Photoshop: Solution for delayed pen input on Windows PC

After updating Windows or playing around with pen input or "Windows Ink", it can happen that the stylus is used in Photoshop with a delay. When drawing a line or a shape, the first pixels are not colored and the intended beginning of the drawing remains blank. In addition, unwanted inputs (click, double-click, right-click) can result from simply pressing the stylus on the graphics tablet, which is also annoying. If the pen input is delayed in Photoshop on Windows, you can find a possible solution here - for example for using the Wacom Intuos Pro.

Solution for Photoshop: Delayed pen input on the graphics tablet under Windows

I got the error yesterday while drawing on the Wacom Intuos Pro graphics tablet. I use the Wacom Pro Pen 2019 on the 2 model and I hadn't changed any of the tablet or stylus settings. As far as I can remember, I hadn't adjusted anything in Photoshop since the last time I made a digital drawing. So it had to be some Windows setting. After a few attempts in the individual menus, however, there was no improvement. 

A little detour then helped. I found this solution in an English-language forum, in a year-old thread. Nevertheless, the whole thing worked for me under Windows 10, which is why I want to share the procedure with you. And it looks like this:

1. Show the local hard drive in Explorer (for example C: \)
2. Find this path in the current account:
   C: \ Users \ \ AppData \ Roaming \ Adobe \ Adobe Photoshop… \ Adobe Photoshop… Settings
3. Depending on the version of Photoshop, the path may be a little different, so you may have to do a little research
4. If the file "PSUserConfig.txt" exists, it opens - if not, creates it in the folder (right click -> New -> Text file)
5. Now write the following to the file:
   UseSystemStylus 0

Then save the file and close it again. If you now open Photoshop again, the pen input on the graphics tablet should be accepted again from the first time you put the stylus on. In any case, it worked out when trying it out with the Wacom Intuos Pro.

Notes: Instead of the three dots (...) after "Adobe Photoshop" in the path shown above, there is the version you are using. So the CS version number of the old paid or new subscription version. If you cannot find the "AppData" folder in your user folder, you must first show the hidden files and folders. This is done via the folder settings.

Johannes Domke

After graduating from high school, Johannes completed an apprenticeship as a business assistant specializing in foreign languages. But then he decided to research and write, which resulted in his independence. For several years he has been working for Sir Apfelot, among others. His articles include product introductions, news, manuals, video games, consoles, and more. He follows Apple keynotes live via stream.