I have an HP convertible tablet computer which I just upgraded to Windows 8.
The problem (which existed under Windows 7 as well) is that this tablet has both a capacitive touch screen (with multi-touch) AND a wacom-type tablet built in to the screen that works using electro-magnetic resonance with the provided stylus.
My Use Case: Most of the time I am happy using my fingers and the touch interface for navigation and whatnot. However, when I want to get down to serious note-taking/drawing, I want to use the wacom functionality. The problem is that any comfortable writing position has me resting my arm/hand on the screen, which activates the touch technology (despite supposed palm-detection algorithms) and completely screws up my input paradigm.
My Ideal Solution: Ideallly, since wacom technology senses when the pen is "close" to the screen, I would love to have touch be automatically disabled whenever the wacom pen is detected, and turned back on when it is out of range. this would allow me to seamless switch between the two input methods, and since I NEVER want to use both at once would work perfectly for me.
An acceptable alternative: As a next best option, It would be great to be able to turn off the touch functionality (leaving the wacom in place) whenever I entered specific apps (e.g. OneNote, Photoshop, Gimp, Pencil, etc.) and then have it turn back on when I left that app….
As a worst case at least lets me use my PC option: If I could create a shortcut (tile or otherwise) that flips the touch on and off without going all the way through the nested computer settings, that would be better than nothing.
Thanks in advance for the help with 1 or more of the above.
Best Answer
I have yet to receive my tablet on which to test this, but from my readings, tablets that have wacom pen support built-in already have palm-rejecting support. This has been a standard feature for a long time on tablets with pen support built-in, so if it's disabled for you, you should be able to find a switch to enable it in your drivers.
I do recall this working on my HP Pavilion tx2500z convertible laptop/tablet, which ran Vista and Windows 7. I disabled finger input anyway, but I distinctly recall this being available in the settings control panel on that machine.
EDIT: I tested this with my Sony VAIO Duo 11. It doesn't use Wacom for its digitizer pen, however, the functionality should be similar. When the computer detects the pen is in range, it will automatically disable finger touch input.