Introduction

Aiptek, Inc, manufactures and markets the HyperPen series of USB digital tablets. Aiptek does not, however, offer device drivers for Linux, nor for the X Window System running on Linux. This project addresses that need by developing Linux and X Window System device drivers. Additionally, we develop an X-based Tablet Manager, that allows the user to query and dynamically reconfigure the device driver's settings, while the tablet is in active use.


We support the following digital tablets: Aiptek HyperPen 4000U, 5000U, 6000U, 8000U, and 12000U. Other tablets we have found to be similar enough include, the Trust Wireless Tablet 400, LIFETEC LT9750, and Medion MD9750.


Project Goals

The goal in developing these drivers is to provide a usable working environment for the user and tablet under Linux. Our goal is to deliver a suite of components that is, first, concerned with supporting your hardware, second, with supporting your hardware in the most likely user environment you'll be using -- the X Window System -- and finally, concerned with providing you with a usable workflow. These components are,

  1. The Linux Kernel device driver delivers tablet movement reports through a device driver interface. Additionally, it offers a text-mode interface, through the sysfs pseudo-file API (procfs under Linux 2.4.x) to inspect and dynamically reconfigure the driver and/or your tablet. We support Linux 2.6 and 2.4.
  2. The X Window Input Driver reports tablet events to the X Window System, permitting X Window applications to work with the tablet. This driver also supports reporting its status and dynamic reconfiguration; the user interface for doing so is none other than,
  3. The Tablet Manager presents reports from the Kernel and X Window device drivers in an easy-to-read format for the end user. Settings for both drivers can be inspected and dynamically reconfigured from the Tablet Manager.