Surface Pro 3 Pen Button Customization

Anonymous
2014-06-21T18:20:54+00:00

I am a previous owner of a Surface Pro 2, and loved the capability it provided of customizing the button commands per program through the Wacom drivers. As a new owner of the surface Pro 3, I a very disappointed to discover that the same functionality is not available in the N-trig driver options. As an artist, the primary use of my surface is for drawing inside of programs like Adobe Photoshop. Not being able to customize the button functions on the new pen is detrimental to my efficiency as a digital artist. Without the ease of having quick access to specific commands through the pen buttons, I am forced to either dig through the menus and submenus of the program to execute a simple command, or connect a keyboard to use hotkeys. One of the greatest features of the surface is the ability to draw inside of photoshop as if it were a paper notebook, freeing me from my desktop work space and removing the requirement of the mouse and keyboard. Without the customization of these pen buttons, I lose that freedom.

I spoke to a Microsoft support tech this morning who informed me that "hopefully" in the next month or two, this feature will be added to the pen drivers. While this is a new product, and I understand that some features are still in development, this feature is crucial in the workflow of any artist using this device. I already own a desktop computer and a laptop; so again, the primary function of the Surface Pro 3 for me is drawing inside of programs like Photoshop without the need for a mouse and keyboard. 

I don't know if any Microsoft representatives read these discussions, but if there is a way I could be included in any sort of pre-release developmental versions of drivers that introduce this capability, I would love to be a part of it and am happy to provide feedback from an artist's perspective. 

Thanks for reading.

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  1. Anonymous
    2014-11-07T08:11:48+00:00

    This issue demonstrates a real lack of foresight for Microsoft. Perhaps they should actually have some artists help guide the Surface project directly. I'm very enthustitic about this product and want to see MS deliver on every aspect. I want to buy another in the future. Not see the end of another line of products which should be more successful

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  3. Anonymous
    2014-11-12T18:15:17+00:00

    Did anyone else get asked to fill out that survey all about the Surface pen? It had questions about what we use the buttons for. It was almost like it was made without undertsanding that you can't map the buttons.

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  4. Anonymous
    2014-11-12T18:23:15+00:00

    I filled out the survey at the end of the Surface Hub customization app, where did you see your survey?

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  5. Anonymous
    2014-11-13T01:40:50+00:00

    I filled out the survey at the end of the Surface Hub customization app, where did you see your survey?

    This was separate, I also filled out a survey on the Surface Hub.

    I got emailed a link from Microsoft, I'm not sure if it was because of the Surface Hub survey I filled out or just from buying the Surface Pro.

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