Handwriting / Inking performance issues PDF X-Change viewer

[ctindall]

Is there any way to improve the performance of handwriting with the pen? Inking performance is seriously lacking when compared to Bluebeam Revu. Below is a link to a video which shows first how well the Bluebeam Revu program works for handwriting, then shows how the PDF X-Change viewer does not write as clearly.

http://youtu.be/TQHeajjgaN0

I am using Windows 8, but these same issues occurred in Windows 7. To improve handwriting performance, I have already disabled Line Art Smoothing in X-Change. I've also turned off tap-to-right-click and touch feedback in the Windows tablet settings.

I am a huge fan of this software and use it daily for marking up PDFs of Architectural / Engineering drawings. I also use it in the field to make notes on pictures that I've taken. I own the full version, but I have not re-installed it since upgrading to Windows 8 yesterday.

Chris

[Paul - Tracker Supp]

Hi ctindall,

thanks for the very clear video.

That's definitely something that the development team will have to comment on. Can you give us some detail on the hardware you are using? Also, since you have a license you have access to the Editor Candidate Release: https://www.pdf-xchange.com/company ... s/view/120

Can you try your pen with that also and give us your feedback? Remember that this is not a final product and is still in development.

regards

[ctindall]

I am using Windows 8 on an HP 2740p laptop (i5 2.53 GHz processor) with multi-touch screen and a Wacom digitizer.

I tried using the Editor Candidate Release (with the keycode from PDF X-Change Pro) and had the same results. The issue appears to be software related. The pen does not start inking as soon as I touch the pen to the screen. I have to drag the pen about 2 cm before a mark is created. This delay is related to the distance the pen travels, not time. It is the same distance no matter how long it takes me to make the mark.

[ctindall]

I should clarify, the Wacom digitizer is part of the computer screen, not a separate device.

Chris

[Paul - Tracker Supp]

Thanks ctindall

I'll need feedback from the development team on how to test this without having your specific hardware. Given the New Year season it may be a little while before I hear something but will update you here when I do.

hth

[justposted]

I use a Wacom Bamboo graphics tablet and the writing is very responsive here on both Viewer and Editor. Win 7/64, Core2Quad, 4GB RAM.

I'm not showing off , I just thought that it might give ctindall some hope that the issue is not universal, so may be solvable. Of course a digitizer is not the same as a tablet, so there might be something fundamentally different, but hopefully not.

I can say that until I turned off snapping in Preferences/Measurement, it didn't work very well. Might be worth a go.

There is currently a bit of an issue with the Editor, on this subject. On Viewer, inking is not converted into a selectable object for a couple of seconds. With Editor, if you ink the cross bar of a 'T', for example, then it is converted immediately to a selectable object. So when you move the pen back to put in the vertical stroke a complete the letter, it selects the cross bar and drags it instead of letting you put the vertical stroke in. This is just a beta thing, no doubt, but I thought I'd mention it.

[ctindall]

I turned off the Snapping and it did not have any effect. I have the same issues with the Viewer and the Editor. In my case, it takes a few seconds for the inking to be converted to a selectable object too. However, I need to move the pen about 2cm before the program even recognizes that I have written anything. If I make any marks that are less than 2cm (like commas, periods, or dotting an i or j) the marks are never drawn.

justposted - Would you download the trial version of Bluebeam Revu and let me know if there is any difference with inking between the two programs? The inking in Revu is the most fluid of any program I've used. I would prefer to say with X-Change Viewer, but I will need to resolve this inking issue if I am to continue to use it for marking up drawings.

Chris

[justposted]

@ctindall: I use Bluebeam with a tablet on a daily basis at work (I'm an engineer). It is the same setup as I have at home, i.e. Bamboo tablet. The inking is the same in both, in terms of responsiveness. Bluebeam has a bit more finesse, because it varies the pen stroke with pressure, but of course it costs a lot more too. So I would say that PDFX certainly has the potential to be as fluid/responsive as you would like it to be, if Tracker can get to the bottom of your issue.

For the record, I tend not to use the pen for writing, as I prefer to type, but I do plenty of highlighting and sketching.

[Paul - Tracker Supp]

Thanks guys for the added info. We certainly will be taking a look at what can be done here. I can't promise anything at this stage, it will depend what the dev team can do when they get a chance to look at it.

We will keep you posted here. Thanks again for the support of our efforts!

[Paul - Tracker Supp]

Hi guys,

having discussed this with the development team leader he had the following to say:

We have plans to improve the ink tool. Also, we have some ideas to make another tool for handwriting with support for pressure (line thickness depends of the pen pressure used during writing), but for now I cannot promise any terms

Even though the V3 Candidate Release is out, the pressure is still on to get the full version completed and released so new work like this isn't about to start right away. This also means that investigating the issues with the digitizer/screen its going to have to wait too I'm afraid.

While that may not be exactly what you wanted to hear, it is candid and makes for no false expectations. Like all the other work we do, it will be quality when it is complete and I think you'll find it worth the wait.

hth

[Corwin - Tracker Sup]

Hi ctindall,

It looks like this problem does not related to PDF-XChange Viewer. Please check that flicks is disabled in your system (this can be done by checking Control Panel->Pen and Touch->Flicks tab).

HTH.

[ctindall]

Flicks is not enabled on my computer and has not while I have had this issue. It is not related to the Flicks setting.

[Corwin - Tracker Sup]

Hello Chris,

Please try to install latest drivers for you Wacom digitizer and check any third party software (or some driver related settings) that may generate flicks or gestures.

[ctindall]

The latest Wacom drivers (7.1.1-12) released on May 9, 2013 corrected this issue!

The drivers can be found here:
http://www.wacom.com/en/support/drivers

[Tracker Supp-Stefan]

Thanks for the update ctindall,

Lovely to hear!

Cheers,
Stefan