Use of Stylus with DOCViewer

[GideonWilliams]

This idea has been developed and deployed to Canvas

This idea is applicable to any 2-in-1 / hybrid device with stylus capacity eg Chromebook, Surface Pro 4, Yoga, ASUS etc.

Microsoft's recent education event (May 2017) highlighted the increasing opportunities for schools to invest in low cost 2-in-1 hybrids running Windows 10. Since then at least 5 new devices have been released - 5 Budget Windows Hybrids 2-in-1 Tablets and Laptops for Schools – Colour My Learning . Many schools, including our own, are now looking at these as viable alternatives to 1-1 iPads.

The potential of inking is huge, not just in the hands of students but for teachers and marking.

Canvas has just released DOCViewer in Beta. As yet it is not possible to annotate work inline using the stylus (at least on my Surface Pro).

We would love to see inking/hand-written/stylus based annotations being available for those using Canvas via the browser.

This idea has been added to our product plan for Q1 2019 and will influence development within Canvas. Follow this idea to receive updates as they are available.

:smileyinfo: Adding this idea to our product plan means we will be working on it, but it does not guarantee that it will be developed exactly as defined by the idea, or that it will be added to the production environment.

Read more about the feature idea process:

• Adaptation: Feature Idea Process Changes‌
• How does the feature idea process work in the Canvas Community?
• What is the feature development process for Canvas? ‌

Comments from Instructure

For more information, please read through the https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-16291-canvas-release-notes-2019-02-16 .

[Renee_Carney]

cc.armidale,  @luc_vancauwenbe ,  @gbaxley , gharbor

Thank you so much for your feedback.  Our product and engineering teams are looking into this further.  We have been testing this feature set on a 3rd generation surface pro with a bamboo pen and it is working perfectly.  We're actually a bit surprised that other hardware has such a vast difference in handling.  We're looking to see if we can get our hands on some other hardware for further testing and refinement.  If you haven't already posted your hardware in your comments, please post it here so we can see what everyone is working with.  Thanks 

[MattHanes]

The Lenovo Chromebook 300e has a unique ability to write on the screen with a normal #2 pencil. We would love for students to be able to use this functionality for peer reviews.

I think the Lenovo 500e has one of the more classic active stylus capabilities. That might be another good test model.

[cdgray]

I am using a Surface Pro (2017) with a Windows Pen and I am experiencing the same issues that were previously mentioned. I didn't think it was possible, but the functionality is actually worse than it was before.

[locke]

I have a Surface Pro 4 and am working with the Surface Pen which came with it.  I've tried using both Chrome and Edge, but the stylus functionality seems to randomly (or at least unpredictably) switch between annotation and scrolling.
Interestingly, I have near success if the document I'm viewing is so small that there is no scroll bar.  However, there is still a vertical "jump" in the annotation as shown in this 

As I was writing the G, the line "jumped vertically".  The result being the same as cutting the G in a few places and shifting parts up and down on the "paper".

Below, I've circled in red my attempt to write a "G" when I'm in the general case that the scroll bars are present.  The scroll bars are present for any multi-page document (and generally for any 8.5" by 11" page) which is the standard document that I need to annotate.

[Renee_Carney]

Thank you all.  We did some deeper digging and it turns out like the code didn't get deployed as it was supposed to on Saturday.  Thehttps://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-16291 will have updates when the deploy is complete!

[Renee_Carney]

David Barrett, Luc Van Cauwenberge, Greg Baxley, Grant Harbor,  @MattHanes  ,  @cdgray ,   @locke .  Give it one more try for us.  Deploys just completed.

[cdgray]

Now none of the annotation features seem to be working.

[cc_armidale]

Hi, Renee

I've tried to use SpeedGrader on a Lenovo X1 Yoga this morning (Australian time) and had the following results:

• Microsoft Edge 42.17134.1.0: Finger and stylus move the page when attempting to use highlighter or brush tools. No annotations appear. No response when trying to use the mouse. (The cursor moves across the screen as usual, even with the left button clicked.)
• Google Chrome 72.0.3626.: As above.
• Firefox 64.0.2: Finger and stylus create annotations with the brush tool, but they are jagged, and it seems impossible to write this way. The mouse does seem to work all right, but it isn't an optimal tool for writing.

I haven't had the opportunity to test the SpeedGrader update with a Wacom tablet yet and will do so at the earliest opportunity. However, I would rather be able to use my built-in touchscreen facilities than an additional device for several reasons, including the need to carry extra equipment, which seems redundant given the capabilities of the laptop.

Thanks to all concerned for the work you're putting into trying to make this work. So many of us are excited to see it up and running, and although we appear to be undergoing a little setback here, I'm sure it will work in the end.

Cheers
David

[jfenton]

Hey David, 

Thanks for sending those results over. The stylus should work with the annotation tools when the action button is pressed. On Edge and Chrome the behavior that you've seen (no annotations being placed) is expected with the finger and the stylus when the action button is NOT being pressed. However, once you press the action button, the annotation tool that you have select should then engage. 

Would you mind giving it a try with the button on the stylus?  

On Firefox the support that we currently have is limited due to some limitations in the way that Firefox interprets touch events. We've been able to use a few work-arounds to get some of the annotations to behave like the other browsers, but there are still some issues. And again, the intention there is that the button on the stylus is being used. In any case, the best experience will be on Chrome and Edge. 

[locke]

Hi Jon,

I guess there are two Davids and you were addressing the other, but you did get the annotations to "work" for me.  I can annotate clearly while holding in the button on my Surface Pen.  I put work in quotes, because it is not easy to hold the button continuously while writing.  I don't think holding it continuously was the intent when the pen was designed.

Here is an image with the buttons.  To annotate clearly, I must continuously hold the "Right-Click Button" labelled in the figure.

Is there any way to turn the finger scrolling off in Speedgrader so that I would be able to use the Surface Pen in a more natural way?

David