Pushing down on the Surface Dial displays a radial menu on screen that allows you to select the functionality you want for the device. It also provides haptic feedback-small vibrations that let you know it’s doing something. It is a small aluminum puck that can be depressed like a button, or rotated left and right. The new Ink functionality should arrive as part of the 'Anniversary Update' to Windows 10 coming this summer.The design and use of the Surface Dial is deceptively simple. You can highlight with the pen, too, and Word will turn your rough pen line into a perfectly straight highlight. In Word, you can cross out a word to delete it, or you can scribble out a whole paragraph. In the demo, it was also possible to tap on two points on the map and draw a line between them to bring up point-to-point directions. Handwritten notes rotate into little 3D billboards. When using a topographical map, sketching from a top-down view will stick the sketch to the landscape in 3D view. More Ink integration has come to Bing Maps and Microsoft Word, too. The ruler was shown working in Sketchpad and Powerpoint, and it seems to be available to any app that plugs into the Windows Ink platform.

You can rotate it with two fingers or drag it around with a single finger. It works like a ruler in real life, causing nearby drawings to 'snap' to the ruler. The whole ink platform now supports a ruler tool that can be moved around while using the pen. Advertisementįurther Reading Review: Windows 10 is the best version yet-once the bugs get fixedA new 'Sketchpad' app focuses on Ink, but it wasn't covered much in the demo. Bing is integrated, too, so sticky notes will be able to recognize places and link to maps. In the demo, writing 'Call mom tomorrow' caused 'tomorrow' to be highlighted, and tapping on the word brought up Cortana to set a reminder. Sticky Notes can now be used to feed reminders into Cortana. At the bottom of the panel is a 'Suggested' section, which promotes pen apps from the Windows Store. The promotion of pen apps is another upgrade to the Windows 10 ecosystem-there's now a dedicated section for apps that support styluses. In the demo, large tiles were reserved for Sticky Notes, Sketchpad, and Screen Sketch, along with a smaller set of tiles for 'recently used' apps. The first new feature is the 'Ink Workspace.' Tapping the top of the pen on a Surface Pro brings up a new panel with common pen apps. One of the first announcements coming out of Microsoft's Build 2016 conference this week is a slate of new Windows 10 stylus features for the Surface Pro and other pen-equipped devices. Word knows you meant to draw a straight line.

Sketchpad microsoft word