Pen deadzone when first moving the pen #5
Description
I submitted this as a bug in the QGIS GitHub, but Nicolas Godet closed it and said I need to post the issue on the plugin repository first and then the plugin developer can submit a QGIS bug if necessary. I still believe this could be an underlying QGIS bug because the same issue affects three similar "write on the screen" plugins (beePen, Freehand Editing 3, and Red Layer).
This is what I posted in the above link:
Full disclosure: I do not know if this is a QGIS issue, a plugin issue, or a Windows issue. My web research suggests the issue could be with any or all of the above.
I'm having an issue in QGIS that is the exact same as this old question in the Microsoft Community from 2018:
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/forum/all/pen-deadzone-when-placing-tip-down/21765de6-e215-472a-9a4e-8b65e0e7037f
In some applications, there is no "deadzone" when first moving the pen on the screen, but in others (at least in QGIS), the pen has to touch the screen and then move a few millimeters before it registers the next "vertex" of the pen stroke. This makes drawing small details impossible because the first few millimeters of the stroke just turn into a straight line. After the stroke is past those first few millimeters, it registers all the fine movements of the pen correctly.
I've tested this on two different laptops from two different manufacturers using two different pen technology (one is a Dell using Microsoft Pen Protocol, the other is a Getac using their hardware digitizer screen) One is running Windows 10, the other Windows 11. In both cases, the pen behaves the same.
From what I can tell, it is related to the program looking for a "press and hold" action from the pen input so it ignores minor pen movements. I have the "press and hold" action disabled on my Pen and Touch settings, but it doesn't change how the pen behaves. Other drawing programs as well as the Pen Tool in ArcMap do not have this issue on my computer.
The same issue from the 2018 link seemed to be resolved by modifying the registry:
"If you have Windows 10 version 1709, I suggest you perform the suggested steps on this post to resolve the pen issue. The troubleshooting will apply the necessary registry modification on your Surface so the pen can function properly with the latest updates from Microsoft."
However, the link in the above solution just says that "This issue has been resolved in an update (see KB4093105)."
I don't know if this is a QGIS specific issue, a plugin issue, or a Windows issue. But since it doesn't affect most other programs, it seems possible this is related to QGIS or the plugin.
Steps to reproduce the issue
Install the beePen, Freehand Editing 3, or Red Layer plugin.
Using a pen or digitizer, try to create a tiny circle.
Note that no feature is created.
Start making a tiny squiggle line.
Note that the first squiggles are ignored and replaced with a straight line segment until the pen travels a few millimeters from its start position.
I would greatly appreciate it if this issue could be fixed. Our small landslide geology company relies heavily on being able to take spatial notes directly into GIS. With the unfortunate demise of ArcMap and no similar function in ArcGIS Pro, these plugins in QGIS are my best hope.
Thank you,
-Stephen