Touch and pen input with Zorin 17

Hardware Support
1

Is anyone successfully using a touchscreen and pen with Zorin 17? If so what hardware is it working with?

I have an older ThinkPad that uses Wacom technology and while touch and pen work when the system is first set up, they do not work at all once the computer is shut down and restarted. This also happens with Mint. Debian works fine, so it is probably something with Ubuntu based distros.

I have another ThinkPad with Wacom touch and pen, and an HP Spectre 360 with touchscreen and an active pen that will not upgrade to Windows 11. I can repeat the same process, testing to see if things work, or I can just stick with Debian as it does seem to handle this better. I just prefer the environment in Zorin.

Any help would be most appreciated.

2

You can install the Zorin OS themes and extensions on Debian with Gnome. I mention this as an option - as it is open source.
Now, you do need to match the Gnome Version - so first check which Gnome you are using... Zorin OS 17 is on Gnome 43

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When @waryoldguy uses Debian stable, it is Debian 12 and that uses Gnome 43, too.

4

It is Debian 12. I am using the Cinnamon interface.

I think the issue is introduced by Ubuntu, but I have not bothered to check as it is running now, and rebuilding it again seems a waste.

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In that case, you can use the Zenith themes, which are a vetted Zorin-based theme for use on Cinnamon Desktop environments.
I have not made the Light Themes, so only available is
zenith-blue-dark
zenith-green-dark
zenith-grey-dark
zenith-orange-dark
zenith-purple-dark
zenith-red-dark

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Where can I get the themes and what is the process?

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From the repository:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:aravisian/gtk-theming

Then update and install the theme you want.

sudo apt update && sudo apt install zenith-blue-dark

Or you can install all of them at once and just pick which you want from the Appearance Cinnamon theme selection

sudo apt update && sudo apt install zenith-blue-dark zenith-green-dark zenith-grey-dark zenith-orange-dark zenith-purple-dark zenith-red-dark

8

Possibly. Wacom and Wayland have a variety of issues, which Zorin OS 17 introduced defaulting to Wayland. There are device detection issues after reboot for some ThinkPads using integrated Wacom hardware.
Wacom tablet support on Wayland is not as mature as on Xorg, and some users report that their devices stop working after suspend/reboot.

If you are logging in on Xorg, you can try:

sudo apt install --reinstall xserver-xorg-input-wacom libwacom libwacom-common libwacom-bin

Ensure modprober sees the device:

sudo modprobe wacom

If this works, add it to /etc/modules to ensure it loads upon boot:
echo "wacom" | sudo tee -a /etc/modules

1 Like
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Thanks. I will try this, though probably not until later next week. It would be nice to settle on one interface.

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