive). But you need a pen! It does not work without a pen.

There are many other companies which also produce touch screens, resistive, capacitive, optical or even active tablets with a pen (Wacom, N-Trig)
An example for passive digitizers is Touch international. They have a few nice products. Their projected capacitive touch screen is also used in the maybe developed ModBook Pro.

Or, depending on how skilled you are, you can also buy a broken mobile phone which used a capacitive touch screen and connect it to your PC. But you'll have to build a small PCB with a microcontroller which interprets the touchscreen data and sends it via USB or RS232 to your PC.

PS: Because you plan this for your large 'Notebook' which will have a lot of free space on the palm rest area I think the best solution would be:
To buy a keyboard with a touchstick, maybe an IBM keyboard. Then on the palm rest area you can install a large Wacom digitizer which is used with a pen, similar to the Lenovo notebook, just centered, because you don't need a touchpad. Later you can always add a second, maybe the Wacom CAPPlus, capacitive digitizer on top of this pen based digitizer.

 

Really interesting guys, much appreciated.

I am basically looking for a 5"-8" touchpad/wacom/other human interface device

I am not very familiar with Wacom's product line, so I need to read up on their site to see which I can use. I

Frank, since you are a tablet user what is it like to use a stylus instead of a mouse/touchpad?
I have never used a tablet/stylus before.

K-TRON

 

well using a stylus is just natural. It's useful for every smooth work, like writing, drawing,... such things. Because a stylus supports hovering, you don't have to touch the surface with the pen nib to move the mouse cursor and thus you can almost do everything with the pen.

But only almost everything.

Because it uses absolute coordinates and to execute a left click you have to 'move' (press the nib on the surface) the stylus which is also responsible for the cursor position still not everything is easier to do than with a mouse.
So often it's difficult to place things very precise with a stylus, because while lifting the pen nib from the screen you also move the cursor slightly, that's not the case with a mouse.
Also most games (like every ego shooter) don't support the pen, because they need relative mouse coordinates.
And rapid clicking is just slower with the pen because you have to move the whole pen, instead of just a finger on your mouse button.

So you still need a mouse sometimes, but using a stylus is the only way to write or draw, to do smooth moves, on a computer.

 

You can use this touchscreen as a touchpad too!

 

Out of the tablets I was looking at, these two sparked my attention:

Are they any good?
I do not know what to look for in choosing tablets

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823100045

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823100046

I really do not want to spend more than $100 on one of these things, so if there is a better option, please let me know.
It would be primarily used for AutoCAD, Rhino, Photoshop, and basically like a touchad on a laptop.

K-TRON

 

If you want the best bang for you buck there are refurbished 4x6 Intuos3's out there now for $109 (macmall.com & acacemicsuperstore) everybody that got one so far said its exactly the same as brand new.

However its incredible overkill for simple tasks and definitely targeted for a photoshop person. But if your like me the temptation to get something worth about $200 for half price may make you get it instead of the more fitting cheaper product.

I have started using my Grapire 4 4x5" again to see if I would like to upgrade or not, and the graphire is still doing ok for me. Its similar to the Bamboo series that your links have.

 

You can slap a touch screen film on top of your walcom so it responds to your finger as well as a stylus.

 

I would normally use an external mouse as well. I have never used a Wacom, so it would be a learning experience for me.
All I need is basic control of windows, and things a normal touchpad can do.

Can your Bamboo do this?
and how is the software for it - stable?

K-TRON

 

Here's a small comparison:
Bamboo vs. Bamboo Fun vs. Intuos3

The only important difference between the Bamboo and the Bamboo Fun is the available size and the eraser on the back of the pen.
The only important difference between the Bamboo Fun and the Intuos is that the Intuos has a higher resolution and supports other pens, too.

If you can buy an Intuos for the same price, then better get the Intuos3, else, depending on the size you need and if you want an eraser on the back (I use it) get the Bamboo Fun.

Still, your problem with a Wacom tablet only solution will be that you'll be forced to use the pen if you want to move your mouse cursor. So it's recommend to add a Touch Stick or a Touch Pad (maybe above the Wacom digitzer), too.

If you use a Bamboo, or any other graphics tablet, then the normal way is to use it with absolute coordinates. That means that if you are with the pen in the top left edge, then the mouse cursor will be in the top left edge, too.
My sister has a Bamboo Fun and she hadn't any problems with the Bamboo yet.
Wacom drivers are good and stable.

 

So you are saying that the Bamboo fun would be okay,
but the Introus 3 would be a better choice for its higher resolution.

In that comparison, it states "MOUSE" the bamboo doesnt support it, but the fun does.
Is this mouse referring to using the stylus as a mouse?
or is it a special software thing.

K-TRON

 

I bought a bamboo and I hate the thing. It isn't nearly sensitive enough for doing any real drawing or CAD, IMO, but it is a personal thing. I would try and borrow a couple if you know people that have them in order to try them out first.

 

the mouse is a hardware device which you place on top of the graphic tablet and use instead of the pen.

The other advantage the Intuos has is that you can buy and use different pens, the bamboo only has one single pen.

@jdeclue: In which way is not sensitive enough? Regarding pressure sensitivity? This settings can be modified in the drivers.

 

are you in fact going to use a wacom-like device as a stylus/pen input device (drawing, etc) or do you need an infinitely-configurable button interface thingie?

 

It would be mainly used as a large touchpad.

I do AutoCAD, Rhinocerous, etc so I know it can be used with them. I just havent used a Wacom before for it. I use my logitech G5
I just looked in the Rhino file menu, and in the tools pulldown it mentions 3-D Digitizer, I have it disabled now, but I can connect it later if I was to get one.

I am going to look for some good deals on an Intous for the next few weeks, thanks guys

K-TRON