Some random notes about Weitzboard

First of all, I wrote Weitzboard for myself (to use it in my lectures employing a Wacom tablet with a stylus attached to a laptop running Linux). It's perfectly fine with me if other people are using the program, but I won't provide any support or add features I don't need. (In particular, it doesn't make much sense to use Weitzboard without both a stylus and a keyboard.) However, if you think you've found a genuine bug, feel free to send me an e-mail.

Linux
You will need a fairly recent web browser and thus shouldn't use the one that comes with your distribution because it will most likely lag several versions behind.
Firefox on Linux
On Linux, I got the best results so far with Firefox. However, you'll need to set the environment variable MOZ_USE_XINPUT2 to 1 in order for the stylus to be handled properly. (An alternative might be to switch to Wayland, but I haven't tried it yet.)
Chrome on Linux
Chrome is otherwise fine, but currently (August 2025) it can't detect the eraser of a stylus.
Windows
A pen stroke which quickly follows a key press (when you for example changed the color) is sometimes suppressed by the operating system and doesn't reach the browser. This happens on laptops with a touchpad. (And it can even happen if the touchpad is disabled …) You can "fix" this by setting the touchpad sensitivity to the highest possible value.
Firefox on Windows
Firefox is my main web browser, but its pen handling on Windows is unfortunately not as mature as that of Chrome. The Weitzboard code contains a few workarounds, but for handwritten text with lots of small "squiggles" Firefox is still problematic. What might help a bit is to disable Windows Ink in the Wacom settings. (This can be done on a per-application basis.)
Chrome on Windows
On Windows, Chrome currently (August 2025) seems to be the best option.
Other browsers or operating systems
I don't care.
Local use and kiosk mode
You don't need my server and a connection to the internet to use Weitzboard. You can download it once and then run it by just double-clicking the downloaded file. I recommend opening the file in kiosk mode.
Printing and PDF generation
Weitzboard hooks into the printing process and divides the content into pieces suitable for ISO 216 formats like A4. The idea is that you use your printing system to generate a PDF file. (But you can of course also print to paper.)
Customization
Some parameters of Weitzboard can be changed using the query string of the URL. Currently, these are
Prior art
The user interface of Weitzboard partly mimics the user interface of the Windows program Whiteboard by Jörn Loviscach which I've used for many years. (Note that you'll also find another browser-based whiteboard program if you follow this link. It has several features I don't need but which you might find alluring.)

 

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