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Wacom: Setting up the Wacom Bamboo
Introduction
Wow! You just bought a Wacom Bamboo and want it to work well on your Ubuntu! No problem!
Installation
Install the necessary packages:
sudo apt-get install xserver-xorg-input-wacom wacom-tools
Configuration
Backup your xorg configuration:
sudo cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.bak
Add the following to the module section:
Section "Module"
....
Load "wacom"
...
EndSection
Then add the following configuration:
Section "InputDevice"
Driver "wacom"
Identifier "stylus"
#Option "Device" "/dev/ttyS0" # SERIAL Tablet
Option "Device" "/dev/input/wacom" # USB Tablet
Option "Type" "stylus" # Stylus pen tip
Option "USB" "on" # USB Tablet
Option "Mode" "absolute" # Position on the tablet
#Option "ForceDevice" "ISDV4" # Tablet PC ONLY
#Option "HistorySize" "64" # Buffer size
Option "Tilt" "on" # Tilt
#Option "TiltInvert" "on" # Tilt inversion
Option "Threshold" "5" # pressure sensitivity
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Driver "wacom"
Identifier "eraser"
#Option "Device" "/dev/ttyS0" # SERIAL Tablet
Option "Device" "/dev/input/wacom" # USB Tablet
Option "Type" "eraser" # pen eraser tip
Option "USB" "on" # USB Tablet
Option "Mode" "absolute" # Position on the tablet
#Option "ForceDevice" "ISDV4" # Tablet PC ONLY
#Option "HistorySize" "64" # Buffer size
Option "Tilt" "on" # Tilt
#Option "TiltInvert" "on" # Tilt inversion
Option "Threshold" "5" # pressure sensitivity
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Driver "wacom"
Identifier "cursor"
#Option "Device" "/dev/ttyS0" # SERIAL Tablet
Option "Device" "/dev/input/wacom" # USB Tablet
Option "Type" "cursor"
Option "USB" "on" # USB Tablet
Option "Mode" "absolute" # Position on the tablet
#Option "ForceDevice" "ISDV4" # Tablet PC ONLY
#Option "HistorySize" "64" # Buffer size
EndSection
In the ServerLayout section:
Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "Default Layout"
Screen "Default Screen"
InputDevice "Generic Keyboard"
InputDevice "Configured Mouse"
InputDevice "stylus" "SendCoreEvents"
InputDevice "eraser" "SendCoreEvents"
InputDevice "cursor" "SendCoreEvents" # for non-LCD tablets only
InputDevice "pad" # for Intuos3/Cintiq 21UX/Graphire4 tablets and should not send core events
EndSection
Restart gdm and you’re done:
/etc/init.d/gdm restart
For the tablet buttons:
xsetwacom set pad AbsWUp 4 #scroll up
xsetwacom set pad AbsWDn 5 #scroll down
xsetwacom set pad button3 4 # key: scroll up
xsetwacom set pad button1 5 # key: scroll dn
xsetwacom set pad button2 1 #FN1 key: left mouse button
xsetwacom set pad button4 3 #FN2 key: right mouse button
The Gimp
And for Gimp? Why doesn’t it work perfectly? Well, it can work well!
- Go to File > Preferences > Input Devices and click on the “Configure Extended Input Devices” button.
- In the device list, select each of the “stylus”, “eraser” and “pad” items, and set the “Mode” option to “Screen” for each one.
- Click on “Save”
You can now use your tablet with Gimp.
However, by default the stylus and eraser are configured to use the same tool. To change this, turn your pen to use the “eraser” end and select a tool (like the eraser…). It will now be associated with that end :)
Configuration Example
Here’s an example xorg.conf:
# xorg.conf (X.Org X Window System server configuration file)
#
# This file was generated by dexconf, the Debian X Configuration tool, using
# values from the debconf database.
#
# Edit this file with caution, and see the xorg.conf manual page.
# (Type "man xorg.conf" at the shell prompt.)
#
# This file is automatically updated on xserver-xorg package upgrades *only*
# if it has not been modified since the last upgrade of the xserver-xorg
# package.
#
# If you have edited this file but would like it to be automatically updated
# again, run the following command:
# sudo dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xserver-xorg
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Generic Keyboard"
Driver "kbd"
Option "XkbRules" "xorg"
Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
Option "XkbLayout" "fr"
Option "XkbVariant" "oss"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Configured Mouse"
Driver "mouse"
Option "CorePointer"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
Option "Protocol" "ImPS/2"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
Option "Emulate3Buttons" "true"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Driver "wacom"
Identifier "stylus"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/wacom"
Option "Type" "stylus"
# Option "ForceDevice" "ISDV4" # Tablet PC ONLY
Option "USB" "on"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Driver "wacom"
Identifier "eraser"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/wacom"
Option "Type" "eraser"
# Option "ForceDevice" "ISDV4" # Tablet PC ONLY
Option "USB" "on"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Driver "wacom"
Identifier "cursor"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/wacom"
Option "Type" "cursor"
# Option "ForceDevice" "ISDV4" # Tablet PC ONLY
Option "USB" "on"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Driver "wacom"
Identifier "pad"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/wacom"
Option "Type" "pad"
Option "USB" "on"
EndSection
Section "Device"
Identifier "Configured Video Device"
Driver "nvidia"
Option "NoLogo" "True"
EndSection
Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Configured Monitor"
EndSection
Section "Screen"
Identifier "Default Screen"
Monitor "Configured Monitor"
Device "Configured Video Device"
Defaultdepth 24
Option "RenderAccel" "True"
Option "TwinView"
Option "TwinViewOrientation" "LeftOf"
Option "MetaModes" "1280×1024 1280×1024"
EndSection
Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "Default Layout"
screen "Default Screen"
InputDevice "stylus" "SendCoreEvents"
InputDevice "cursor" "SendCoreEvents"
InputDevice "eraser" "SendCoreEvents"
InputDevice "pad"
EndSection
Section "Module"
Load "glx"
EndSection
Resources
Last updated 01 Oct 2008, 12:20 CEST.