Templot Club Archive 2007-2020
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posted: 16 Dec 2008 18:47 from: Brian Lewis
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All, I like CorelDraw, basically because it seems to work in the way I think. I am considering improving my use by adding a graphics tablet and so spoke to a friend who works quite a lot in CorelDraw. His reply was "Yes, a number of people use them. I have one myself but I should warn you they take quite a lot of practice to master. You don't get the same degree of control you have with a mouse and I sometimes found I was accidentally drawing things I didn't intend to. The problem occurs because of the sensitivity. It will pick up the stylus when it's around 2mm from the tablet. If you draw something and lift the stylus away you get the effect of right-clicking a mouse. One thing I do like about my tablet is that it has a mouse as well, and it's this I use all the time. Because the mouse communicates magnetically instead of optically I never have any of the problems I have with the optical mouse I use with my laptop in finding a suitable surface to run it over." Hmm..... a bit of a Curate's egg. I would be interested to receive any recommendations of make and model of one that is sympathetic to users. Regards Brian Lewis |
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posted: 16 Dec 2008 18:55 from: Martin Wynne
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Hi Brian, I agree with your friend. I bought a Wacom stylus+tablet a few years ago and I've tried, really I've tried. But I just can't get on with the damn thing. I've tried every different way of holding it I can think of, with my arm resting on books at different levels. But I just can't get the hang of using it with confidence.  But as your friend says, the mouse is brilliant!  A cordless mouse without batteries, so nice and light. And it has a unique feature not possible with any other mouse. You can turn it round so that the buttons are facing you, and it still works correctly on the screen. You can then click the buttons by rocking your wrist from side to side, and roll the wheel with your palm. Great for anyone with creaky fingers or just wanting to give them a rest. Windows lets you swap over the left and right buttons to make it more natural.Sorry, I don't know if the mouse+tablet can be bought without the stylus. regards, Martin. |
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posted: 16 Dec 2008 20:19 from: Paul Boyd
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Hi Brian I was convinced by this group to try a graphics tablet to reduce RSI. Suffice to say that I no longer have a mouse attached to my PC at home, and only have one at work so that other people can use the PC. I use a Wacom "Volito 2" both at home and work, and I find it brilliant to use. I don't get accidental clicks or drags, and that's with the pen set to the maximum sensitivity. It also gives control at least as good as a mouse, and for graphics far better control because you have the third dimension - pressure. OK, there are downsides. To right-click you need to press a button on the pen, and that takes practise to click without moving the pen. I'm not sure what "If you draw something and lift the stylus away you get the effect of right-clicking a mouse." means, because mine doesn't work like that at all. I disagree that tablets take practise otherwise though - my opinion is that they're like Marmite. The first time I tried one, it just felt such a natural way to control a computer that I'm wondering why the clunky, old-fashioned mouse still exists. Watching other people at work try to use the tablet though is painful - they just can't seem to use it and end up dragging the mouse out of it's hidey-hole. I don't think practise will help - you either like it and get on with it or you don't. I would recommend that you try to borrow one for a short while to see if you get on with it. If you do, there'll be no looking back! As far as RSI goes, I simply no longer get the excruciating pain I did when using a mouse. Oh yeah - just make sure you remember where you put the pen down Cheers |
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posted: 16 Dec 2008 20:33 from: Martin Wynne
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Paul Boyd wrote: As far as RSI goes, I simply no longer get the excruciating pain I did when using a mouse.Hi Paul, How much of that RSI do you reckon was caused by double-clicking? I've always set my computers for all single-clicking, and have to remember to write "double-click on..." when writing help notes for the majority of users. p.s. I hate Marmite. I don't stay in the same room as an open jar of the stuff. Martin. |
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posted: 16 Dec 2008 21:04 from: Paul Boyd
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Hi MartinHow much of that RSI do you reckon was caused by double-clicking?I suspect a fair bit, but I'd changed to single-clicking well before changing to a tablet. Double-clicking anything is another Windoze monstrosity that belongs in the same ark as mice |
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posted: 16 Dec 2008 21:16 from: Jim Guthrie
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Brian, I got myself a Wacom CTE-440 tablet about a year ago. That's the model with a sensitive area of about 5" x 3.5". I thought the area might be a bit too small but in practice I found that I could get the resolution necessary to work well with Templot and AutoCAD. I haven't been using it recently principally because the laptop PC it was installed on became an ex-PC a few months ago and I've hesitated to install it on the new PC until I see how I get on with the Vista system installed on it. Your message has just reminded me to try installing it on Vista to see how I get on with it on this PC.. My reservations with the tablet were when using it with other types of applications - like word processors, spreadsheets, compilers, etc., where I much preferred to use a mouse. I also had an issue with the Wacom stylus, as, apparently, had a lot of others. The rubbery plastic fingergrip became distorted and loose and I finished up discarding it. Apparently it was due to the use of unsuitable materials but I haven't found out yet if you can get a free replacement or not. I liked the tablet and I found that you could work fast and accurately since the area of the tablet is mapped accurately to your screen and you can move or jump very quickly around the screen - especially with the large screens we are tending to work with these days, where you have to have two or three wipes with a mouse on your average mouse mat to get from one side to the other. You are welcome to borrow mine if you want to try it out to see if it suits you. I've still got all installation bumff and discs and it certainly works on WinXP. I can forego installing it on this PC at Denham for a bit since I've managed without it for a few months. Jim. |
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posted: 16 Dec 2008 21:37 from: Martin Wynne
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Jim Guthrie wrote: especially with the large screens we are tending to work with these days, where you have to have two or three wipes with a mouse on your average mouse mat to get from one side to the other.Hi Jim, Really? How big is your screen? You know you can change the mouse sensitivity in Windows? I have just moved my mouse pointer across 2560 pixels screen width, and the mouse moved 3 inches -- i.e. just 1/3rd of a single mouse mat. Top to bottom of the screen (1024 pixels) moved the mouse just over an inch. regards, Martin. |
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posted: 16 Dec 2008 22:34 from: Jim Guthrie
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Martin Wynne wrote: Jim Guthrie wrote:Martin,especially with the large screens we are tending to work with these days, where you have to have two or three wipes with a mouse on your average mouse mat to get from one side to the other.Hi Jim, On my desk, a three inch move of a mouse is barely possible. From habit working on the digital sound gear I use, I tend to work in approximately one inch strokes. And the sensitivity is always whacked on to the top notch. It's funny how you get into particular habits with computers. I find that a three inch mouse move feels really strange Jim. |
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