[SOLVED] Stylus issues on Fedora 42 Kinoite

Framework Laptop 12
1

First to start with, I have never used a stylus in Linux before. Before my Framework 12 I have never had a computer that could use one. However, I have been daily driving Linux for almost 3 decades.

I have a Penoval USI 2.0 stylus, that seems to work as far as libinput is concerned. Here is a small sample of the libinput debug-events output:

event9   TABLET_TOOL_AXIS        180  +4.176s          171.15*/73.14*  tilt: -20.99*/-1.90*    pressure: 0.31*
event9   TABLET_TOOL_AXIS        181  +4.183s          171.77*/73.12*  tilt: -21.75*/-1.74*    pressure: 0.31*  
event9   TABLET_TOOL_AXIS        182  +4.187s          172.34*/73.10*  tilt: -22.49*/-1.58*    pressure: 0.31*  
event9   TABLET_TOOL_AXIS        183  +4.192s          172.90*/73.10*  tilt: -23.18*/-1.42*    pressure: 0.31*  
event9   TABLET_TOOL_AXIS        184  +4.199s          173.44*/73.09*  tilt: -23.88*/-1.26*    pressure: 0.30*  
event9   TABLET_TOOL_AXIS        185  +4.203s          173.95*/73.07*  tilt: -24.63*/-1.10*    pressure: 0.30*  
event9   TABLET_TOOL_AXIS        186  +4.209s          174.40*/73.03*  tilt: -25.45*/-0.95*    pressure: 0.30*  
event9   TABLET_TOOL_AXIS        187  +4.216s          174.79*/73.02*  tilt: -26.34*/-0.79*    pressure: 0.29*  
event9   TABLET_TOOL_AXIS        188  +4.220s          175.10*/73.00*  tilt: -27.26*/-0.62*    pressure: 0.28*  
event9   TABLET_TOOL_AXIS        189  +4.225s          175.34*/72.98*  tilt: -28.18*/-0.45*    pressure: 0.28*  
event9   TABLET_TOOL_AXIS        190  +4.232s          175.52*/72.97*  tilt: -29.08*/-0.28*    pressure: 0.26*  
event9   TABLET_TOOL_AXIS        191  +4.236s          175.66*/72.97   tilt: -29.95*/-0.10*    pressure: 0.25*  
event9   TABLET_TOOL_AXIS        192  +4.241s          175.76*/72.97   tilt: -30.78*/0.07*     pressure: 0.25*  
event9   TABLET_TOOL_AXIS        193  +4.248s          175.81*/72.97   tilt: -31.57*/0.24*     pressure: 0.22*  
event9   TABLET_TOOL_AXIS        194  +4.252s          175.82*/72.97   tilt: -32.30*/0.41*     pressure: 0.19*  
event9   TABLET_TOOL_AXIS        195  +4.258s          175.81*/72.98*  tilt: -32.96*/0.60*     pressure: 0.18*  
event9   TABLET_TOOL_AXIS        196  +4.265s          175.73*/73.03*  tilt: -33.53*/0.80*     pressure: 0.15*  
event9   TABLET_TOOL_AXIS        197  +4.268s          175.55*/73.17*  tilt: -34.04*/1.03*     pressure: 0.13*  
event9   TABLET_TOOL_AXIS        198  +4.274s          175.23*/73.41*  tilt: -34.58*/1.29*     pressure: 0.11*

Both tilt and pressure react as I expect as I move the pen around.

However, when I go into an application, while the pen grabs the cursor as it should when it gets close to the screen, it fails to actually do anything other than move the cursor around. I have tried Gimp, Xournal++, Krita, and the “Test Tablet” button in the KDE system settings. All of them track the pen as if it were a pointer, but it fails to make any marks in the app window. Drawing on the touch screen with my finger works in Gimp, Xournal++, Gimp, and Krita. I have messed with the pressure sensitivity settings in Xournal++ and Krita. I have also gone through all the settings in KDE. I can’t set them to anything that makes a difference.

Like I said above, I am completely new to using a stylus in Linux. I have only ever used one on my Google Pixel Tablet. I feel like I am just missing a setting someplace.

My stylus has no buttons, so I can’t test that functionality. I plan to buy a Framework stylus when they become available.

I have tried in both laptop and tablet mode.

I feel like I am missing something obvious, so I am looking for suggestions as to what to try next.

Thanks!

Scott =)

1 Like
2

In the BIOS settings, there is the option of stylus mode MPP or USI. I think the default is MPP. Did you select USI in your case?

3

Another possibility. Some stylus pen needed to be changed between the laptop or tablet mode in hardware level. I experienced this in my Lenovo Precision Pen 2.

4

Yes. That was initially a problem, but I did change it to USI.

The fact that libinput is getting the events from it means that at a hardware level it is working. There is just a disconnect somewhere in the software. Also, in the apps the stylus drags the cursor around.

I suspect the applications might not be correctly getting the pressure & tilt values. So it sees the stylus, but thinks that there is no pressure.

Thanks!

Scott =)

5

Woot! I think I figured it out. In the settings I needed to check the circled item so that XWayland could use the pointer.

image
image903Ă—843 119 KB

That seems to have fixed my problem.

Now I just have to figure out how to mark this solved.

Thanks!

Scott =)

2 Likes
6

Could a moderator please mark this as solved. I can’t seem to edit it or figure out how to mark it that way.

Thanks!

Scott =)