Hello Inkscape people,

I'm unsure that this is a software issue, so I'm posting here because of what was said on this page: http://www.inkscapeforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=4891

I've been searching the Internet (I'm not a very good word tagline searcher) but I also checked here: https://bugs.launchpad.net/inkscape in both the "Bugs" and "Answers" section using the search bar each time for both sections for anything Intuos 4 related, and found nothing related to my problem.


The only topic/thread I could find that has a problem I'm having, that is very close in relation to what's going with my tablet is on this page: http://www.inkscapeforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=11336 The only difference is that I use Ubuntu and not Windows, and I also cannot checkmark the "Hardware" and "Wacom Tablet" checkboxes, but I can checkmark the rest that are in relation to the Wacom tablet I'm using. I've been using Ubuntu for a few years now, but have not been able to ever get pressure sensitivity to work on my tablet. Here are my specs:

Applies to my problem as of 12/2012
----------------------------------------------------------------
Tablet: Intuos 4
Inkscape Version: 0.48.3.1-1ubuntu1 (r9886)
OS: Ubuntu 12.04 LTS
Processor: Intel Xeon(TM) CPU 3.20GHz x 2
OS Type: 32-bit
Pressure Sensitivity excellent in: Mypaint & Gimp
----------------------------------------------------------------

The inkscape version I have listed is what I found in the Ubuntu Software Center when I searched for the Inkscape I have installed.
I would've posted to the last like I listed on here, but I really wasn't quite sure if it's a bug or not. I hate not posting in the right areas, and, if I wasn't thorough enough with what I said, I'd be glad to clarify even more, if I understand what you need. I hope I followed through with all the rule stuff. I looked at it a while, but I'm sure I broke a rule in my post somewhere. Anyone who stumbles across this and reads it, any help is greatly appreciated on my question. Thank you.

Welcome to InkscapeForum!

Some more info has been posted to this topic, since you posted this. viewtopic.php?f=29&t=11336 Does any of that help? I don't use a graphics tablet and am not very familiar with the issues. But just to mention the new info

Thank you for the warm welcome Brynn!

I appreciate you getting back with me, but as for the link you've sent of post "Intuos4 works in 0.47 but not 0.48 (Win7)", I have it listed as the last link in my first post, and it is the only post I could find that was as closely related to what problem I'm dealing with. The problems with the post in relation to mine is that the person that mentioned the problem in the first place never has came back with a "problem solved" post as to whether or not they figured out a way to fix it or not. I honestly feel bad for the people who can't get their tablet to work, but then it makes me sad when someone can get their tablet to work and they don't post what they did to get it to work or when they do post it's like "I got it to work. Thanks!". Then I'm left thinking, but how did you get it to work? XD

I forgot to mention I've done some trouble shooting and my tablet pressure sensitivity does work in both Mypaint and Gimp, just like what was explained in the "Intuos4 works in 0.47 but not 0.48 (Win7)" post. Someone did mention the reason for the problem was due to "The fault in the newer version of the GTK+ stack used with Inkscape 0.48.2 on Windows (v2.22.1)", but I don't use Windows. But then I found a post where someone said "On Linux, Inkscape 0.48.3 uses GTK 2.24 and presure sensivity works well". I have both of what's mentioned and pressure sensitivity still won't work in Inkscape. I will mention that (so others can help troubleshoot their problem), in order to find my version of GTK, I went to the Terminal & typed this: dpkg -l libgtk2.0-0 libgtk-3-0
I do have 2.24 (or 2.24.10), but trying to be specific here, in the terminal it said I had libgtk-3-0 3.4.2 and libgtk2.0-0 2.24.10.

Also, another thing I wanted to mention I noticed is that someone named suv on the other Intuos 4 post left a note stating: (On recent Ubuntu versions, there's a known issue triggered by Unity's custom overlay scrollbars which prevent pressure sensitivity from working in Inkscape - not an bug with GTK+ or Inkscape itself AFAIU). The "known issue" link on suv's post is about a year old, and the link on the 13th post of the page shows people having trouble but they don't have the tablet I have. If this is indeed a bug problem, just let me know and I'll gladly post my problem there. =) If not, cool. I just wanted to make sure it's GTK first before I tread any further on this problem. But if it's truely GTK that's causing the rift for Inkscape to play nice with my tablet, what would be the best route to take? Do I downgrade my version of GTK or would it be better to upgrade to a lesser stable version of Inkscape?

Sorry so long. Just trying to be as thorough as possible with this problem. I've had my tablet for over 2 years and I just want my tablet to work and to get as much worth out of Inkscape as much as possible since it's such a beautiful & powerful program. If the problem is an easy fix, I'll definitely post right back here and let you all know what I had to do to get pressure sensitivity to work in Inkscape. I promise. =) Thanks again everyone for your help!

In your long and detailed post you did not mention if you have tried, as I mentioned in the other post, deleting your preferences, disabling the rulers, and then trying Inkscape with the pressure pen. In addition, going even further back in posts, is your wacom control panel set to use window instead of screen? This is sometimes a problem!
You also don't mention what is happening when you try to use your pen in Inkscape.
is it:
Pressure pen does not work unless you use it to start the program?
You can use the menus, but can't draw on canvas?
you can use the selection tools, but not the drawing tools?
When you try to draw, you get wild lines shooting off into the great distance?
You can draw, but just not with any pressure response?
You can draw, with pressure response, but the drawing does not reflect your gesture?
I understand your frustration, and I hope an Ubuntu user will be along soon! But the increasing commonality between Inkscape for Windows and Linux might mean that some problems are in common too. See this.

Many people don't come back with a problem solved post... it's the nature of these forums. I assume the problem is fixed, but a less optimistic soul might well assume that the user has given up on the software.

In your long and detailed post you did not mention if you have tried, as I mentioned in the other post, deleting your preferences, disabling the rulers, and then trying Inkscape with the pressure pen.

I actully saw that post at the bottom and saw that it said for the steps you gave:

Symptoms: your tablet is either severely delayed, i.e. you make a stroke and there is a long wait before it appears on screen, OR stroke does not appear at all, OR only part of it is drawn, OR straight segments show up in parts of the line..

I don't have these problems you mentioned, so that is why I didn't try the steps out. If there was mention of going through the steps because of pressure sensitivity problems (such as no width changes to lines when applying pressure), then maybe I'd try the step process you have listed. I don't want to waste my time on something that doesn't directly pertain to my problem. I'm honestly not saying that to be rude, but if you feel I should try the steps anyway. I will try them. If I want to make precise measurements for whatever occasion, I want to keep my ruler and since the post was made in 2009, I just figured to pop up and ask if there's been any changes since then that allow me to keep my ruler and still have tablet pressure sensitivity too. =)

What's happening when I try to use my pen in Inkscape? I'm happy you asked!

Q:You can use the menus, but can't draw on canvas?
I can definately use menus, and I can draw on canvas.

Q: You can use the selection tools, but not the drawing tools?
I can use the selection tools. I can use all the drawing tools. I can even use my tablet pen to draw, just there's no pressure sensitivity.
If the calligraphy pen is the only tool that allows for pressure sensitivity, then yes, I can use it, but no pressure sensitivity. Also, is the calligraphy pen the only tool that allows for pressure sensitivity to take place?

Q: When you try to draw, you get wild lines shooting off into the great distance?
No wild lines at all. It does fine. Just no pressure sensitivity.

Q: You can draw, but just not with any pressure response? When using a tablet, yes. Just no pressure response.

Q: You can draw, with pressure response, but the drawing does not reflect your gesture?
I've not reached this part yet.

By all means druban, I did not mean to come across as being frustrated. I'm sorry my text appears that way. =( I just wanted to make a detailed and thorough post so that anyone having a problem using Ubuntu could use this post to troubleshoot their problems to the best of their knowledge. When it comes to computer problems, I'm a tackler, and I guess I was a little rough. XD I'll be gentle next time I have a new problem to post. C: I just figured if I don't tackle the problem seriously, then there's a possibility that no one else will either.

I appreciate the questions you asked, because I didn't realize I still wasn't thorough enough. I will patiently wait for an answer from an Ubuntu user. I've been waiting (for updates) and searching for two years on and off as to why there's no pressure sensitivity for the version of Inkscape I use. I can wait a while, it's no problem. As for the commonality between Inkscape for both Windows and Linux, I can see that happening, but I want to make sure those commonalities aren't in 5 year old posts, because things can change under the (software) hood since those posts. =) I understand about less optimistic souls. I love Inkscape and I've used it over the past two years and would like to start doing a little bit more with it now that I've dabbled with begginer basics. So I don't plan on giving up so soon. I will take a look at your new link as well. Thank you for your help. =)