Software test & recomendation for the FW 12

Framework Laptop 12 Linux
1

Hello !

This thread is here to share recommendation about what software to use on the framework 12 and what to expect regarding compatibility/performance/power consumption. I’ll update this post based on information I gather, don’t hesitate to participate to the conversation with your own observation here or by linking other topics.
see the details below for a longer explanation.

Application testing

Testing in progress :

  • Zen (web browser) : currently it seems like the battery drain while playing video is relatively high (~12w average compared to ~10w with chromium on the same video), even when lowering the video quality. Apart from that everything run pretty smoothly.
  • Krita (2D drawing/painting) : stylus support is good, but need more testing. There seems to be an issue with UI scaling in tablet mode, the window borders get bigger but krita’s UI stay the same size, which a bit small for touch/pen only interaction.
  • Xournal++ : stylus note taking/quick sketching software, currently run well without issue.
  • Plasma (Desktop environment) : as far as I know everything is working perfectly.

To test next :

  • Blender (2D/3D graphic work)
  • Graphite (2D procedural art)
  • Obsidian (Note taking app)

Recommendation

I’ll update this section with recommended app depending on their target activity/use case after testing them.

FW 12 use cases

See my list below

Why this thread

I got my framework 12 yesterday, installed arch and with the auto-rotation fix from this topic everything is running smoothly.

So, my project with this laptop is to make it the perfect “tablet like” device to keep with me everywhere I go, here is my list of required use case for that :

  • Being able to quickly and easily start a terminal and ssh on an other of my machine with the lowest battery impact possible
  • Able to easily get some programing done on my projects from anywhere (with or without an internet access)
  • Quickly take notes or update my personal knowledge base
  • Watching videos/movies/streams anywhere with minimal heat/noise
  • Quickly be able to draw something when on the go
  • Or longer drawing sessions optionally with more demanding tools like blender
  • Light 3D modeling when on the go
  • Able to stream games from local network (maybe even over a wireguard network) without to much hassle

To achieve that I’m going to search for and test all apps that match any of the listed activity, evaluate how much they cover my needs, and report any issue I encounter on the way. As this can benefit anyone, and I can benefit from other people’s experience too, I’m creating this topic and will try to maintain it as best as I can.

How to participate

If you like the idea and want to add to this topic, here is what I’ll take into account and try to add to the post above :

  • Observation/issue/test result linked to a software already mentioned here
  • Use case of the framework 12 not already listed here (I’ll not automatically add them, it will depends if it can be useful to enough people, but I’ll happily link to you’re own topic if I don’t add it here)
  • Suggestion of a software matching one of the listed use case and not already present on this page.

Last details before wrapping up

If I have enough content or it starts to become a bit to complex to manage the information I gather regarding this topic I’ll probably make a git repo and/or a small website to keep track of it all.

And aside from searching for existing software I’m also working on my own app and services for both the framework 12 and 16 to make them the perfect match for my needs, I’ll share anything that could benefit others and don’t hesitate to mention general issue you have that could be solved with small software tweaks or apps.

That’s it !
Thanks for reading this wall of text and I hope that you find my initiative interesting
Q_Map

6 Likes
2

I see a lot of overlap here between my uses for the FW12 and yours. Hope the battery life on Zen + YouTube gets figured out, great thread so far!

3

May be worth also testing video playback in mpv or something to have somewhat of an idea on how much overhead the browser part adds.

4

Xournal++ is my recommendation.

I’m running this in Fedora 42 KDE edition, installed from the Discover app. Works with my MPP 2.0 pen out-of-the-box, including the erase button and pressure sensitivity. Also supports PDF backgrounds for handwritten annotations.

3 Likes
5

Hey, how are you doing?
I just wanted to share another recommendation for drawing, note-taking, and moodboarding:
Rnote (GitHub - flxzt/rnote: Sketch and take handwritten notes.)

1 Like
6

I am using handwriting (freehand line) for PDF files using the stylus pen, Lenovo Precision Pen 2, for studying in a class, and signing the PDF documents on a PDF editor on my Fedora Linux on Framework Laptop 12. Especially signing PDF documents saved me time on paperwork. I don’t need to print the PDF files, handwrite on the papers, and scan the papers anymore!

My recommended PDF editor is called Okular. It seems this software was made by the KDE project. But I am using it on the Sway window manager. It works well.

For example, below is how to install on Fedora Linux.

$ sudo dnf install okular

In the following screenshot on the official website, you see the Pencil icon to enable freehand line, and the Pin icon to keep the annotation tool active. By enabling both icon buttons, you can write handwriting on PDF files.

okular-annotations-main
okular-annotations-main750×321 56.4 KB

Related to the PDF editing, pdfunite, pdfseparate, and pdfshuffler commands are also useful.

The pdfunite, pdfseparate commands are part of the Poppler project https://poppler.freedesktop.org/. The commands unite and separate the PDF pages.

On Fedora Linux 42 Workstation, the package was already installed. If you don’t see the pacage, you can install like this on Fedora Linux.

$ sudo dnf install poppler-utils

The pdfshuffler is part of the PDFarranger project
https://github.com/pdfarranger/pdfarranger. The GUI app enables us to add or remove PDF pages on the GUI interface. Here is how to install on Fedora Linux.

$ sudo dnf install pdfarranger

I am adding the following aliases in my .bashrc.

.bashrc

alias pdf-cat='pdfunite'
alias pdf-editor='okular'
alias pdf-modifier='pdfshuffler'
alias pdf-split='pdfseparate'
alias pe='okular'
alias pm='pdfshuffler'
2 Likes
7

Hey! Ive had my FW12 for a few days now, now i’m moved in and got my software all set up, i can share some of my findings and hopefully somebody might find it useful.

I’m using Arch+KDE Plasma, and I bought this laptop in hopes of using creative software in tablet mode, specifically Krita for drawing, and blender for small sculpting projects. the stylus works flawlessly with both programs, pressure sensitivity, tilt, rotation, eraser end of the pen, all work as expected, but its with the touchscreen things started falling apart

In blender, touch input is completely ignored, not on the menus, not the viewport, nada. in krita, only single finger and two finger gestures are recognised. by default a two finger tap will undo, three fingers will redo, and four fingers will enable canvas mode, but any three or four finger taps will only send an undo command.

some googling later, i found that it may be an issue with the software running under wayland and/or plasma. I installed a new DE (MATE/Xorg) and logged in to a new session, and tested out bender. Touch inputs were working! Also gave krita another go, and three and four finger gestures were also working. now how to get them working on plasma…

Perhaps on officially supported distros like Ubuntu or Fedora, these things just work, and this is just an Arch problem. ill get a live usb going of Fedora and report back tomorrow.

P.S. in regards to krita UI scaling, you can right click on the toolbox panel and increase the size of the tool icons to make them easier for touch, but sadly it doesnt work for the rest of the ui

2 Likes
8

What??? haven’t done that for a dozen years or more. We were set up with a scanned signature that gets embedded in the document through the PDF signing procedure.

Acrobat Reader will do it too, you don’t need the full Acrobat writer.

9

Thanks for the info! I seems that I have been practicing an outdated way. :sweat_smile:
I found Adobe Reader (Acrobat Reader?) on Flathub below. I may try it later.

I sometimes have used Docusign for signing the documents for work.

So, how about filling items on papers? Have you managed doing the task without printing papers, and without handwriting and scanning the papers?

10

Yep. The IT department organised scanned hand written signatures that were stored on our local machine, then when a document needed signing one went into Adobe Acrobat where there is an option for signing, select that and then draw a box around where the signature goes and it puts a copy of the signature along with text giving the date and time. It also puts some form of watermark on the document to detect attempts to tamper with the signature.

It is 5 years since I retired, so can’t remember any more details.

11

But I would think the document is digitally signed (with a certificate). The handwritten signature is just nice to look at.

Putting a scanned signature in a document, without digitally signing it, could be not enough (in most countries)