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Fix issues when using a Wacom device

Learn how to fix crash and performance issues related to your Wacom device.

Are you experiencing any of the following issues while using your Wacom tablet in Illustrator? 

  • Illustrator crashes during or after launch when using a mouse, stylus, tablet device, or others.
  • The pressure sensitivity does not work accurately while using a Wacom stylus.
  • Illustrator is unresponsive when you're using a Wacom stylus.
  • Issues when working on an Illustrator document with Wacom Cintiq. The cursor disappears as Wacom Cintiq becomes the secondary display screen.

The issues may occur due to outdated Wacom drivers or if you don't have any Wacom device currently attached to your computer. Try updating or uninstalling old or unused device drivers to fix the issue.

Before you proceed

If Illustrator detects that your previous session crashed due to an issue with the Wacom device, it automatically disables your Wacom the next time when you open the app.
Follow the below steps to enable Wacom devices:

macOS

  1. Choose Illustrator > Preferences > Devices. 

  2. Select the Enable Wacom check box.

Windows

  1. Choose Edit > Preferences > Devices

  2. Select the Enable Wacom check box.

Update Wacom driver

  1. Ensure that you have the latest Wacom drivers installed on your computer. 

  2.  Uninstall Wacom from your computer, including the Wacom touch driver and Pen Tablet driver if the issue persists with the latest Wacom drivers.

  3. [macOS] In a new Finder window, select Go > Go to Folder > and type /Library/Frameworks > select Go. If you find WacomMultiTouch.framework, delete it.

Uninstall Wacom driver

  1. Uninstall the Wacom drivers from your macOS or Windows if you are not using a Wacom device.

  2. Launch Illustrator.

Other Performance issues

[macOS 10.15 (Catalina) only] 

Is your Eraser functionality not working when you draw a shape using the Wacom pen and then flip the pen to use the Eraser tool? 

  1. Open the macOS privacy settings and enable Illustrator's access on the tablet driver.

  2. Restart Illustrator.

Are the pressure-sensitive options grayed out in the Brush Options dialog?

Calligraphic brush options dialog box is open. The dropdown is selected to check if the Pressure option is greyed out.
Example: Calligraphic Brush Options

Install the latest Wacom driver and perform the following steps:

  1. Go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy.

  2. Select the Privacy tab, select Accessibility, and click the lock icon at the bottom of the dialog box.

  3.  In the Allow the apps below to control your computer list, select the check boxes for Wacom component, and known listed applications are selected.

 In the known listed applications, select Illustrator, Photoshop, and more if required.


Have a question or an idea?

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