After an evaluation, GNOME has moved from Bugzilla to GitLab. Learn more about GitLab.
No new issues can be reported in GNOME Bugzilla anymore.
To report an issue in a GNOME project, go to GNOME GitLab.
Do not go to GNOME Gitlab for: Bluefish, Doxygen, GnuCash, GStreamer, java-gnome, LDTP, NetworkManager, Tomboy.
Bug 549839 - Failure to detect tablet upon startup
Failure to detect tablet upon startup
Status: RESOLVED OBSOLETE
Product: gtk+
Classification: Platform
Component: Class: GdkDevice
2.24.x
Other Windows
: Normal normal
: ---
Assigned To: GIMP Bugs
GIMP Bugs
: 588692 590498 695317 (view as bug list)
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
 
Reported: 2008-08-29 16:10 UTC by strata_ranger
Modified: 2018-04-15 00:10 UTC
See Also:
GNOME target: ---
GNOME version: ---



Description strata_ranger 2008-08-29 16:10:26 UTC
When I load GIMP, it frequently fails to detect my Wacom tablet as an available input device.  The tablet inputs are not shown on the "Device Status" tab, and attempting to draw with the tablet has no effect whatsoever (although I can still access window and menu commands, and other Windows apps, with the tablet).

I believe this is related to how long it has been since I last used my tablet (for me, this typically ranges from several days to a few weeks), because after using my tablet once, if I reboot GIMP then it detects the tablet correctly and everything from that point on runs perfectly. (Save for the known issue of tablet lag, which is a different matter...)

But having to reboot GIMP simply to re-detect an installed input device is a pain.  Can there be a command (on the Preferences window, e.g.) to do this while GIMP is running?  Something like a "Refresh input devices" button.
Comment 1 Sven Neumann 2008-08-29 16:46:42 UTC
Please reassign this report to GTK+. It is not GIMP's business to detect your tablet.
Comment 2 Tor Lillqvist 2008-08-30 20:50:18 UTC
When you say "reboot GIMP", do you mean restart Windows? That's what the term "reboot" means.
Comment 3 strata_ranger 2008-08-31 12:09:18 UTC
(In reply to comment #2)
> When you say "reboot GIMP", do you mean restart Windows? That's what the term
> "reboot" means.
No, only re-starting GIMP.

I need to test my tablet in other programs to see if the same behavior happens there, but the apparent nature of it in the first place will make that difficult.

As much as Sven points out how GTK handles the tablet interaction, I still can't help wonder whether this behavior also partially falls under GIMP as well (a button to have GIMP resync/redetect available input devices certainly would be).
Comment 4 Tor Lillqvist 2008-08-31 12:23:42 UTC
So, do I understand correctly: You use your tablet only occasionally, maybe a couple of times a week, or with weeks inbetween uses? And occasionally when you then want to use the tablet in GIMP, you have to start GIMP twice before the tablet is recognized?
Comment 5 strata_ranger 2008-09-01 01:21:39 UTC
Basically, yes.

Depending on what I need to do at the time (most of my GIMP activity is post processing of scanned images, the type of exposure/resize stuff that you wouldn't need a tablet for anyway), it can be anywhere from a few days to a month between using my tablet.  (As a result?) when I start GIMP, the tablet pen isn't recognized as an available input device.  (The pen still overrides the mouse cursor when navigating dialogs or menus per usual; it just isn't recognized within the active GIMP image space).  So I re-start GIMP, the tablet pen is correctly detected as an available input device, and it works fine from there on out.
Comment 6 Michael Schumacher 2008-09-01 23:35:11 UTC
Looks like bug #471342, but this one is more active.
Comment 7 strata_ranger 2008-11-08 17:11:08 UTC
Today, I'm going to clean up a scanned pencil drawing and that calls for the tablet.  But since GIMP doesn't always detect the tablet, I'm going to experiment a little bit and see if I can discover anything.

Tried the following steps so far:

1 - Started Inkscape, selected "Input Devices..." option from the Inkscape menu.  The puck/stylus config screen appeared.
2 - For comparison, started GIMP and selected "Configure Extended Input Devices" from GIMP Preferences.  Was told "No extended input devices found".

3 - Exited GIMP and Inkscape alike.  Brought the tablet stylus within range of the tablet pad to get a signal.

4 - Restarted GIMP and checked GIMP Preferences, Extended Input Devices.  The same puck/stylus config screen appeared now.
5 - Clicked the "Save" button on that window (puck/stylus config) before closing and exiting GIMP.

This is not much information yet, I know.  Step #6 is going to be a cold reboot of my computer to see if that changes anything.
Comment 8 strata_ranger 2008-11-08 17:36:53 UTC
Okay, the following steps are from a fresh reboot of my system:

0 - Tablet puck and stylus are currently out of tablet range.

1 - Started both GIMP and Inkscape alike, to compare whether or not the tablet was detected by one or the other.  For the record, GIMP version is 2.4.6 and Inkscape version is 0.45.1 .

2a - in GIMP: checked the "Device Status" toolbox tab.  Result, only the "Core Pointer" shows up as an input device; the "Pressure stylus" and "Eraser stylus" are nowhere to be found.
2b - in GIMP:  Checked GIMP Preferences, "Configure Extended Input Devices".  The Configure Input Devices window simply says "No input devices found".
2c - in Inkscape:  Accessed the "Input Devices..." config option from Inkscape's menu.  The Configure Input Devices window shows up reporting tablet stylus, eraser, and puck as available devices to configure, the same as GIMP would had it detected the tablet to begin with.

3a - Readied my tablet for use.
3b - in GIMP:  Using the pen stylus, created a new image.  As expected from #2a, the tablet was not detected as an input device, so while I can still use the tablet to interact with GIMP toolboxes, windows and menus, I cannot use it to draw.
3c - in Inkscape:  Attempted to draw freehand lines, calligraphy strokes, and Bezier curves with the tablet pen.  Success with all tools.

5 - Exit both GIMP and Inkscape, then restarted both programs.

6a - in GIMP:  Checked the "Device Status" toolbox tab.  The tab reports the "Core Pointer" as well as "Wacom Tablet" stylus devices for input.
6b - in GIMP:  Opened a new image and attempted drawing with the tablet pen.  Result = Success.
6c - No need to test Inkscape here since it apparently detected the tablet correctly upon startup, even before bringing the tablet pen within range.

* * *

Conclusions so far:

1 - Able to reproduce the problem after a cold reboot of my PC.
2 - Only seems to affect GIMP; Inkscape did not exhibit any problems detecting the tablet whatsoever.
Comment 9 Tobias Mueller 2009-06-07 20:53:07 UTC
Reopening as the questions have been answered.
Comment 10 Michael Schumacher 2009-08-06 20:18:27 UTC
*** Bug 590498 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Comment 11 Michael Schumacher 2009-08-06 21:24:46 UTC
*** Bug 588692 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Comment 12 Fabian T 2009-08-09 04:53:10 UTC
I have replicated this bug, using a Wacom Graphire4 with latest drivers, running Windows XP and using GIMP 2.6.5 (not sure what version of GTK+).

It seems as if GTK fails to initialise the tablet on Windows; I find that I cannot actually draw on the canvas with the tablet although i am able to use it to select any menu options etc.

In "Configure Extended Input Devices" the tablet is not shown.

HOWEVER, if I open another tablet-aware application (eg. Photoshop Elements, Corel Painter), draw a few strokes with the tablet, then close this program and go back to the GIMP, it's detected without a hitch.

The problem always comes back when I reboot my computer, and can always be remedied with the above solutions.

Hope this helps!
Comment 13 bert 2010-06-12 08:13:56 UTC
I confirm this bug. I am using GIMP 2.6.8 on Windows 7 (32 bit) using a Wacom Intuos 4 tablet.
Each time I start GIMP the first time (after turning on the computer) it fails to recognize the tablet. The configure input devices in preferences states it cannot find additional devices.
Closing and then re-opening GIMP makes the tablet recognised again.

Perhaps it is important to note that the tablet can be used to open menus and select tools, but it cannot be used in the drawing area. (So for example, selecting the brush tools with the styles, does select the brush tool, but you cannot paint with it).
Comment 14 strata_ranger 2012-05-01 15:51:40 UTC
I guess I shouldn't be surprised that the behavior persists in current versions of GIMP (2.8.0-RC1) and Inkscape (0.48.2), as both apps come packaged with similar versions of GTK+ (2.24 and 2.22, respectively).

In either one, if I haven't actually used my tablet yet when starting the app, the tablet pen acts only as a core pointer (i.e. I lose all pressure-sensitive functions).  Inkscape does not list the tablet in its Input Devices section, but GIMP 2.8.0-RC1 does (this is an improvement over GIMP 2.6, which did not either).  I must actually use the tablet prior to starting to application for GTK to detect it (accessing the application's shortcut via tablet pen is a usable workaround for now).
Comment 15 Alexia Death 2012-05-01 16:16:38 UTC
I actually have a setup where in I have a tablet pc with builtin wacom and a wacom bamboo pluged in as well. I experienced some rather odd behavior with this setup but this bug may explain it...

I used the bamboo before starting gimp, but not the built-in tablet pen. the first start no devices were available. The tablet pen ever did become available, where as bamboo was usable after second start. It never dawned on me that I could poke it to life by actually using it. Will test tomorrow.
Comment 16 Alexia Death 2012-05-02 10:23:22 UTC
Yep, this bug explains the appearance of devices quite neatly. Neither of my devices are present until used. When used they become available.

As an extra bug, unrelated to this one, there is a naming conflict. The eraser for both devices has the same name and thus it's the last device used that becomes "WACOM Tablet Eraser". There is no such conflict for he stylus end because one is called "WACOM Tablet ISD Stylus"(the builtin one) and the other "WACOM Tablet Pressure Stylus"
Comment 17 dave 2013-03-08 22:34:54 UTC
If the "poking tablet before launching GIMP" proves to be the case, then this is the same bug I recently filed under 69317.
Comment 18 Michael Schumacher 2013-03-08 22:37:58 UTC
*** Bug 695317 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Comment 19 Matthias Clasen 2018-02-10 05:17:06 UTC
We're moving to gitlab! As part of this move, we are moving bugs to NEEDINFO if they haven't seen activity in more than a year. If this issue is still important to you and still relevant with GTK+ 3.22 or master, please reopen it and we will migrate it to gitlab.
Comment 20 strata_ranger 2018-02-14 19:24:54 UTC
Definitely still relevant to basically any tablet user, in direct proportion to how often they use it.

The current workaround is to make sure to actually use the pen somewhere before launching the application; then it seems to be detected reliably.  Otherwise you have to quit and re-start the application.

A better workaround would be the application including an option (e.g. perhaps on GIMP's "Input Devices" dialog) to refresh / re-detect available input devices (analogous to the option to re-load GIMP-Fu scripts) ... but I do not know how feasible this would be.

Ideally, of course, would be that GTK should detect the tablet based on the fact that it is plugged in, not whether the pen has yet been used (which still seems to be the case).

Tested:
- Windows 10 (64-bit)
- GIMP 2.8.22 (with GTK 2.24.28.0)

Windows 10 tends to fully power off my laptop when it is closed for an extended period of time -- so I get plenty of opportunities to run tests from a cold boot.
Comment 21 Matthias Clasen 2018-04-15 00:10:47 UTC
As announced a while ago, we are migrating to gitlab, and bugs that haven't seen activity in the last year or so will be not be migrated, but closed out in bugzilla.

If this bug is still relevant to you, you can open a new issue describing the symptoms and how to reproduce it with gtk 3.22.x or master in gitlab:

https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gtk/issues/new