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List:       freebsd-hackers
Subject:    Re: (mgp-users 00027) graphic tablet experiecne ?
From:       "Duncan Barclay" <dmlb () ragnet ! demon ! co ! uk>
Date:       1998-09-30 10:15:08
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> 
> >does anyone have experience with graphic tablets -- particularly with
> >cheap serial units ?
> >i have tried one (a kid's model, "Wacky pad") and it seems not to talk
> >any protocol recognized by moused.

moused is for mice;-)

> >This one seems to talk at 9600,
> >emits 5-byte strings with some strange absolute coordinate encoding
> >which i managed to translate into a reasonable x,y format with a little
> >bit of debugging, but i am wondering if there is some standard about
> >this.

I've just bought a Wacom Pen Partner and it works fine under X. You 
need to read the XF86Config man page and the XInput sections. Try 
looking at

http://www.dorsai.org/~stasic/wacomx.htm

The protcols that pads use are not mouse protocols. Wacom publish 
theirs in the developers section on the German site, but not on the 
US site. X supports Suma, Wacom and some one else's I think.

The cheap no name brands may be Wacom protocols (5 bytes is about 
right) as Wacom sell the ICs to OEMs.

>  You may want to look at contrib/xmindpath, which sniffs serial
>  input and raise X11 event.  In this way you can use the tablet
>  as generic mouse device.

I'm currently hacking the X code to become a user land dameon which 
will generate some, but not all, X11 events (or others, it could go 
in moused). The only real way of using the pad as the mouse is with 
the X input extension. You can get the tablet to be the mouse for 
general use, in applications they can get extra information such as 
pressure. Apparenetly GIMP can use this and the above URL has a 
little pressure sensitive drawing program.

Duncan

PS. Using absolute mode to move around the display is very strange 
but you get used to it!

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