Wacom released new drivers for the PC and Mac. Go to Wacom Drivers to get the latest download. I always have mixed emotions about updating or not. I tend to always update all of my software even if it doesn’t seem like it needs it. Most of the time I am happy that I did, but lately, I have had some difficult updates with various software. I still update, but at least I am a little more wary about doing so.
As usual, with Wacom Drivers, I disconnect my tablet, uninstall the current driver, reboot, install the current driver, reboot, and then reconnect the tablet.
What a difference a day makes. Yesterday, I wondered if I had done the right thing installing the new Wacom driver; today, I am glad I did. OMGosh, the new driver can make custom palettes…actually they are like the radial menu, but I believe that the users will embrace the new way to create radial menus more than they did previously. But, first…let’s talk about other stuff I discovered today.
First thing I did was uninstall the driver I had installed yesterday. Then I downloaded the driver directly from Wacom. BTW, the legacy drivers have not been updated…just the Cintiqs, Cintiq Companion products, Intuos Pro and Intuos. You can download the driver from Wacom Drivers. I didn’t have the trouble with the installation, so, if you plan on updating, I would suggest uninstalling your current driver, disconnect your tablet from your computer, install the new driver, and finishing, then reconnect your tablet.
Unfortunately, some of the issues I saw yesterday were still there this morning. I talked with my mate, Tim Shelbourne in England, and we met via G2M and had a great deal of fun sorting it all out. This first video talks about some of the stuff we discovered and what I needed to do to correct any problems that occurred yesterday. If you are not interested in that, but want to find out about the Custom Palettes, skip to the next video.
In the next video I talk about a really neat function available with the new driver. You can now display the radial menu in single column, double column, single row, or double row. It seems more familiar than the radial method and reminds me a great deal of the way Painter handles custom palettes. I think Painter users will love it. In the video I wasn’t so sure, but I have changed my mind. And, I think Photoshop users are going to really love it the most because this will be the first time they can make custom palettes. Remember, it is the same as the radial menu, but that configuration never caught the public’s eye. I think the new method will. Here is the video…enjoy.
Give the new driver a try and let me know if you like the new way of doing the Radial Menu. Don’t forget, you can go back a few posts and get my custom shortcut keys for Painter and for the Wacom.
A friend sent me an email telling me that there were new Wacom Drivers available. Surprisingly, my Wacom Desktop Center hadn’t told me about it this morning, but when I opened the Center again, there was the message new drivers were available. I decided to use the Wacom Desktop Center to install the drivers. I did that the last time without issue. That wasn’t the case this time. The installation appeared to go as planned, but when I rebooted, I came back to black screens. I was able to get everything back without much hassle, but it was such a surprise to have something like this happen.
Next I loaded my preferences and then took a look at my Wacom Tablet Preferences window. Yikes, it look similar, but on closer inspection, I found many changes. I’m not even sure how it works. I did go to the Wacom site, but I couldn’t find any information about the changes. That doesn’t mean that it isn’t there…I just couldn’t find it.
I suspect that I am going to roll back to the previous driver until I can figure out what is going on. I’m not worried; Wacom products are fine. I just need to learn a bit about the new look and feel of the Wacom Tablet Preferences. I’ll let you know when I do.
In the meantime, look at the video below. It will tell you in more detail about what I found when updating to the latest driver.
Believe it or not, for the first time my Wacom Desktop Center notified me of a new driver. This time, instead of downloading the driver from the Wacom site, I let the Wacom Desktop Center download and install the new driver. A follower mentioned that he used the Wacom Desktop Center last time and it worked fine. I haven’t used it before because it never notified me of a new driver…so, I figured that something was amiss.
But, apparently nothing is amiss. I just followed the prompts and my Wacom Desktop Center downloaded and installed the new driver. It worked like a charm. And, my tablet settings were still in place. I didn’t need to back up and restore my settings. I’m very excited about this. It means I do not have to keep checking for updates. Yippee! Great job Wacom.
In case your Wacom Desktop Center didn’t do the job, go to Wacom Drivers and download the latest drive for your tablet.
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