Suffering for art
TL;DR DIGImend and xsetwacom
Modern Linux kernels can detect the tablet, but not in its "full"capacity. DIGImend provides additional drivers (kernel modules) and configuration files. Since I run Artix Linux, I simply grabbed the PKGBUILD from AUR (along with xf86-input-wacom
) and let my AUR helper (yay
) handle the rest.
After that the easiest way to make the drivers work is by simply rebooting. Alternatively, remove the (old) kernel modules and reconnect the tablet.
sudo modprobe -r hid-kye hid-uclogic hid-polostar hid-viewsonic
After installing DIGImend, I verified if the tablet was using the Wacom driver by using xsetwacom
, which is part of xf86-input-wacom
.
xsetwacom --list
HUION Huion Tablet stylus id: 14 type: STYLUS HUION Huion Tablet Pad pad id: 15 type: PAD HUION Huion Tablet Touch Strip pad id: 16 type: PAD
Finding the right xsetwacom --set
syntax that actually works is a pain in the ass. It seems like it changes depending on the year, distro, xf86-input-wacom
version, X.Org server release etc. The official documentation says one thing, support forums say another.
Eventually, the way it worked for me:
xsetwacom --set "HUION Huion Tablet Pad pad" button 1 "key +ctrl +z -z -ctrl"
It's also possible to drop the dashes, parentheses, and replace the full device name with just the id
number, like so:
xsetwacom set 15 button 1 key key +ctrl +z -z -ctrl
Crazy, huh? Keep in mind that the id
can and will change between X server sessions, so using full device names is the safer option.
Unfortunately, I have yet to figure out how make those work. 😥
Maybe some other day…
Unplugging the tablet or restarting the machine resets the settings made by xsetwacom
. The solution is to prepare a shell script that launches on login.
Here's my current script (which a slightly modified version of someone else's):
#!/bin/sh xsetwacom --set "HUION Huion Tablet Pad pad" button 1 "key +ctrl +z -z -ctrl" xsetwacom --set "HUION Huion Tablet Pad pad" button 2 "key +ctrl +shift +z -z -ctrl -shift" xsetwacom --set "HUION Huion Tablet Pad pad" button 3 "key e" xsetwacom --set "HUION Huion Tablet Pad pad" button 8 "key +ctrl +h -h -ctrl" xsetwacom --set "HUION Huion Tablet Pad pad" button 9 "key +ctrl +c -c -ctrl" xsetwacom --set "HUION Huion Tablet Pad pad" button 10 "key +ctrl +v -v -ctrl" exit 0
Works great with Krita, but not so much with GIMP using the default bindings.
Since I use Xfce as my main desktop environment, I simply made the script autostart on login, and also set the Volume Manager (thunar-volman
) to automatically run the script after (re)plugging in the tablet. There is probably a more elegant way to handle this (udev
rules? ), but I am going to stick to my approach for now.
The downside of the latter is that after reconnecting the tablet it bombards the notification daemon with this:
This is most likely due to the fact that the system detects the tablet as multiple devices (stylus, pad, strip bar… multiple mice?).