Best graphics program to lecture students with graphics tablet

What's a good simple pen-writing display program (freeware?) that can show
decent writing from a graphics tablet?

I bought the Wacom Intuos 3 graphics tablet and the optional pen with ink
refills for a class we're giving but the graphics are horrid for such an
expensive program.

We can't be assured our lecture room PCs (which are out of our control)
will have anything on them so freeware drawing is preferred.

We tried mspaint and ms powerpoint (assuming office is installed) but both
were horrid to get the graphics to work right. For one thing, as soon as
you lift the pen from the graphics tablet, you lose where you were even
with the ink pen.

Is there a better software program for simply relaying a teacher's drawing
to the screen (we're currently using the Intuos 3 plus MS Paint)?

 

ArtRage 2.5 Starter Edition:
<http://www.ambientdesign.com/artragedown.html>
If you don't mind features from the full version disabled.

Artweaver (also has a portable version):
<http://www.artweaver.de/index.php?artweaver_en>


X'Posted to: alt.comp.freeware,rec.photo.digital

 

I have a little Wacom Volito which came with ArtRage - excellent
application but perhaps too 'arty' for your requirements. Gimp, as the
other post said works with a tablet but the interface takes a bit of
getting used to.

I would have a look at Inkscape.
http://www.inkscape.org/index.php?lang=en

look at some of the screenshots
http://www.inkscape.org/screenshots/index.php?lang=en&version=0.45

there is one showing pen use about three quarters of the way down the page.

Its quite a hefty application, the installer runs to 34 MB or you can go
portable. The one I use is X-Inkscape from WinPenPack which is
excellent, although size is about 40-odd MB.
http://www.winpenpack.com/main/download.php?view.40

 

I second Artweaver.

 

What's a good simple pen-writing display program (freeware?) that

Neither GIMP nor Inkscape meet the qualification of being "simple".

 

Obviously it is in the mind of the beholder.
What is difficult about selecting the calligraphy tool and writing on the
tablet?
As far as I can tell it does not suffer from "losing the place" when the
pen is lifted off the tablet but as one poster pointed out that could be
due to the tablet mode settings (ie could be in mouse mode).

 

Hi there Frederick,
Thanks for the help,

I'll try "The Gimp" but I agree it's not simple. The ONLY reason we got
this more expensive panel is we needed the 8.5x11 inch screen; it was the
only one at Frys that had a large screen.

The wierd thing is that the tablet size is WAY LARGER than the active area
(I guess they try to make it look bigger than it is) because I first bought
one about the size of 8.5x11 and the active area was about HALF that!

I'll read the other suggestions first though as I've got to get this
working today before shipping it out to the teachers (who will KILL ME if
it's cumbersome to use as a writing display for the class!).

 

Ah. That may be the pen-lifting problem. What we need to do is secure
somehow (tape?) the 8.5x11 sheet of paper to the tablet and then when the
teacher writes on the tablet, whatever they write is displayed on the
screen (and captured to video for future replay).

At first we looked at "document cameras" such as the ElmoUSA P10 and P30
http://www.avtg.com/elmo-p30-document-camera.htm
which work MUCH BETTER than the graphics tablet. But the cost was over
$2000 dollars, which is way too much for our budget. At least the 8.5x11
inch tablet was only $500 for the tablet and another $100 for the ink pen.

We must be in "mouse mode". I have the tablet in the office and will see if
there is a "control panel" in windows xp that will set this. I didn't
install the two discs that came with it because I thought that was
junkware.

Is this "control panel" in the windows xp control panel or on one of those
two discs?

 

If you're pushing powerpoint, then just switch to "pen mode" by right
clicking on the slide presentation. Select your color and your type of pen,
ball point or felt, for example, highlight or eraser, etc. and you're done.

No need for any additional programs. When you're done, save the newly
annotated powerpoint and you have an immediate record of all that you drew
during the presentation.