| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 811.1 | hello? | 4315::KONING | NI1D @FN42eq | Wed May 24 1989 15:12 | 4 |
| Doesn't anyone else have a tablet?
paul
|
| 811.2 | From `X Window System C Library and Protocol Reference' | 40470::PETTENGILL | mulp | Thu May 25 1989 01:01 | 17 |
| From the Preface, page xxii:
"We attempted to avoid solutions to problems we did not fully understand.
For example, the preliminary design for the present version of X supported
multiple input devices (more than just a single keyboard and mouse). As we
worked through the design, we realized it had flaws that would take significant
time and experimentation to correct. As a result, we removed this support
from the system, knowing that correct support could be added later through
the extension mechanism."
From this I would presume that the support for stylus and table is very limited;
probably limited to mouse emulation. Jeff Cooper, who is nominally in your
group, has a tablet; when I asked him about his (under VWS), he commented that
it worked alright when you used the puck as a mouse, but otherwise it wasn't
useful. All in all, it doesn't seem like a tablet/puck/stylus offers enough to
be worth the bother.
|
| 811.3 | I'd like to try out mouse emulation, nothing more than that... | 4315::KONING | NI1D @FN42eq | Thu May 25 1989 11:33 | 13 |
| If it were limited to mouse emulation I might well want to use it. I do
enough graphics with DECwrite that I figured it's at least worth a try
to see if it is easier with the stylus. I already determined that the puck
is far too much trouble to be of any use.
My complaint is that the stylus case is not even close to being a mouse
emulation. It is severely broken: it doesn't conform to the style guide,
the results vary depending on where on the screen the pointer is, etc. That
I find very puzzling. If X were simply doing mouse emulation, everything
would be fine!
paul
|
| 811.4 | We're not talking multiple devices here. | 7130::LOMICKAJ | Jeff Lomicka | Thu May 25 1989 16:30 | 10 |
| Most DEC workstation hardware is incapabile of having the mouse and
tablet attached simultaniously, so multiple input device support,
while it is a good idea, is not relevant to DEC workstations. (The
exception to this was the VS100, which supported both.)
Is there any chance this is an initialization or configuration problem?
Do you have to tell DECWindows what you have attached? Does it know?
Perhaps it needs to be restarted or rebooted.
|
| 811.5 | My tablet works just fine! | 3823::DAVIDSON | | Thu May 25 1989 17:50 | 8 |
| Paul,
I have used the stylus on my VSII/GPX and I think it works better for
free form drawing than the mouse. I don't have any of the problems
your having.
Sean
|
| 811.6 | | KONING::KONING | NI1D @FN42eq | Mon Jun 05 1989 16:25 | 14 |
| Following up on Sean's suggestion... I have it working now. It appears
that DECwindows does a poor job of dealing with swapping of hardware.
If the applications can tell mouse from tablet, I suppose it is excusable
for it not to deal with swapping between those two "live". (Actually, what
I observe is that mouse to tablet works, tablet to mouse gets confused.)
On the other hand, I can't understand why the driver doesn't deal with
switching between puck and stylus. That was in fact the problem... in
previous attempts I started the system with puck installed, then plugged
in the stylus in its place. When I boot the system with the stylus, all
works as advertised.
paul
|
| 811.7 | Switching mouse and tablet on the fly | SEAN::DAVIDSON | | Mon Jun 05 1989 17:59 | 8 |
| Paul,
I switched to a tablet and back to a mouse without rebooting and
there wasn't any problem.
Sean
|
| 811.8 | | STAR::MCLEMAN | Jeff McLeman | Tue Jun 06 1989 07:06 | 4 |
| The firmware inside the tablet handles the puck and the pen. You must
reset the tablet when switching them. This has always been the case, even
for UIS. It is not something specific to DECwindows.
|
| 811.9 | | KONING::KONING | NI1D @FN42eq | Tue Jun 06 1989 11:08 | 5 |
| How do you reset the tablet? Unplug/replug the cable to the monitor? (I hope
there's an easier way, that plug is nearly inaccessible on my system.)
paul
|
| 811.10 | | WSINT::MCLEMAN | Jeff McLeman | Tue Jun 06 1989 13:03 | 4 |
| re: -1
you got it pilgrim.
|
| 811.11 | | POOL::MARRA | Acts 2:4 | Tue Jun 06 1989 15:40 | 7 |
| Actually by unplugging the tablet from the cable that goes from the
monitor to the system box. Unplugging the cable that goes to the
system box could do some serious damage to the VSII/GPX hardware.
(read: blow the keyboard fuse - if there still is one) - right Jeff :*)
.dave.
|
| 811.12 | | KONING::KONING | NI1D @FN42eq | Tue Jun 06 1989 17:58 | 13 |
| Your first two sentences seem to conflict. There are three cables all told:
1. the cable from system box to back of monitor (BC18-Z).
2. the 4-wire spiral cable from back of monitor to LK201
3. the mini-DIN plug cable from back of monitor to tablet or mouse.
Which of these is (are) the ones that must not be unplugged?
Of course, any design in which unplugging an external cable causes component
damage is broken and needs to be fixed, but that's a separate point. Perhaps
it has been, since I've unplugged #2 and #3 without ill effects several times.
paul
|
| 811.13 | | WSINT::MCLEMAN | Jeff McLeman | Wed Jun 07 1989 08:10 | 5 |
| re: -1, -2
It is a problem when you unplug the whole video cable from the system. It
is not a problem just un-plugging the tablet.
|
| 811.14 | re: .12 I unplug the mini-din connection from the mouse/tablet to monitor. | SEAN::DAVIDSON | | Wed Jun 07 1989 08:31 | 1 |
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