Advanced Instructions for Surface Handwriting Keyboard

[Wevenhuis]

Windows 10 Insiders 17063 build just released: found this tidbit for the handwriting pad update for RS4.

When you use the split gesture to add more space between two words in the handwriting panel (a caret, as showcased ​

here​

) that space will now close back up after a pause.​

 

[inKing]

Hi all,

I was wondering if someone can please point me in the right direction. I have been searching for the last week trying to find detailed information on the use of the Surface Handwriting keyboard and I'm only going around in circles:

I have found plenty of online tips as to it's very basic use (how to train to recognise your own handwriting in settings, and what the space and enter buttons do, or how to use emoji's which really is mostly self evident anyway) - but I have struggled to find more indepth information.

For instance - by almost accident I discovered that you can remove a word that you write by crossing it out from right to left. (I tried this as I'm from the old PALM OS days and it worked!).

Yet I haven't come across a single youtube video or website in my searches that even mentioned this as a feature. If it wasn't for my palm os experience - I wouldn't have even known this was available!

I can't help but think that there must be other more advanced options for correcting or using the handwriting keyboard if I've discovered this by accident, such as a gesture for a carriage return, tabs, etc - but either my google fu is week, or there's too many 'basic information' websites out there for me to find something that's helpful. (Find the signal among the noise so to speak)

Does anyone know of any good links, video's or resources that have in depth information as to the majority of functions / gestures that are available for the Surface Handwriting Keyboard?

Thanks in advance!

Adam

Thank you all for your help. From what it seems, there are limited gestures available with the pen in the handwriting panel, which appear to be limited to only:


Delete: (Cross out the letter or word by drawing a line from right to left which was the one I discovered)

Join: (Create an arc between two words)

Split: Draw a single large line from top to bottom of the panel between two letters

Fix a letter: Draw over the top of the existing letter again.

(These 4 were sourced from the Windows Tips apps - Thanks Wevenhuis).

It's nice to know I'm not the only one disappointed by the web search results. The tips above are limited in nature, but I now know 3 more than I was originally aware of.

I'm glad to hear that they are considering a carriage return in the future release. (as I find having to click the tick, and then the carriage return interrupts the flow of handwriting compared to what I used to be able to do on my Palm pilot).

Thanks again all for taking the time to respond.

Hi adz,

thanks for bringing up this issue: I thought I was the only one going nuts on these handwriting shortcomings. the pen flow experience should be uninterrupted to get the most out of it: stopping to halfway a sentence to tap left and right is just not right. The carriage return is a good example: I distinctly remember that was a very simple and effective gesture to use under Windows 7. Hopefully they will bring it back with the upcoming update.

 

[inKing]

The list of advanced gestures are in the legacy control panel under Pen and Touch - Flicks

You can customize this flicks as well

View attachment 8780

Hi jnjroach, thanks for posting this trick. I can access the panel and select and save the "navigation and editing flicks", and even customize them, but the diagonal (editing) flicks simply do not work. Are you also experiencing this? I have a Surface Pro 2017 running on the latest Fall Creator Update version.

Thanks!