Use a pen tablet or pen display with SHARA

SHARA reads a pen tablet or pen display directly through Windows Ink: the tip draws, the barrel button is a right click and the eraser end erases. If the pen stops drawing, switch Pen tablets to Mouse. Line width does not follow pressure; you set it yourself.

If the pen won’t draw#

Work through these in order. Most pens start drawing after step 4.

Pick a drawing tool first. SHARA reads the pen while a drawing tool is in hand, from the toolbar or the Wheel (Ctrl+Space).
Open SHARA Settings. Use the tray icon, then select the Tutor tab.
Open the Annotation Tools gear. It is labelled Annotation display settings. Find Pen tablets in the panel.
Choose Pen. It reads the pen or tablet directly in Windows Ink mode (the tooltip calls it the smoothest).
If the pen still draws nothing, choose Mouse. It treats the pen as a mouse, which is what the tooltip suggests when the pen stops drawing.

If you updated from an older version, Pen tablets may still be on Mouse: SHARA keeps it there when the pen already worked as a mouse. Switch it to Pen to read the pen directly.

What the tip, the button and the eraser do#

From SHARA 4.3 code, read November 2, 2026. Not yet run on every tablet; test yours with a short line before a call.
Pen part	What SHARA does	Notes
Tip on the screen	Draws with the tool you have in hand (Laser, Pen, Highlighter, Shape or Text).	Needs a drawing tool picked first.
Barrel button	Acts as a right click. It never draws.	A button held while the tip touches counts as the barrel button.
Eraser end	Erases. It never draws.	Works when the pen is turned over, or with its eraser button held.
Hovering	Moves the pointer and the halo; no ink.	Pen position is read, not tilt or pressure.

Pen and Mouse mode only change how SHARA reads the pen. Everything else, from the hotkeys to Undo, works as it does with a mouse. Draw tools lists them.

No pressure sensitivity#

SHARA reads where the pen is, not how hard you press. A light stroke and a hard one draw the same line. Set the thickness yourself: Shift + scroll changes the width of Draw and Shape strokes. A pen tablet is still worth it for handwriting, because the pen gives you more control than a mouse over long lines.

Wacom and other drivers#

SHARA reads Windows Ink. If your tablet driver has a Windows Ink switch, keep it on for SHARA. On Wacom drivers it is the Use Windows Ink checkbox on the Mapping tab of Wacom Tablet Properties, set per pen; on some Cintiq and Intuos Pro models it sits on the Calibrate tab. Labels vary by driver version, so check your vendor’s help page.

Turn Use Windows Ink on, then reselect your drawing tool in SHARA.
Keep the driver’s mapping on the monitor you present on.
If your driver needs Windows Ink off for another app, SHARA’s Mouse setting is the fallback.

Questions#

Does SHARA support pen pressure?

No. SHARA reads the pen’s position only. Line width does not get thicker when you press harder; you set it yourself in the tool’s width setting (1 to 12 for Pen, Laser and Highlighter).

Is pen support free?

Yes. Pen input is not part of the Pro list. The Laser, Pen with its width, Arrow, Text and Eraser tools are free, so a tablet works on the free tier.

Does a touch screen work the same way?

No. SHARA reads pens as pointers, not fingers. A finger acts as a mouse click, and it can tap the open Wheel. There is no finger drawing, multi-touch or palm rejection.

My pen worked as a mouse before and still does. Why?

An install updated from a version before pens were read directly keeps Pen tablets on Mouse so a pen that already worked is not changed. Switch it to Pen to read the pen directly.

I plugged the tablet in after starting SHARA. Is that a problem?

No. SHARA looks for a pen when you pick a drawing tool, so a tablet plugged in since is seen. If it still draws nothing, pick the tool again.

None of this worked. What now?

Set Pen tablets to Mouse and confirm the pen draws in any other Windows ink app. If it also fails there, the cause is the driver. Check the SHARA FAQ for the short answers.

If it doesn’t work

Share the screen, not a window, so viewers see the ink: viewers can’t see ink. For tutors who write by hand, online tutoring with SHARA covers the setup.

More in Troubleshooting: Viewers can’t see ink · Pro shows as Free.