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.

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments

171 answers

Sort by: Oldest
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2014-08-30T17:13:34+00:00

    I've been a lifelong mac user. I bought the Surface Pro 3 because it offered the portability and touch screen functionality that I've always wanted from a mac but that they're just not making. Once we got it we quickly realized that without the ability to customize the buttons on the pen this tablet is almost useless to us. I don't understand why this would be made without the ability to customize the buttons.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2014-08-30T17:26:58+00:00

    Does anybody know if this request (Pen Button Customization) was forwared to Microsoft already?

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2014-08-31T11:58:52+00:00

    I'm not sure but if love to send one- do you know how?   Do you have to be a developer or beta program tester of some kind?

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2014-09-01T23:07:19+00:00

    Alright, so this annoys me deeply. The hardware of the Surface Pro 3 seems to work very good but why on earth are there no way to adjust what the pen buttons do and change the pressure sensitivity curve of the pen? And why isn't this application specific?

    I want the buttons on the pen to do specific things inside Photoshop for example, and other things in explorer. I also don't want to press the button on the pen AND click for a right click when it could have been like on a Wacom pen and worked while hovering.

    The pressure sensitivity is horrible inside of Photoship CC, you almost feel like you are damaging the screen because of the force needed to get 100% pressure. In Sketchbook it doesn't even work at all.

    A built in way to create application specific on-screen hotkeys would be nice as well.

    These features should have been there from the beginning, and if they don't get added by either Microsoft or anyone else VERY soon, I bet alot of artist are going to return this thing. I'm sure many of us bought this product instead of the Wacom Companion for various reasons. So, what I ask is simply for Microsoft to not make us reconsider our purchase. The Surface Pro 3 really has the potential to be a great portable machine for artists, make it happen

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  5. Anonymous
    2014-09-02T01:37:37+00:00

    100% agreed. Button customisation is essential.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments