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
    2015-04-13T09:49:01+00:00

    wish if i could get guidance on personal requirements

    . change the one note to power point instead while double clicking on back button

    . draw lines like we plot on charts.

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  2. Anonymous
    2015-05-24T04:48:20+00:00

    just wondering if you kept your unit and found a solution?  or did you return it?  i am at that same point.

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  3. Anonymous
    2015-06-04T10:20:07+00:00

    I'm a 3d artist and concept artist who work with Sketchbook, Photoshop, Maya, ZBrush, 3DSMax, Unity, Illustrator etc. 

    I've been drooling over the idea of a tablet as a laptop replacement for months now, and patiently waited for the Companion 2 to come out, and now for any word of the Surface Pro 4. I've been leaning strongly towards the Surface over the Companion lately, but after properly looking into this matter of the buttons I have to say I'm deeply shocked.

    A pen without map-able buttons is to an artist what a bicycle with no pedals is to a professional cyclist. You can still use it (sort of), but why would you?

    The need for customizable pen buttons is so fundamental to an artist that I fail to comprehend how this could have been neglected. Seeing that this "Surface Hub" app thing still doesn't seem to support proper pen customization I can only assume that Microsoft does not care about the artist in regards to the surface and that we are not a valued audience. 

    I might hold out to see what the Surface pro 4 brings, but this will be the first thing I'll look out for.

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  4. Anonymous
    2015-06-04T19:28:14+00:00

    I'm a 3d artist and concept artist who work with Sketchbook, Photoshop, Maya, ZBrush, 3DSMax, Unity, Illustrator etc. 

    ...........

    I might hold out to see what the Surface pro 4 brings, but this will be the first thing I'll look out for. 

    Tell me about it. It boggles the mind! how is this still not fixed or even addressed????

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  5. Anonymous
    2015-06-05T00:50:04+00:00

    People following this forum must have reached the conclusion that Microsoft does NOT consider artists their target market for the Surface Pro3. Nor does it consider it a priority to make the Killer-Feature of the Surface, i.e. the PEN, customizable, to allow better use of many real world productivity programs.

    There is No doubt that the Surface Pro 3 is a very powerful computer that can run most of our demanding art software, even if Microsoft doesn't consider us its main target market.

    Apple DOES consider artists its core fan base, yet it does NOT have anything resembling the Surface Pen. What was the solution? Create a big enough user base to get 3rd party developers interested in finding a solution. This is how Apple overcomes any shortcomings with its very successful products.

    One of the 3rd party solutions for the Surface Pro 3 pen is Radial Menu.

    http://radialmenu.weebly.com/

    I wish the community would support the efforts of 3rd party developers. This is still work-in-progress that is very promising.

    I wish Microsoft would hire the people who do Apples TV Campaign for the iPhone and Apple Watch, instead of the goofy ads for the Surface.

    It sucks that Microsoft keeps doing the same mistakes it has been doing for the last 20 years and cripple their Tablet PCs, I hope this time the Surface community will learn something from Apple's play book and set the Surface free.

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