Pressure sentivity and Wacom support?

[eobet]

I have installed my Wacom Intuos3 driver version 6 in both Fusion and OS X, but my Windows XP operation system says it can't find the tablet. It works fine in OS X, so why can't Fusion detect it?

Will there be pressure sensitivity support in Fusion in the future?

I would really like to be able to use OpenCanvas under OS X, as it is the absolutely fastest and easiest sketching application out there (not as complicated as Painter, more feature complete than Sketchbook Pro, better suited for designers than ArtRage and ability to rotate the canvas which even Photoshop CS3 lacks).

[bgertzfield]

Hi eobet,

By default, VMware Fusion doesn't pass through USB input devices, like tablets, mice, and keyboards, directly to the guest.

This is because it's quite easy to get yourself in a situation where your keyboard and mouse are directly attached to the guest -- and then you can never release focus from the VM, causing you to be stuck in the VM forever.

That being said, there's a setting you can enable to let input devices show up individually in VMware Fusion's toolbar. Open your .vmx file in a text editor (note: TextEdit currently corrupts .vmx files, so I suggest using a different editor):

usb.generic.allowHID = TRUE

If you open System Profiler and find the USB ID for your Wacom tablet, you can directly set that device to always connect to the VM:

usb.autoConnect.device0 = "0xXXXX:0xYYYY"

where XXXX and YYYY are the device's Vendor ID and Product ID as shown in System Profiler.

Good luck!

Message was edited by: bgertzfield on 2007-09-26

Ack! I just realized all this time that my instructions were backwards: the first number should be the vendor ID, and the second should be the product ID.

[admin]

usb.autoConnect.device0 = "0xXXXX:0xYYYY"

This alone won't do the trick. This line tells the VM to always grab your tablet when the VM is powered on, but the VM still isn't allowed to connect certain types of input devices. (Note that this only affects "bootable" input devices: devices that look like a mouse or keyboard. Your tablet may or may not be in this category of input devices.)

You still need either the allowHID setting Ben recommended, (to allow all input devices, even bootable ones) or you'll need something like this:

usb.quirks.device0 = "0xXXXX:0xYYYY allow"

usb.autoConnect.device0 = "0xXXXX:0xYYYY"

If you use this method, you don't need allowHID. The first line will allow connecting your tablet even if it may be a bootable HID device. The second line (optional) will automatically connect it to your VM on power-on. This is safer than the allowHID approach, since you can't accidentally get your main mouse and keyboard 'trapped' in the VM.

[eobet]

Thank you for your tips!

Unfortunately, they didn't work for me.

I added the following line to the .vmx file using TextMate:

usb.quirks.device0 = "0x00b1:0x056a allow"

usb.autoConnect.device0 = "0x00b1:0x056a"

Still, the Wacom control panel tells me that no tablet is connected.

It is the device itself and not the bus that I should use the values from, right? It reports in as PTZ-630, with "tablet" as the manufacturer, even though it is a Wacom Intuos 3 A5...

[bgertzfield]

Can you double-check that the Wacom tablet shows up in your Fusion window's toolbar as a USB device?

Can you run system_profiler -detailLevel mini and paste the USB Bus section for your tablet here?

[eobet]

I have installed Beta 2 now and the Wacom tablet doesn't show up in the toolbar.

Here is the text you asked for:

USB Bus:

Host Controller Location: Built In USB

Host Controller Driver: AppleUSBUHCI

PCI Device ID: 0x27c9

PCI Revision ID: 0x0002

PCI Vendor ID: 0x8086

Bus Number: 0x3d

PTZ-630:

Version: 1.02

Bus Power (mA): 500

Speed: Up to 12 Mb/sec

Manufacturer: Tablet

Product ID: 0x00b1

Vendor ID: 0x056a

Also, from another thread I discovered that a number of kernel extensions were active even though Fusion wasn't running, so I received a command to stop them.

Now that I have done that, I no longer get proper mouse-over and the menus in OS X don't respond properly to my mouse clicks.

I've never seen this before, and I use the latest Wacom drivers, so my guess is that the Fusion kernel extensions messes with the input somehow...

[eobet]

I have tested this now further, and found the following:

1. I have restarted my MBP and not run the --stop command for the shellscript in between.

2. I have tested that my Wacom Intuos 3 is fully working using the Painter X demo first.

3. I started VMware Fusion and waited for the XP Wacom drivers (6.0) to kick in.

4. Looking at the Fusion toolbar, no USB devices or icons representing the Wacom tablet pops up.

5. I launch OpenCanvas 4.5 in XP and draw a few strokes and notice that pressure sensitivity isn't working.

6. I launch the Control Panel in XP and the Wacom panel reports that no tablet can be found.

Here's the interesting part:

WHILE VMware Fusion is still running, and the Intuos 3 is connected, I LOOSE cursor highlight and drag functionality!

- I cannot use menus properly, neither by single clicking, holding down or dragging (trackpad).

- I cannot unhide the dock by positioning the mouse at the bottom of the screen (unless I use the Tablet!)

- If I drag windows, they don't redraw until I release the mouse button (trackpad).

And the bad part? This "damaged" mouse behavior stays until I reboot OS X!

Am I the only one with this? Is there a way I can submit the whole thread to VMware support?

Thank you!

[rcardona2k]

>Is there a way I can submit the whole thread to VMware support?

Just include the URL in the address bar in the online support request, VMware staff will have access to this forum.

[eobet]

Thanks for the tip! Support request filed (376751).

[eobet]

Since I filed the support request, I haven't heard anything about this at all.

Does anyone know if there has been any development on this front?

[murfle]

I just got my mac pro on monday, and I'm working on getting everything up and running... I haven't hooked up my Intuos3 yet, but I have VMWare Fusion b3 installed with Windows XP Professional as the guest.

I should have some time later tonight to try getting the tablet working, so I'll post my experiences here once I do.

[murfle]

Just installed the tablet drivers on OS X (10.4.9), and on windows XP in Fusion beta 4, and I'm having the exact same problem... Lost my highlight capabilities, etc.

Looks like I'll be rebooting now

[eobet]

I'm using beta 4 and an USB hub now, with keyboard, mouse and my Wacom Intuos 3 connected.

I have the same VM as in beta 3, so complete with the .vmx edits and Wacom drivers installed.

This is what happens in beta 4:

\- Nothing.

\- The Wacom control panel reports no tables found.

\- I have no pressure sensitivity.

\- I do have absolute positioning (seems to be read from the OS X cursor, just like in beta 3).

\- The menu and highlight behavior doesn't get affected like in beta 3, though!

The worst thing is that VMware set my bug report as "resolved".

It's not resolved!

The Wacom drivers still doesn't detect my board.

Also, I can't find my service request anymore (376751). Does anyone know how to locate it?

[eobet]

Can anyone at least please let me know how to view my old service requests and reply to them?

Or has it disappeared because it's been set as "resolved"?

[eobet]

Since this is a showstopper for me, I've resubmitted a new support request (190236121):

http://eservice.vmware.com/eservice_enu/start.swe?SWEMethod=NewRecord&SWEApplet=VMContactServiceRequestFormApplet(eService)&SWEView=VMContactNewServiceRequestView(eService)&SWECmd=InvokeMethod&SWERF=1

(Horrible URL... wonder if that link is permanent?)

Thinking about it now, the ideal thing would be if Fusion could simply pass through all the input data from the Wacom tablet, so you didn't have to loose OS X (or perhaps even Unity) support for the tablet!

[Pat_Lee]

Since this is a showstopper for me, I've resubmitted

a new support request (190236121):

http://eservice.vmware.com/eservice_enu/start.swe?SWEM

ethod=NewRecord&SWEApplet=VMContactServiceRequestF

ormApplet(eService)&SWEView=VMContactNewServiceR

equestView(eService)&SWECmd=InvokeMethod&SWERF=1

(Horrible URL... wonder if that link is permanent?)

Thinking about it now, the ideal thing would be if

Fusion could simply pass through all the input data

from the Wacom tablet, so you didn't have to loose OS

X (or perhaps even Unity) support for the tablet!

In talking to the USB devs, I don't expect the pressure sensitivity to work inside the virtual machine due to interaction with our mouse driver inside the virtual machine. However, some people have had better luck with the tablet in a VM.

A more intergrated solution is something we will look into for a future release of VMware Fusion.

However, there should be no issues where the tablet fails to work in Mac OS X when the VM is running like you are reported. This was looked into previously and I believe resolved for beta 3. If it is broken, we would love to know.

Pat

[eobet]

Thank you for the reply. That explains why the previous SR was set to "resolved" then.

For me, the messing with the OS X menus have done away, but if you look at murfle's post above, he seems to still experience it.

Am I wrong, or shouldn't connected USB devices pop up in the new status bar on the bottom of Fusion's single window view? The Wacom tablet doesn't do that, and I even tried to uninstall the drivers in OS X, and not connect it until Fusion is up and running, and still the Wacom drivers in the guest Windows XP OS says that they can't find any connected tablets.

[Pat_Lee]

Thank you for the reply. That explains why the

previous SR was set to "resolved" then.

That is probably why, sorry for the confusion.

For me, the messing with the OS X menus have done

away, but if you look at murfle's post above, he

seems to still experience it.

I am glad that it works correctly on the Mac as we expect now.

Am I wrong, or shouldn't connected USB devices pop up

in the new status bar on the bottom of Fusion's

single window view? The Wacom tablet doesn't do that,

and I even tried to uninstall the drivers in OS X,

and not connect it until Fusion is up and running,

and still the Wacom drivers in the guest Windows XP

OS says that they can't find any connected tablets.

Since it is a HID device, they are hidden by default so you don't get into a state where it is your only pointing device and you assign it to the VM and you can't get back out because the VM is grabbed.

You would need to do the change recommended by Micah above to make it work. I know people have made it work for them, which is why this method of adding the items to the VMX for this VM not working is very strange to me.

Pat

[Oben]

I have the same issue as below.

See: http://www.vmware.com/community/thread.jspa?messageID=730137&#730137

Here's the interesting part:

WHILE VMware Fusion is still running, and the Intuos

3 is connected, I LOOSE cursor highlight and drag

functionality!

- I cannot use menus properly, neither by single

clicking, holding down or dragging (trackpad).

- I cannot unhide the dock by positioning the mouse

at the bottom of the screen (unless I use the

Tablet!)

- If I drag windows, they don't redraw until I

release the mouse button (trackpad).

And the bad part? This "damaged" mouse behavior stays

until I reboot OS X!

Am I the only one with this? Is there a way I can

submit the whole thread to VMware support?

Thank you!

[bgertzfield]

I added the following line to the .vmx file using TextMate:

usb.quirks.device0 = "0x00b1:0x056a allow"

usb.autoConnect.device0 = "0x00b1:0x056a"

Still, the Wacom control panel tells me that no tablet is connected.

Argh. I should have realized long ago that my original post had the order incorrect (it should have been vendor ID:product ID).

If you swap the two numbers, this will work.