Beta 1.8.0.526 unusable with Wacom tablets

[Aongus Collins]

I hope everyone at Serif has a great holiday, and thank you all for your inspiring work over this and the past few years!

On your return, could I log this bug (or is it a feature?). In the latest beta, it seems support for Wintab has been disabled and Windows Ink made mandatory.

The result on my Windows 10 system with both a Wacom Intuos 5 and a Cintiq 22 is:

•  a distracting ripple effect on clicking any tool or icon item in a panel (clicking/dragging on artboard is okay)
• a really distracting large ripple effect on right-clicking anywhere in the program
•  apparent lag in dragging some sliders in UI (combined with large or small ripples; size seems arbitrary)
• And as that wasn't bad enough, there seems to be incompatibilities between using the Intuos 5 with the latest Wacom driver and Windows Ink: e.g., difficulties in selecting select text in web browser.

These distractions and lags and make using the current beta over extended periods, as required in professional projects, an unrealistic proposition.

Other drawing programs such as Clip Studio Paint use Wintab for both vector and raster drawing to great effect. Would it be possible to restore Wintab support as an option, or at the very least get rid of all those hellish ripples?

I have adjusted Windows Ink preferences as in the screengrabs but this hasn't solved the issue.
All the best

Aongus
 

[Mark Ingram]

Do you have Windows Ink enabled in your Wacom preferences? Without that, the pen will just act as a mouse. 

From the latest release notes (https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/104166-affinity-designer-windows-customer-beta-180526/) you'll notice we now disable the ripples for Pen devices, which makes me think that perhaps Windows Ink isn't enabled for your pen:

• Disabled Windows Ink feedback ripples when clicking with a pointer device

 

[Aongus Collins]

Hi Mark,

Yes, I have Window Ink enabled in the Wacom panel (screenshot attached). I've had issues with Wacom Ink before, on a different system that also ran Windows 10. I've enabled it only for Designer because of incompatibilities in other apps.

Disabling Ink means that my Wacom pen doesn't work at all in Designer. When I try clicking on a tool icon or anything else in the UI the cursor mover but nothing else happens!

The driver is 6.3.36-1.

The only way I can get the tablet to work in Designer is to enable Ink and set the pen to mouse mode, with no pressure sensitivity. Even that is preferable to the distracting ripples!

 

 

[Aongus Collins]

Correction: when I restarted the Beta, having disabled Ink in the Wacom preferences, the pen worked fine , but without pressure sensitivity.

[walt.farrell]

2 hours ago, Aongus Collins said:

Correction: when I restarted the Beta, having disabled Ink in the Wacom preferences, the pen worked fine , but without pressure sensitivity.

Yes, that's what would be expected, because (in the beta) with Windows Ink disabled in the Wacom preferences your pen is basically treated like a mouse.

[Aongus Collins]

Having tried various settings, I think the issue might be due to a conflict between Wacom drivers and Windows Ink. When I enabled Ink system-wide in the Wacom panel , I got two BSODs in two days. Since disabling Ink, no problems -- hardly a coincidence! 

A Google search for "windows ink conflict wacom" returns 220,000 results...

[walt.farrell]

12 minutes ago, Aongus Collins said:

Having tried various settings, I think the issue might be due to a conflict between Wacom drivers and Windows Ink. When I enabled Ink system-wide in the Wacom panel , I got two BSODs in two days. Since disabling Ink, no problems

Do you have the latest Wacom drivers installed?

What was reported in the BSOD failures?

[Aongus Collins]

Yes, I have the latest drivers, but not the BSOD logs.

[debraspicher]

2 hours ago, Aongus Collins said:

Yes, I have the latest drivers, but not the BSOD logs.

Check Event Viewer. Will be under Windows Logs > System. You can search it or it is in Administrative Tools in Control Panel (under View by Icon, not Category).

[Jon W]

 

On 12/21/2019 at 3:05 PM, Aongus Collins said:

•  a distracting ripple effect on clicking any tool or icon item in a panel (clicking/dragging on artboard is okay)
• a really distracting large ripple effect on right-clicking anywhere in the program
•  apparent lag in dragging some sliders in UI (combined with large or small ripples; size seems arbitrary)
• And as that wasn't bad enough, there seems to be incompatibilities between using the Intuos 5 with the latest Wacom driver and Windows Ink: e.g., difficulties in selecting select text in web browser.

Hi Aongus, 

1. This shouldn't be happening. As Mark mentioned, we explicitly disable feedback ripples for clicking. I can't reproduce your behaviour, either on an Intuos 4 or Cintiq 13HD. It's a long shot, but have you tried turning off "Enable press and hold for right-clicking"?
2. This unfortunately seems to be unavoidable.
3. See 1. 
4. You should be able to long-press a word to invoke the selection UI. 

 

 

[Aongus Collins]

Hi Jon,

Thanks for your reply!
Here is a screen recording  using a Wacon Cintiq 22 with the latest driver (6.3.38-2) -- please click the  link at the bottom of this post. I've also  attached screengrabs of the tablet settings. Actually the recording exaggerates the ripple effect which is not as intrusive now that I'm using the settings you  recommended.
 

[Jon W]

OK, well I've never seen ripples like that. Before we disabled them, the click ripples were smaller, thinner and whiter than those. 

The expected right-click feedback is more a little white circle than a ripple - see attached. 

[Aongus Collins]

Yes, the screen recording amplified them for some reason. This grab gives a better idea of what I'm seeing (Brush Tool). The ripples are fairly subdued now, and I can live with them. If necessary, I'll disable pressure sensitivity when it's not needed.