Chapter 17. Graphics tablets

Procedure

1. Install the package that provides tablet definition files:

   # dnf install libwacom-data

   The package installs tablet definitions in the /usr/share/libwacom/ directory.

2. Check whether the definition file is available in the /usr/share/libwacom/ directory.

   To use the screen mapping correctly, support for your tablet must be included in the libwacom database and in the udev rules file.

   Important

   A common indicator that a device is not supported by libwacom is that it works normally in a GNOME session, but the device is not correctly mapped to the screen.

3. If the definition file for your device is not available in /usr/share/libwacom/, you have these options:

   • The required definition file may already be available in the linuxwacom/libwacom upstream repository. You can try to find the definition file there. If you find your tablet model in the list, copy the file to the local machine.

   • You can create a new tablet definition file. Use the data/wacom.example file below, and edit particular lines based on the characteristics of your device.

     Example 17.1. Example model file description for a tablet

     [Device]
     
     # The product is the product name announced by the kernel
     Product=Intuos 4 WL 6x9
     
     # Vendor name of this tablet
     Vendor=Wacom
     
     # DeviceMatch includes the bus (usb, serial), the vendor ID and the actual
     # product ID
     DeviceMatch=usb:056a:00bc
     
     # Class of the tablet. Valid classes include Intuos3, Intuos4, Graphire, Bamboo, Cintiq
     Class=Intuos4
     
     # Exact model of the tablet, not including the size.
     Model=Intuos 4 Wireless
     
     # Width in inches, as advertised by the manufacturer
     Width=9
     
     # Height in inches, as advertised by the manufacturer
     Height=6
     
     # Optional features that this tablet supports
     # Some features are dependent on the actual tool used, e.g. not all styli
     # have an eraser and some styli have additional custom axes (e.g. the
     # airbrush pen). These features describe those available on the tablet.
     #
     # Features not set in a file default to false/0
     
     [Features]
     # This tablet supports styli (and erasers, if present on the actual stylus)
     Stylus=true
     
     # This tablet supports touch.
     Touch=false
     
     # This tablet has a touch ring (Intuos4 and Cintiq 24HD)
     Ring=true
     # This tablet has a second touch ring (Cintiq 24HD)
     Ring2=false
     
     # This tablet has a vertical/horizontal scroll strip
     VStrip=false
     HStrip=false
     
     # Number of buttons on the tablet
     Buttons=9
     
     # This tablet is built-in (most serial tablets, Cintiqs)
     BuiltIn=false

Procedure

1. Add and install the definition file with the .tablet suffix:

   # cp <tablet_definition_file>.tablet /usr/share/libwacom/

   After it is installed, the tablet is part of the libwacom database. The tablet is then available through libwacom-list-local-devices.

2. Create a new /etc/udev/rules/99-libwacom-override.rules file with the following content so that your settings are not overwritten:

   ACTION!="add|change", GOTO="libwacom_end"
   KERNEL!="event[0-9]*", GOTO="libwacom_end"
   
   [new tablet match entries go here]
   
   LABEL="libwacom_end"

3. Reboot your system.