We're working on a project that will probably support the MSX drawing tablet produced by Philips. However, we lack every kind of documentation and now I was wondering if anybody knows how to operate the thing using BASIC. Is there a way to read the coordinates of the pen on the drawing tablet in BASIC? And is there any difference between the various MSX screen modes?

AFAIK it's explained in all basic books: use the PDL functions... But, I may be wrong. Wow. What a potentially useless post.

Hehe, well not entirely useless, since I didn't have a clue of where to look for such documentation. I guessed it was explained in the graphic tablet's manual or something and therefore didn't think of the option that it could be explained in a BASIC book. I'll have a look

Here a routine that I used in a util that I ones wrote.

10 SCREEN2
20 AA=0
30 IFPAD(0)=0THEN20
40 X=PAD(1):Y=PAD(2)
50 IFAA=0THENPSET(X,Y)ELSELINE-(X,Y)
60 AA=1
70 GOTO30

Thanks, that'll help!

I once had a tablet .. worked crappy .. some old MCM review shared the same opinion..

There is an other util once publish in MC(C)M, called musicpad.
Maybe you can find it on one of the cd-roms, witch come with the last MCCM?
iirc this is a basicprog too.

Quote:

I once had a tablet .. worked crappy .. some old MCM review shared the same opinion..

You'r right.
In fact, only usefull if you'll create a handdrawing, In the past, I did make drawings with a ordinary pencil, and this works.

I't works wonders when you define a matrix on the tablet. You can use it as a second keyboard (or a whole lot more function keys), depending on how you define the matrix

Quote:

I't works wonders when you define a matrix on the tablet. You can use it as a second keyboard (or a whole lot more function keys), depending on how you define the matrix

Musicpad is based on the same idea.

And our project is, too

Rikusu.
Did you find musicpad?

No, I must try to retrieve the MCCM CD's. I must have them somewhere, but at the time I received them, I didn't have a PC yet so I used my fathers computer to run the CD's. Haven't seen them for a very long time, I hope my father still has them somewhere...

The MSX BIOS listing explains the working of the PAD function quite well. And so documents the inner working of the drawing tablet. I have used this to read the tablet on another computer than MSX.
The user guide http://www.funet.fi/pub/msx/mirrors/hanso/userguides/philipsnms1150ug.pdf tells how to use the PAD functions from a Basic program. In assembler you can use the BIOS PAD functions, see for example the MSX Red book http://www.funet.fi/pub/msx/mirrors/msx2.com/sources/aredbook.zip

Hm, not to annoy anyone but, Rieks, maybe you should have asked sargon's only active ml-programmer (your's truly) this question, anywhere during his 3 day stay at your place last weekend ?!!!

Suffice to say, i'm of course familiar with PDL and it's bios calls )

Best regards!