Wacom tablets in Ubuntu guide/howto

[Favux]

Hi RoseKnight,

OK, now I understand. From your perspective there is a problem/limitation with the LWP's linuxwacom driver/s. Is it an architectural thing?

[RoseKnight]

I'm not quite sure about architectural, I never really got into driver coding.
But its interface is definitely a little off, and it is slightly erratic(albeit not as bad) in other systems that aren't hal.
I've been thinking about writing to the author or posting in his mailing list, but I'm not quite sure how to phrase the message yet.

[Loïc2]

Besides, by posting in this article and the community Wiki about the Ubuntu reverting back "probably" for jaunty, is you specifically taking a side against hal than trying to note the real problem.

I went and asked people that would take the decisions. Nothing more. Since I got the answer from Ubuntu developers, Hal developers and developers from the Linux Wacom Project (please note that some HAL developers are also developers for the Linux Wacom drivers, which makes hard to understand your ideas about the linuxwacom drivers being at fault or needing to be modified).

I got those answers : the Ubuntu method in Intrepid to use HAL does not allow using multiple input devices for the wacom drivers, and Ubuntu developers would thus go back to the Xorg method (with the development of a graphical interface to enable Wacom devices in xorg.conf).

I fail to see where is the problem in me helping people in this thread, in the wiki, and stating the answers I got. If improving the .fdi HAL method would have been chosen for Jaunty, I'd have edited the wiki in consequence. Where am I taking sides?

If the butcher next door tells you he's not going to carry fish (and that he's not happy when people ask him to sell fish, or want to make him do so), and you kindly explain to others that this butcher isn't planning to carry fish, what is your reaction if somebody barges in and reproach you to take sides against the butcher?

Although it would be beneficial after when Jaunty is released without hal, that these documents are Noted: "Hal was removed for Jaunty"

They won't, for the simple reason that HAL won't be removed from Jaunty. HAL was not created in order to configure Wacom devices, and the fact Jaunty will not allow configuration of more than one Wacom input device through HAL has no effect on other uses of HAL.

I'm not saying anything about Hal being the right way to do things, because I don't know.

When you don't know what you're talking about, assuming people are wrong and telling them so is hardly the way to treat others.

If you're planning to fork HAL and continue maintaining it even though there's already plans to replace it, please go ahead. But this thread is not the place. The only point of you posting in this thread (instead of going to the right place, which in this case would be xorg mailing list or linuxwacom-devel) was telling me that I shouldn't say that Intrepid default method for configuring Wacom devices doesn't allow configuring more than one device, and that I shouldn't say that Ubuntu developers plans for Jaunty are to use the xorg.conf method again. I neither understand nor appreciate, for the reasons explained above.

If you've got patches for HAL, linuxwacom drivers or Xorg, this thread isn't the place.

If you're ok with accusing people and reproaching them when the only thing they've done is researching their facts before speaking, please re-read the Ubuntu code of conduct and the Ubuntu Forums code of conduct.

@albesan and emkeyen Thanks for posting your xorg.conf. I've been busy addressing other matters than what I started this thread for, and since my time is limited it will probably take me a few days before I can find something useful. However, quick thoughs:
- both your xorg.conf looks ok, even if I'll have a better look afterwards.
- albesan, you might have a better chance asking in linuxwacom-discuss mailing list, it could be a bug in the linuxwacom drivers or not, but I've never used the Wacom mouse and don't know much about it. I'll have a look in the linuxwacom documentation else, but that will take a while. If you find the answer before, please tell us so we can also learn from it

[albesan]

sure thing Loïc2, will have a look there and report back.

Thanks again.

a.

[emkeyen]

@albesan and emkeyen Thanks for posting your xorg.conf. I've been busy addressing other matters than what I started this thread for, and since my time is limited it will probably take me a few days before I can find something useful. However, quick thoughs:
- both your xorg.conf looks ok, even if I'll have a better look afterwards.

Cheers. You have any idea what I can try to make it work?

Em.

[EvanKroske]

Sorry if this is a necro-bump, but I want my table to work! I have modified my xorg.conf several times, unplugged and replugged in my tablet, and I can still only get the stylus tip to be recognized.

When I made this last change, the stylus tip stopped working and nothing started working. I unplugged the tablet and plugged it back in, and now, when I try to interact with the tablet, the blue light starts blinking in an unfamiliar pattern. If somebody can help me out, I'll really appreciate it.

[phorgan1]

Thank you so much for this guide. I'm using Ubuntu Ibex with a Bamboo Fun. Everything works!!! Thanks for the tip about flipping to a virtual terminal and back to get the eraser and pad to work without having to restart X. The last thing I want to do is this. xev shows that the wheel on the mouse and the input touch ring on the pad both generate mouse 4 and mouse 5 button events. Comparing them to my logitech mouse I see the difference is that the logitech produces button press release events:

ButtonPress event, serial 31, synthetic NO, window 0x4400001,
root 0x7d, subw 0x0, time 12504098, (139,139), root:(146,189),
state 0x0, button 4, same_screen YES

ButtonRelease event, serial 31, synthetic NO, window 0x4400001,
root 0x7d, subw 0x0, time 12504098, (139,139), root:(146,189),
state 0x800, button 4, same_screen YES

but the bamboo driver, for the mouse wheel is generating motion notify button release events.

MotionNotify event, serial 31, synthetic NO, window 0x4400001,
root 0x7d, subw 0x0, time 12495696, (140,139), root:(147,189),
state 0x0, is_hint 0, same_screen YES

ButtonRelease event, serial 31, synthetic NO, window 0x4400001,
root 0x7d, subw 0x0, time 12495696, (140,139), root:(147,189),
state 0x0, button 4, same_screen YES

bizarrely, the driver generates, for the input ring, a triplet of motion notify, button press for button 255, button release for button 4(or 5 depending on direction).

MotionNotify event, serial 31, synthetic NO, window 0x4400001,
root 0x7d, subw 0x0, time 13127000, (139,116), root:(146,166),
state 0x0, is_hint 0, same_screen YES

ButtonPress event, serial 31, synthetic NO, window 0x4400001,
root 0x7d, subw 0x0, time 13127176, (139,116), root:(146,166),
state 0x0, button 255, same_screen YES

ButtonRelease event, serial 31, synthetic NO, window 0x4400001,
root 0x7d, subw 0x0, time 13127176, (139,116), root:(146,166),
state 0x0, button 5, same_screen YES

How do I map them to make them work? Does anyone have a clue, or can you point me to another place to look?

Patrick

[zazkia]

Shrugs Here's my two cents,


my ++: for those of you with compiling issues (concerning the expression keys) i solved mine by installing libxtst-dev ,

( I found it through the synaptic, i'm not too handy with command lines; which brings me to... )

my ----: I gave up editing xorg.conf . I changed it according into something derived from hardy
(the input device option that isnt mentioned anymore?! )
it to-tal-ly smashed my X,

if anyone is interested I have the old one somewhere... Why why why.
anyways i have enough of it. I accidentally broke Vi during the process, had 2 xorg.confs that i couldnt rm and the only option left was the one suggested in the comment lines
sudo dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xserver-xorg

I'll draw a little with the mouse instead and then its bedtime

BTW the suggestion that the stylus does work, does that mean you cannot actually move the cursor without drawing? I cannot and its terribly annoying, I cannot write but in cursive.

[poobslag]

I have my tablet working mostly properly - but unplugging/replugging in the tablet still makes it unresponsive except for the tip.

I found a workaround here - http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=674738&page=3 - which says to "switch to another virtual terminal" - so hit CTRL-ALT-F1, and then CTRL-ALT-F7, and that brings your tablet back into a good state

[Loïc2]

Sorry if this is a necro-bump, but I want my table to work! I have modified my xorg.conf several times, unplugged and replugged in my tablet, and I can still only get the stylus tip to be recognized.

You're using /dev/input/event0 in your /etc/X11/xorg.conf. See the guide on the Ubuntu wiki, but you most surely want to use /dev/input/wacom (plug your wacom tablet, and see what appears in /dev/input). Alternatively, you could also use what appears in /dev/input/by-id/

The reason is that your tablet won't always be assigned to /dev/input/event0, it could be any number instead of 0, like /dev/input/event1 for example.

This part in the Linux Wacom guide needs to be updated, the Linux Wacom developers are aware of that. However, nobody had the time to change the guide (and since the one changing that would have to check with the major distributions, and maybe also with *BSD / Solaris to see if they also create the symlink /dev/input/wacom, it's a more time-consuming job than it may appear).

When I made this last change, the stylus tip stopped working and nothing started working.

You don't say what "this last change means". If it's adding the lines in your xorg.conf, it's normal, when the tablet is plugged in when X starts, xorg.conf takes precedence over the .fdi method, and since /dev/input/event0 most probably point to something else than your tablet, thus the tablet don't work at all.