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
    2014-10-08T03:09:30+00:00

    Customization may be on its way.  Per the information on the Oct 6 system hardware update:

    The Surface Pro 3 system update that went out on Oct. 6 contained a Surface Pen Driver that enables additional upcoming configuration options for Surface Pro

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-10-06T04:49:35+00:00

    For what it's worth, I've already returned my Surface Pro 3. A one-and-a-half-button pointing device just doesn't cut it.

    I replaced my SP3 with a Samsung of similar specs, but with a 'Penabled' Wacom digitiser instead of the SP3's N-Trig digitiser. I added another compatible pen (from a Fujitsu Lifebook) and now I have pressure control, right-click, middle-click, a pressure-sensitive eraser, and a snappier overall experience.

    The Samsung is nowhere near as pretty as the SP3, but it has all the functionality the SP3 desperately needs.

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  3. Anonymous
    2014-10-05T06:41:15+00:00

    I'm guessing Microsoft feels content with there click and hold for right click.

    I find this implementation to be cumbersome and slow, and this method can be troublesome on some desktop applications. The lack of ability to remap the buttons is a major issue they need to fix. Plenty of desktop applications make use of middle click (and right). Per applications customizations would be perfect.

    I have just recently purchased a Surface Pro 3, but  coming from using Wacom's in the past, I am disappointed Microsoft hasn't prioritised a more expansive tool to control the pen.

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  4. Anonymous
    2014-10-05T06:28:31+00:00

    I'm a die hard PC person but until the Surface makes pen drawing/painting/art a priority I'll keep losing OS arguments to my artsy mac counterparts. It would be the ultimate trump card. Pretty please Msoft?

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  5. Anonymous
    2014-10-04T23:21:43+00:00

    Hello,

    I purchased surface pro 3 mainly for drawing purpose. I realized that I can't config the functionalities of the pen buttons. For example, when blending colors, I need to rapidly pick up colors. I need quick access to color picker. On my desktop, I use a wacom tablet, which comes with two pen buttons too. I often config one of the buttons to be the color picker, but I can't do the same to the surface pro 3 pen buttons. This is totally a deal breaker.

    in photoshop, for example, the shortcut for color picker is alt+mouse click, so all I need to do is letting one of the pen button to be the alt button. this should be an easy to implement feature. I'm surprised it is missing from surface!

    I want this too R/surface wants this

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