Can a tablet pc be used as an input device?

Question

I have a table PC that'd I'd like to use as an input device for my main (powerful) desktop. How can I set this up?

My desktop is running win7 64 and the tablet is running vista 32

Answer 1

Unless there's a way you can connect the tablet to your desktop via USB (or firewire?), and there is a device driver that allows the tablet to function as an input device, it probably isn't possible. (I do realize that this is effectively what you're asking the community at large.)

However, you might be able to use Input Director to set up keyboard/mouse sharing, and share the mouse (or stylus) on your tablet to your desktop with mirror mode enabled. (A quick search on Input Directors forums leads me to believe there is a mirror feature.)

Hope that helps a bit.

Answer 2

The only software solution I could find is the free program ShareKMC :

ShareKMC is a pair of programs that enable you to control your Tablet PC from your Notebook or Desktop over the local network (LAN). You can also copy and paste text and small images between the two machines.

If not, external digitizers are cheap to buy and might offer a better solution.

Answer 3

A solution might be to use VNC over LAN. A program such as UltraVNC setup as server on your desktop and client on your tablet would probably be able to do what you are asking. The client can run in fullscreen to make accessible the UI of the server without the screen clutter of the client host OS.

Although I am unsure how responsive the input would be and how differences in screen resolution between your tablet and desktop pcs would affect usability, this should be technically feasible.

UltraVNC: Remote Control Software

Answer 4

Not entirely sure it will work usefully, but SynergyKM might be a solution

Normally you use it with a keyboard/mouse - when you move the cursor of the side of the screen, you are then controlling a second computer. Not sure how this will work with a pen/tablet..

Answer 5

a tablet with bluetooth (or USB input for a bluetooth dongle) can directly interface with a PC. They are hackable in respect to using MSWin tablet features such as on-screen keyboard and mouse keys. This hack isn't exactly smooth though. The problem is mouse movements (i.e., utilizing a PC-based key and touchpad mapper). With enough patience it can be done, though there is limited open source software for it but it is very buggy. But I imagine in the coming months something more useful will be available app-wise. A few input device makers (supposedly including Apple) are currently developing PnP tablets precisely for input to PC use, which are crippled and lower cost. So the most reasonable option is to wait for such products to hit the market.