The 2018 Fall Creators update for Windows changed how Windows Ink treats a pen in Windows. This issue affects all pen devices and is not limited to Wacom devices.
After this update the pen will pull up the ink input panel automatically in some programs. For example, when opening the Windows Photos app, the pen will start as a drawing tool automatically. Another example is when opening an office program, Word or Excel, the cursor will open the input panel or digital keyboard when clicking in the work area. There are two workarounds for this issue.
The first option is to turn off the Input panel / virtual keyboard in the Windows OS settings. To do this follow the steps below.
- Click on the Windows icon in the bottom left of your screen.
- Click the Settings gear symbol
- Type “Pen & Windows Ink” In the search bar and select Pen & Windows Ink.
- Scroll down to the “When I tap a text field with my pen, use handwriting to input text.” section and change the setting to “Only in tablet mode.”
This will resolve the issue for PC/Laptops. Devices running Windows Tablet mode will need to use the second workaround to turn off Windows Ink.
The second option is to disable Windows Ink on the computer. Wacom offers a simple way to do so by following these steps.
- With your Wacom device connected to the computer, open the Wacom Desktop Center.
- Select Pen Settings, this will open the Wacom Tablet Properties window.
- Click on the mapping tab and uncheck the box for “Use Windows Ink”
Important: Some applications require Windows Ink to be enabled to use pressure sensitivity (for example Adobe Photoshop). In that case, you need to disable Windows Ink for “All Other Applications” and enable it for Adobe Photoshop (and any other application that requires Windows Ink for pressure sensitivity).
To enable Windows Ink for Photoshop after disabling it as a general setting, follow these steps:
- Make sure that Photoshop is running.
- In the Wacom Tablet Properties window, select your pen and the Mapping tab.
- Next to the “Application” section, click the “+” Icon and add Photoshop (if it is not added already).
- Select the Photoshop icon in the “Application” section.
- On the Mapping tab, check the box for “Use Windows Ink”.