One of the pleasures of running this site is that I get to take some credit for passing along tips and tricks given to me by readers who are far smarter than I am.
That's definitely the case with this find by eagle eyed reader Graham Mackarel, who let me know of a quiet post on the Photoshop Help site that eliminates the need for Wintab drivers in the latest versions of Photoshop CC (14.2x).
Wacom calls its Wintab drivers "Wacom feel IT" and the latest version (7.1.2 released in October, 2013) has exhibited calibration issues (http://surfaceproartist.com/blog/2013/10/7/wacom-updates-feel-it-drivers) and doesn't work with new hardware like the Asus Vivotab Note 8 (http://surfaceproartist.com/blog/2014/2/11/developing-asus-vivotab-note-8-review). For N-Trig tablets, we spotted an obscure 32-bit only Wintab driver from Sony which we were also able to apply to Acer's Aspire R572G. (See http://surfaceproartist.com/blog/2014/1/5/sony-n-trig-devices-now-pen-pressure-sensitive-in-32-bit-photoshop)
Now with this fix, which enables RealTimeStylus functionality, users of Photoshop CC won't have to download anything to see pressure sensitivity in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of that software.
Simply create a text file called PSUserConfig.txt containing the following:
# AllowRTS uRTS 1
Place this text file in the Photoshop Settings folder: C:\Users\[User Name]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CC\Adobe Photoshop CC Settings\
When pen pressure is unavailable, Photoshop displays a warning if you attempt to use it in a brush control.
The next time you run Photoshop, pen pressure will be recognized.
I tested this technique in 32- and 64-bit Photoshops on the Surface Pro, the Sony Flip 15A and the Acer Aspire R7-572G. I deleted calibration data and uninstalled any Wintab drivers to ensure that the two wouldn't conflict.
If you'd like to read the full Adobe post on RealTimeStylus, including instructions for disabling it, check out http://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/tablet-functions-dont-photoshop-142.html.
The advantage of running your tablet pc without Wacom's drivers is that you will now be able to use a higher resolution calibration using the method we first reported here. Wacom's installation uses only 4 pt. calibration and overrides any TabletPC calibration you may have already performed.
Of course, if you run any other software that requires Wintab support, this fix isn't for you. But it's a good sign that we may soon be leaving this early 90's technology behind.
