Timothy wrote:
…but the writing remains the same size?
The thickness of the lines is the same, but because my finger is too wide, I have to make bigger motions, making bigger letters…
Ends up taking up too much on a single line (probably 3cm letter height w/ finger)
w/ the cheap fat/soft/capacitive tip, the size is closer to 2cm in height, which makes a significant difference when the tablet is in portrait orientation.
Details, details, but I like ’em!
Some styluses come with a clever widget that sticks in your 3.5mm socket, for safe keeping.
My experience of those big hemispherical capacitative pens is very poor. I am thinking of getting a slightly more expensive and finer pen. About €25.
I too use a stylus (they are about ten for £1 on Ebay) with a capacitive screen device (i.e. virtually all current consumer-grade phones or tablets) whenever doing a lot of work on the device, because it is much easier than using a finger, but it doesn’t solve the issues of where to put the device in the cockpit where you can use it and cannot mess it up with accidental touches. In my plane there is no room, but e.g. I flew in Jason’s jet and he does have room to mount an Ipad on a mount, and scribbles on it quite well.
The inductive “digitiser” type screens which used to be the standard thing before capacitive came in, and are still available on some high-end tablets, don’t have the “accidental touch” issue (because the finger does nothing) but if you lose the stylus you can’t do anything with it. But I prefer that type for the GPS moving map application.
…but the writing remains the same size?
I have a capacitive stylus, and it works better, simply because the size of it is about 1/4 the diameter of my fingertip…
In the absence of an answer, I wrote to SD.
Their response:
No, it wouldn’t make a difference if it’s a finger or a ‘pen’; the line will be the same thickness. I’ve made a note for future discussion on this subject, in case we do have a way of detecting that it’s a thinner stylus. I have taken this as your official request, so the suggestion is on the list.
Please could someone write from experience (or even, if they have the equipment to hand, try out) whether using a stylus, such as an Adonit, is better than a fat finger, specifically on the SkyDemon scratchpad on an iPad. (Mine is a Mini 4).
I read what @eddsPeter writes, but the Apple Pencil is a very special case that only works on a very limited range of iPads.
Hmmm. Any objections to tabs in the scratchpad?
On the other hand, I’d love to have a ‘pencil’ and really debated buying that the second it came out.
In the end, i couldn’t justify it just for taking notes, as I wouldn’t have any other use for it.
So, I still use my finger, which is a disaster, but works.
Have you tried using the scratchpad in SD without any paper?
That is my normal methodology. I rarely use paper.
Timothy wrote:
SD has multiple (infinite?) pages of scratchpad.
True.
My experience is that after about 3 pages, it is fairly easy to ‘get lost’ in the pages.
Sure, I can flip to the end, b/c it is the latest info, but after a few pages of notes, that gets a little cumbersome.
Also, ‘flipping back’ to check something else gets ugly, quick.
In the end, I find writing on paper simpler, as I organize a sheet by DEP/ENR/APP and have all the info on a single page (in case I need to refer in-flight).
Being able to quickly glance down and see exactly what I’m looking for is critical.
The GUI for the scratchpad is too small for that.
So, yes, having multiple pages is helpful, but not as useful as having tabs, that I can pre-fill prior to arrival, and simply quickly modify if anything has changed. That’s how I use it, which isn’t exactly how it was designed.
Have you tried using the scratchpad in SD without any paper?
