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
    2014-09-15T03:52:21+00:00

    As a long-time Wacom user I expected the SP3's pen buttons to work at least a little like the way they work on every other device that comes with an active stylus.

    I realise the digitiser in the SP3 is N-Trig, not Wacom, but it still has the same buttons as a Bamboo or Intuos stylus, and they're effectively unavailable for general use.

    Right-click should be able to work while the pen is hovering, and the other button should be middle-click (also while hovering) by default or able to be set to return a double-click.

    Without being able to right-click normally or middle-click at all, many applications are hobbled or rendered unusable - and those buttons on the pen barrel are just sitting there, teasing at the SP3's untapped potential.

    Is there an update for the pen functionality planned? Is there a third-party way to remap the pen's buttons for right-click and middle-click? Is there an alternative device driver for the pen? Is the user community going to have to write a replacement driver? I'm prepared to do it myself if I have to, but we really shouldn't have to.

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-09-16T07:41:09+00:00

    Just to keep hammering the point, because it can't be hammered enough from an artist/ architect's point of view... the frustration for me (and I predict lots of others) is that we had this functionality with our earlier Surface Pros, so we've gone backwards. And in every way the Surface Pro 3 is a far superior animal except... KABOOM! Workflow Destroyed! Makes me cry.

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  3. Anonymous
    2014-09-28T00:56:45+00:00

    I saw a video on YouTube http://youtu.be/k00WYqM\_ubs which describes how to customize Surface Pro 3 pen top button to launch apps instead of Note, but it requires using EventGhost App and complex customization

    Also, I think that solution is applicable only to a top button on a pen, not to secondary/side buttons

    Any software or Windows options to customize those Surface Pro 3 pen buttons? Maybe another compatible version of the pen from manufacturer?

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  4. Anonymous
    2014-09-28T02:51:57+00:00

    YES! Having this feature would not only be fantastic, but c'mon Microsoft, this kind of thing ought to be a GIVEN! :) 

    Honestly, it was a big design oversight for your team to not factor this into the creation of your Surface Pro 3 pen. I don't know what customer discovery practices you use but man...

    Anyways, no use complaining. I suppose nothing can be done about it now, except that you please release drivers rectifying this issue as soon as possible. Please! This concern has been making me warn my friends about it, and I think they are actually going to stay away from this product until this is resolved.

    So... my thought is, from a business standpoint, the time you put into rectifying this really will pay for itself. Shame... since this issue is keeping me from being all-in for the Surface Pro 3! It is otherwise (besides some minor issues) quite a beautiful piece of technology.

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  5. Anonymous
    2014-09-28T02:56:04+00:00

    Yes. This is a must have. Had I known the inability to customize the pen buttons, that alone would have kept me from purchasing this otherwise good product. I'm a digital artist so... I really don't need (or care for) opening a program with the eraser (and more importantly, not being able to remap it??). Not good... and I think it's keeping many others away too.

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