Learn about recommended settings for using Wacom tablets with Photoshop.

Recommended settings for using a tablet with Photoshop

Note:

Adobe does not test or officially support non-Wacom third-party tablets. Contact the original manufacturer for help with using their tablets.

Customize Wacom pen and pressure settings in Photoshop

Learn how to customize the feel of your Wacom pen and control the different pressure settings in Photoshop.

Use the links below to directly jump over to the topic of your interest:
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Windows

Windows Ink and WinTab are competing technologies. Wintab is older and more mature while Windows Ink is newer and is built on a more modern code base. Depending on your needs one or the other may be a better choice for you. Going forward, Adobe plans on shifting resources to improve the Windows Ink experience.

Windows Ink is the default experience on Windows 10.
Windows 7 users do not have the option to use Windows Ink. WinTab is the legacy driver that supports connected drawing tablets and delivers pen pressure on Windows 7. Microsoft announced the end of support for Windows 7 by January 14, 2020.

Windows 11 introduced the ability to disable the cursor toast display when holding down modifier keys.
Go into Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Pen & Windows Ink > Additional pen settings and uncheck Display additional keys pressed when using my pen.

Wacom Tablet Properties

Select the Use Windows Ink option in the Wacom Tablet Properties window.
To learn more about Wacom Tablet Properties, see Wacom's support article.

Other tablets

Configure Photoshop to use WinTab if your tablet does not support Windows Ink

Fix pen pressure issues

Add Photoshop to the Wacom Tablet Properties

Add Photoshop in the Application section of Wacom Tablet Properties.

For instructions, see the following Wacom support articles:

Configure your Photoshop brush to be pressure sensitive

In Photoshop, select the Brush tool from the toolbar or Press B. Then, choose Window > Brush Settings.

In the Brush Settings panel, make sure that Shape Dynamics is selected and Control is set as Pen Pressure.

For more information, see the following:

Enable Windows Ink in the Wacom Tablet Properties (Windows)

See Enable Windows Ink in Wacom Control Panel above.

Disable press and hold for right-click (Windows)

Open Control Panel and select Pen and Touch.

In the Pen and Touch dialog, select Press and hold in the list and then select Settings.

In the Pen and Hold Settings dialog, deselect Enable press and hold for right-clicking and click OK.

Update/Change the Wacom driver

Pressure sensitivity issues can be caused by outdated, corrupt, or buggy drivers. In most cases, updating to the latest driver should resolve the pen pressure issues. In other cases, a different driver version may work best to restore the pen pressure functionality.

For detailed information and instructions, see Wacom's support article Why pen pressure is not working?

Configure Ink preferences (macOS 10.14 and earlier)

On your Mac, go to System Preferences. In the System Preferences window, locate Ink and open it.

In the Ink window, set the Handwriting recognition option to Off and deselect Allow me to Ink in any application.

For related information, see Apple's support article Change preferences in Ink on Mac.

Remove all login items (macOS)

Remove the items that open automatically whenever you log in to your Mac.

For instructions, see Apple's support article Add or remove automatic items.

If this step resolves pressure issues, selectively reintroducing the login items can help uncover any potential software conflicts.

Wacom and compatibility with macOS

For more information on Wacom and macOS compatibility, see Wacom's macOS support article.

Tablet support for Photoshop