Hi all,

Im looking heavily into getting a small tablet primarily to work on music and drawings in many locations such as the train on my way to work. There are a few potential roadblocks however i cant seem to find much documentation about, mainly how on earth do you right click, right drag, control-drag, shift-drag, etc.

These would be a show stopper for me since the apps i use make use of these functions extensively. I see that one or two tablet models advertise a stylus with AAA batteries and a small button. I assume holding down this button would switch to a mode where you could right-click and right-drag, which is great! (what is that bluetooth?), but what about the other ones that dont advertise this, is this built into the Tablet PC spec?

Also, any insight anyone has on control-dragging, shift-dragging, and even control-shift-dragging would be very much appreciated, is this impossible to simulate?? the only way i can think of are if the assignable buttons that are commonplace on tablets can be assigned to ctrl / shift. how assignable are those buttons?

Thanks to anyone that can give me a bit of info on this.
-mike

Welcome to the forums.

As I read your post, there are two great questions in it.

First, using the right click features. Second, the EMR versus the EMD pen.

Let's start wtih the right click features. There is a TIP (Tablet Input Panel) which may be docked to the top or bottom, as well as float. It is possible to tap the ctrl on this onscreen keyboard as equivalent to holding down the ctrl key on a keyboard. The same is true for the shift key.

Now, I was thinking about convertibles because you may want to consider a convertible or make sure that you have a docking station. I tend to use one mode over another under certain circumstances.

Slate mode - tablet mode
While traveling or in a meeting and taking notes then I prefer slate mode and the use as the pen for handwriting because it is faster. I tend to use GoBinder as the main notetaking software.

This is where the pure slates shine - they are lighter.

Notebook mode
I rarely use the slate mode (tablet mode) on this Acer when I'm sitting at a desk but instead the tablet is in notebook mode. The pen is used as a replacement mouse while surfing the web. This is because it is faster for me to type responses and it is faster to use the pen for moving up and down a webpage (hand eye coordination is much better).

An equivalent for slates is placing them in a docking station.

EMR v EMD pens
In terms of the pen. Tablet PCs using the Wacom digitizer will use an EMR pen that does not require batteries. In contrast, a Tablet PC (such as Averatec) uses an EMD pen that requires batteries (AAAA batteries). You cannot interchange pens.

Hope this answers your questions.

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Cool, thanks for the info-

So are you saying that even the EMR pens that require no batteries still have some method of right clicking? Like a button that mechanically changes the magnetism that the screen picks up on somehow? Or is it only the EMD pens that have the right click?

Yes, i am definitely looking at getting a convertible, just makes sense to be able to open it up and type from time to time. Specifically i'm looking at the Fujitsu T3000/T3010/T3000D/T3010D (anyone who can tell me the effective difference between these four is a genius in my book). However if i cant use my programs in tablet mode, then i think i would be better off with a laptop.

So using the tablet input panel, i assume shift-dragging would be done by tapping the shift key once, then dragging the object, then tapping the shift key again to disengage? I think i could deal with that, but i still wonder if its possible to assign the buttons next to the screen to shift or control? (the main program i use, cool edit, involves control-right-dragging and shift-right-dragging constantly so this is of importance to me)

Thanks,
-mike

You are welcome.

Correct. I use the EMR pen from Cross because I lost my original one a few weeks ago. It's a great pen - with the eraser on the end.

LOL. I've always wondered whether the group that makes up these numbers even knows ...

I should try to download cool edit and see how this works.. hmm.

You should be able to get an online user guide to the Fujitsu and see how to reprogram the keys. It should be possible.

__________________
Layne P. Heiny / Administrator for Tux Reports Network

Please do not send private messages requesting technical support. Place your request in the proper forum and hopefully someone can help you.

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