Do I need a pen and tablet?

On 26 Jul 2003 03:00:45 -0700, (Antti
Heiskanen) wrote:
BTW, can a pen and a tablet be used (or connected to the computer) at
the same time with a mouse? I'm left-handed (I use pen with my left
hand but use mouse with my right hand), so I'd need a tablet that can
be used on the left side of the keyboard, while at the same time
having a mouse on the right-hand side.

Yes, I keep the tablet on the left and use whichever mouse is more
convenient at that moment. (Occasionally both at once in a tug-of-war
over the cursor. :-)

John
--
Photo gallery: http://www.pbase.com/john_russell/

Charlie D wrote:

In article ,
Mxsmanic wrote:

You don't need a tablet for anything, strictly speaking. Then again,
technically you don't need a mouse, either--you could just do everything
with the keyboard. The difference is about the same between keyboard
and mouse as it is between mouse and tablet, as anyone who has used all
of these will confirm.

I guess I'm not enough of an artiste.
Just trying to save someone who doesn't have one some money.
I have one and never use it.

I also have a small 4 x 5" Graphire Wacom tablet, which I got for photo editing
convenience. I also never use it. I found it extremely clumsy to use. I am
much faster and more precise with a mouse.

I didn't even use it for my signiture.

That's about the only thing I did with the tablet that has proved to be useful.
I did have to do the signature over and over again though until I had one that
I could (can) use. I am about to buy a scanner now, and one of the first things
I will most likely do, is redo that signature.

Abrasha
http://www.abrasha.com

Paul Heslop wrote:

Antti Heiskanen wrote:

Paula Sims wrote in message al.net...
I have scanned several thousand photos in and am now going to use
Photoshop to touch them up. How helpful would a pen and a tablet be or
should I just stick to my mouse? If I should go with the pen and tablet,
which one?

BTW, can a pen and a tablet be used (or connected to the computer) at
the same time with a mouse?

I have the tablet at the left side of my desk area and the normal mouse
sitting next to it. Some tablets have a mouse with them but this usually
works ON the tablet and you'll either like or hate it (I HATE IT!!!)
I often use the mouse to do simple point and clicks, where the pen can
be a little fiddly.

One of the things I hated with my Wacom Graphire, was that the cordless mouse
works only when used ON the tablet. And you cannot just use the pen and then
switch quickly to the mouse. You have to switch the settings in the software
utility first from "pen mode" to "mouse mode".

BTW, the pen is a great deal better if you do a lot of drawing, which is very
difficult for me with a mouse.

Abrasha
http://www.abrasha.com

Abrasha writes:

Bull****.

They seem to be universal among professional graphic artists and
photographers using Photoshop. There are some operations that don't
really require a mouse, but others mandate it. For example, you can't
get pressure or opacity data from a mouse. Some tools even use the tilt
data from a stylus (Wacom tablets, at least, tell the system the angle
at which the stylus is being held, as well as pressure and contact
data).

--
Transpose hotmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly.

I admit the Wacom mouse is awful, but I have never had any problem switching
from the mouse to the pen. I wonder if this is an OS or set-up issue. I
work with WIN ME and use the default Wacom settings.

"Abrasha" wrote in message
...

One of the things I hated with my Wacom Graphire, was that the cordless
mouse
works only when used ON the tablet. And you cannot just use the pen and
then
switch quickly to the mouse. You have to switch the settings in the
software
utility first from "pen mode" to "mouse mode".

BTW, the pen is a great deal better if you do a lot of drawing, which is
very
difficult for me with a mouse.

Abrasha
http://www.abrasha.com