29.10.11

Wacom PS CS3 Issues - Fixed (sorta)!

This post was meant to be a follow-up of an earlier one featuring the same problem.


Recap: my old CD-R King tablet broke down (specifically, the pen got damaged by a battery leak *cries*), but as a replacement, I got a Wacom Bamboo Pen and Touch. Initial testings ran smooth.


But come a computer reboot:


Wow, Wacom guys, you would seriously allow yourselves to be beaten by CD-R King (a brand that never gave me this problem throughout their tablet's service)? So off to Google and deviantART forums I surfed for possible solutions, and turns out I am not the only one with the problem.

Solution #1: Chances are, your tablet drivers are outdated. Download a newer one on the Wacom Customer Help website and see if it does anything good.

And it did!


But not always.


It turns out then, that Photoshop CS3 has this irritating tendency to muck up drivers or something (at least in Windows -- by the looks of it, Mac people have significantly lesser problems like this). I reboot Photoshop and then the problem resolves itself. But it would be just inefficient if I sit down to work and yet I have to keep on rebooting Photoshop until it fixes the sensitivity issue. Whaddamigonnado?

Solution #2 (for Photoshop [CS3?] users only): Make 'Photoshop CS3 Prefs.psp' read-only.

Wow, such a simple-sounding solution which I read in this forum thread. I was skeptical at first, but after following the instructions, it worked sweet as a nut. Well, for a while. Occasionally it still mucks up if there are other programs running when opening Photoshop, but the age-old restart-PS solution fixes it in a jiffy. Oh, 'Photoshop CS3 Prefs.psp' could be difficult to find, so if you are going to follow this solution, I suggest that you refer to this site if you can't find it (make sure to show all hidden folders first).

The downside of this solution would be that you would have to remove the read-only setting manually if you wish to update your preferences (my case: updating the 'recently opened' file list for easy reference). I have actually decided to just keep the preferences file setting in its original state because it's hindering my working style. Guess I will just settle with the restart-PS solution and be a good girl who does not open any additional programs while PS is in the process of settling down.

Now here are what I have gleaned from this problem:

  • The issue arises when Photoshop CS3 competes with other programs when it is just starting. There's a big chance the pen sensitivity will be lost.
  • On the brighter side, once you are sure that the pen sensitivity is working for a particular Photoshop session, it is quite assured that it will not be lost the whole session. I have played out various scenarios to test this (playing songs in Windows Media Player, typing using a keyboard, using the mouse in between tablet work in and out of Photoshop, surfing the web, etc... all while a particular session is open), and the pen sensitivity remained the entire time.

So does this mean that the problem is perhaps a conflict in starting command calls or something(since the issue pops up only there are other programs conflicting with Photoshop when it's starting)? Woo, at least this is a possible topic for my thesis year.

Despite all these problems (and having to sleep at 1:30 am in the morning), my reaction to my new Wacom tablet is still this:


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