Drawing tablet for a mouse?

[Encabulator]

I'm thinking about getting a larger drawing tablet to completely replace my mouse because I find the position of holding it quite comfortable. The position just kinda feels natural and you don't need to grip the pen hard at all. Also, absolute positioning .  What do you guys think about drawing tablets as an alternative to mice?

[Targa-TV]

Think back about the last time you took notes in high school, and add 10x more pain in half the time.
I say this because I was developing severe RSI in my dominant arm months ago and had to replace my mouse. I tried a bit of everything, including a graphic tablet, and holy s* did my hand start to hurt like I was back in high school hoping that the professor would choke or something just so I could give my fingers a fiver.
If you want to try it pick a pen and micking drawing in front of your keyboard, sometimes tap the table, sometimes grip the pen harder (the mouse buttons are usually near the tip of the pen) sometimes keep the imaginary button down for a few second, sometimes double tap the imaginary button. Keep at it for a couple hours and you have a feel of how it is.

[Encabulator]

Think back about the last time you took notes in high school, and add 10x more pain in half the time.
I say this because I was developing severe RSI in my dominant arm months ago and had to replace my mouse. I tried a bit of everything, including a graphic tablet, and holy s* did my hand start to hurt like I was back in high school hoping that the professor would choke or something just so I could give my fingers a fiver.
If you want to try it pick a pen and micking drawing in front of your keyboard, sometimes tap the table, sometimes grip the pen harder (the mouse buttons are usually near the tip of the pen) sometimes keep the imaginary button down for a few second, sometimes double tap the imaginary button. Keep at it for a couple hours and you have a feel of how it is.

I've had a couple of drawing tablets before and they worked quite well.  I think its a lot less painful than a normal pen if you change up your grip slightly and hover on the tablet. With a real pencil/pen you have to be in a position to put down consistent pressure, but wth a drawing tablet you can just lightly drag/tap. If you need to be using digital art programs just turn up the pressure sensitivity. There is also a whole lot of preferences on the active area you use, and whether you need to shift your hand around a lot or just shift with your wrists. you can use your thumb to press the buttons on the side which seemed to help me.


I've made this thread to ask the question whether or not they can really cause long term issues I guess. They're currently one of my most comfortable pointer options I've tried but I don't know how they'll effect my hands with extended use. Thanks for the input

[Coreda]

Been using one exclusively for my desktop build for a year and half and it's great. Had used it for years prior but never as the main pointer device for such long stretches. Replaced my mouse for it since I was experiencing some burning pain from mouse usage at the time (was using a Zowie FK and found the switches become harder over time, or else my tolerance for them went down or something) and the pain went away completely and hasn't returned.

The only thing I'd mention, for my Wacom Intous4's default stylus at least, is that if you use of what represents the 'left' mouse button intensely over a long-ish period (eg: for gaming) it can make the thumb feel sensitive, so a lighter pressure is more ideal. That or tap the surface. It really only needs a light touch though since the buttons are soft.

I position the tablet to the right of the keyboard as I would the mouse. Helps to have a 60% board. Also not sure about other tablets but the Intous allows for hovering above the surface rather than needing to drag the stylus along while making contact. Only when variable levels of pressure are needed, or if you prefer to tap the surface as click instead of using the stylus buttons, does it need to make contact.

[davkol]

I can't use a pen&tablet like that, because it requires grabbing the pen in the first place. I have replaced most of precise pointing by keyboard shortcuts (incl. e.g., following links in a browser: an equivalent of "access key" VimFX/Vimperator/…); I only roll the trackball (or move the mouse) a bit to switch windows (focus follows pointer) and stuff like that, which can be easier than pressing Alt-Tab multiple times.

I do love Wacom tablets for handwriting, though, because it's effectively effortless compared to pen&paper.

[tp4tissue]

Splicing a gaming mouse + vertical mouse is much more precise for desktop application outside of drawing..

[Encabulator]

Splicing a gaming mouse + vertical mouse is much more precise for desktop application outside of drawing..

Holy **** he resisted the urge to call his custom mouse by its true name.

[Targa-TV]

I've had a couple of drawing tablets before and they worked quite well.  I think its a lot less painful than a normal pen if you change up your grip slightly and hover on the tablet. With a real pencil/pen you have to be in a position to put down consistent pressure, but wth a drawing tablet you can just lightly drag/tap. If you need to be using digital art programs just turn up the pressure sensitivity. There is also a whole lot of preferences on the active area you use, and whether you need to shift your hand around a lot or just shift with your wrists. you can use your thumb to press the buttons on the side which seemed to help me.

I've made this thread to ask the question whether or not they can really cause long term issues I guess. They're currently one of my most comfortable pointer options I've tried but I don't know how they'll effect my hands with extended use. Thanks for the input

I didn't understand you already tried graphic tablets. It WAS less painful than a pen because I didn't grip the graphic pen so tightly but my fingers did ache after extended use.
I tried to replace my mouse with a tablet completely because my touchpad was still en route and I was still browsing for a trackball, maybe that's why my hand hurt. They're not meant to be the main pointer device.
I tried mine for a few weeks (3?) then gave up. My fingers started to cramp after a few minutes.

Say Tp4, are pictures of your custom mouse top-secret like those of your keyboard?   

[tp4tissue]

Say Tp4, are pictures of your custom mouse top-secret like those of your keyboard?   

Photos of the ergopwn 9000 are publically available click the thread in my sig..

[Targa-TV]

Photos of the ergopwn 9000 are publically available click the thread in my sig..

That looks smaller than the vertical I tried, which was way too big for my hand to click comfortably. Never going back to mouse tho.

[tp4tissue]

Photos of the ergopwn 9000 are publically available click the thread in my sig..

That looks smaller than the vertical I tried, which was way too big for my hand to click comfortably. Never going back to mouse tho.

it's the same size as the evoluent mouse, because it's a knockoff of the evoluent..

The evoluent mouse is crap for precision/accuracy,  but the shape is excellent.

[Niomosy]

I supported a lot of pens back in the 90s.  It's really not a full mouse replacement.  Anyone with RSI often were very careful with them or just stuck with a mouse.  One lady switched to mousing lefty and was doing professional digital compositing left handed as a right hander.  None of them really recommended using a pen as a full mouse alternative. 

[alexfry]

I’ve used a Wacom as my only pointing device on desktops for just under 2 decades.

I love it.
I live with touchpads on laptops, but if it’s a desktop it’s Wacom all the way.

Only pains and pangs for me are caused by being too low relative to the surface.

Also, make sure you go big, small Wacoms with big screens are no fun.

I also recommend the side the side arrangement with your keyboard. Over under, like you see Flame users do feels horrible to me.

[Sc0tTy]

I've been using a Wacom Pen and Touch for nearly ten years and never want to go back to a mouse!

I'm a software developer and used be a hardcore gamer (started playing CS in the beta era and played it non-stop), but I started developing several issues with my right arm and hand.
The first thing I did was started using my left hand and long story short; just don't do it.

Then I started looking into mouse replacements.
The fist thing I bought was a HandShoeMouse which looked promising at first but has lots of design flaws and actually made most of my problems worse. http://handshoemouse.com/
Then I bought a Logitech rollerbal mouse which relieved most of the issues but my left thumb was still hurting and that's the main thing you use on that device.
It still has a purpose though, its ideal for using in a data center and stuff.

Finally I purchased a Wacom Pen and Touch and after a few hours of getting the settings just right I was already in love with it.
Moving the cursor is just moving the pen hovering over the surface and clicking is just tapping the pen on the surface.
And you scroll just like you would on any other touch surface
The movement feels just as natural as with a normal mouse.
Here is a picture of my Wacom: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=90470.0;

To clarify, these are my issues whenever I use a regular mouse for longer than 15 minutes:
- Bear arm, when the input device is to much to the right
- Index finger hurts at the knuckle from clicking
- Thumb hurts at the knuckle from gripping the mouse
- Wrist hurts because of no tenting

In my opinion its the only good mouse replacement by a mile (I haven't tried a rollerbar mouse though).
It's the only device I've found so far that doesn't trigger any of my issues and keeps me having a job...
Hope this helps!

[BIZ!]

I use a Wacom Intuos and have found that the smaller model is better than the larger models for my purposes.
Mainly video/image editing, after effects, and web browsing.
The smaller tablet needs less range of motion from your arm. I've been using a dual-monitor setup with the small.
Once you get used to it (about two weeks), muscle memory will kick in and you'll be able to navigate any OS quicker with little to no friction (with hover enabled).

[Sc0tTy]

I use a Wacom Intuos and have found that the smaller model is better than the larger models for my purposes.
Mainly video/image editing, after effects, and web browsing.
The smaller tablet needs less range of motion from your arm. I've been using a dual-monitor setup with the small.
Once you get used to it (about two weeks), muscle memory will kick in and you'll be able to navigate any OS quicker with little to no friction (with hover enabled).

When using a Wacom for general mousing purposes I recommend using the mouse mode.
Most people who try a tablet for a mouse don't have this option enabled which is why they don't like it and rightfully so.

This way you won't have to use the whole area but just any area you'd like (just like with a regular mouse).
I probably only use half of the surface area and my P&T is probably quite a bit smaller than your Intuos.
 

[xtrafrood]

This might seem a bit obvious to some but these days with the advancements of tablets and 'apps' that pair tablet to monitor it almost makes more sense to buy a tablet instead of a Wacom. Unless you need all the extra controls of a Wacom.

[Phenix]

 Who owns a Roller mouse? | gsta Free and upgraded to the RED half year back, and I I. re if. What I an wondering:C an | use a Ipad Pro with Apple Pencil to get a feeling for sucha Wacom Penl Touch (usage as mouse is intended)? ?

[xtrafrood]

Who owns a Roller mouse? | gsta Free and upgraded to the RED half year back, and I I. re if. What I an wondering:C an | use a Ipad Pro with Apple Pencil to get a feeling for sucha Wacom Penl Touch (usage as mouse is intended)? ?

I'm almost positive this aligns to what I was writing about. Using a tablet as a touch interface for a desktop/laptop computer (if they're on the same network). His or her other posts seem to be easier to read so I'm not exactly sure what happened here :shrug:

[halamisha]

I use the XP-Pen Deco 01 graphic drawing tablet .  For any sort of drawing/brushing-based task it is superior compared to a mouse. You get smoother, more natural, brush movements, but the most important thing is the pressure sensitivity. It makes a huge difference.

If you are mainly just pointing and clicking (like when navigating the OS or something) it won't be an improvement. So it depends a bit on what you use it for.

[katotaka]

I solely used Wacom tablets at my last job which lasted 14.5 years, when I was using a computer 80% of the time was of Photoshop and the rest was web stuff. The last setup I used was 2 screens mapped onto one tablet, shrinked proportionally to fit. The movement across 2 screens on the tablet was small like a single smartphone screen, but surprisingly still able to do things in decent precision.

After all those years I can tell I have "worn" my left wrist more than my right wrist by using hotkeys on a standard layout keyboard, most of the time I pushing or holding Ctrl/Alt/Shift/Cmd or combinations of those, and of course tool keys on the alphas. The wrist angle of holding a pen is basically the same as those vertical mouse or typing on a really tented keybaord, that could be the reason of why my right wrist is in better condition then my left.