Friday, November 28, 2008

Intrepid - Tablet Working

Finally got my tablet working again in Intrepid. I have never installed an Ubuntu version that had support right from the start for my tablet. So, I am used to doing a search a few weeks after install and going through a lengthy howto. This time, the howto was not lengthy, but the time involved sure turned out to be.
I had to try this several times to get it working, and I'm not sure if it will STAY working once I restart my PC. I kept getting the command line (as in X wouldn't start). So, hopefully this helps you do it faster than I did.
Ok, so here is my quick three step program:
1) Backup your current conf file.
  >  In a terminal type "sudo cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.default" (don't type the quotes)
  >  Write down these instructions in case you get a command line:
    - To restore your default conf file type these two commands (after signing in using your username and password)
    - "sudo cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf.default /etc/X11/xorg.conf"
    - "sudo reboot"
    - Just write down the bold parts, don't include any quotes in the terminal.
2) Edit your conf file
  >  In the terminal type "sudo gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf"
  >  Add this to the bottom of the file:
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "stylus"
Driver "wacom"
Option "Device" "/dev/ttyS0"
Option "Type" "stylus"
Option "ForceDevice" "ISDV4"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "eraser"
Driver "wacom"
Option "Device" "/dev/ttyS0"
Option "Type" "eraser"
Option "ForceDevice" "ISDV4"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "cursor"
Driver "wacom"
Option "Device" "/dev/ttyS0"
Option "Type" "cursor"
Option "ForceDevice" "ISDV4"
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "Default Layout"
Screen "Default Screen"
InputDevice "stylus" "SendCoreEvents"
InputDevice "eraser" "SendCoreEvents"
InputDevice "cursor" "SendCoreEvents"
EndSection

3) Restart X
  >  AFTER SAVING ALL OF YOUR WORK (your computer will basically restart now), press ctrl+alt+backspace
    - If you do not see a command line, pull out your pen and try to move the cursor. Should work now. Go ahead and sign in and enjoy your tablet functionality.


More research:
These articles were ESSENTIAL for me to get this done.
Wacom Tablets in Ubuntu Guide / howto
Wacom - Community Ubuntu Documentation
I thank the Ubuntu community for once again helping me (well, basically doing all the hard work for me) with yet another configuration of my tablet. This is why I love Ubuntu, people really do help people with this OS.

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