Absolute Beginners Guide to Tablet PCs

With the Input Panel, you can use handwriting in any application. This section introduces you to the basics of opening the Input Panel and switching between modes.

Opening the Input Panel

One way to open the Input Panel is to make three or more quick strokes across the screen with your pen, but without actually touching the screen, as shown in Figure 8.1. This is called the Open Input Panel gesture. The strokes can be made in any direction, not just horizontally. The strokes can be relatively small, but you may want to practice the gesture to get a feel for what works. The strokes should overlap.

Another way to open the Input Panel is to tap the Input Panel button next to the Start menu button, as shown in Figure 8.2.

Understanding Input Panel Modes

The Input Panel has two primary modes:

• Keyboard mode If you have particularly atrocious handwriting (like I do sometimes), or if you just need to enter a few characters, the keyboard, shown in Figure 8.3, can be more effective than the writing pad. To activate the keyboard, just tap the Keyboard tab in the bottom-right corner of the Input Panel.

  Figure 8.3. The Input Panel keyboard allows you to tap out text.

• Writing Pad mode The writing pad, shown in Figure 8.4, is how you enter handwritten text. With the writing pad, you can have the computer "read" your handwriting and convert it to text. To activate the writing pad, just tap the Writing Pad tab in the bottom-right corner of the Input Panel.

  Figure 8.4. The Input Panel writing pad lets you convert handwriting into text in virtually any application.

Tip

The rest of this chapter will focus on using the writing pad portion of the Input Panel. I'll assume you already know how to use a keyboard, and the Input Panel keyboard is nothing new as far as layout and functionality.