Level 1

37 points

Disable Apple Pencil automatic drawing

Is there a way to disable automatic drawing with the Apple Pencil.

I purchased the Pencil to use mostly as a navigation tool, so I do not always touch the wrong thing with my fat fingers. I find it very frustrating when iOS creates a new note whenever I want to clear a notification and don‘t think of using my finger instead of the Pencil. It is also extremely annoying that the just updated Numbers, Pages and Keynote apps now implemented automatic drawing without the possibility of turning that behaviour off. I use Numbers a lot, and navigating with the Pencil was great to use check boxes and place the cursor in the desired location within cells for editing. Now, it has become a useless tool within the apps that I use the most!!

I just realized today that automatic drawing can be disabled in the Notes app, why is this not available in the other apps? There should also be an option (in Accessibility?) that allows users to turn off automatic drawing and Notes creation! Users who want automatic drawing in apps could still be able to enable that behaviour in the individual apps’ settings.

Please fix this ASAP (or tell me where the settings can be changed to stop that very frustrating behaviour)!

iPad Pro Wi-Fi, iOS 11.2.6, Apple Pencil

Posted on Mar 27, 2018 4:17 PM

Top-ranking reply

Stacey_Undead

Level 1

4 points

Posted on Feb 1, 2019 12:45 AM

Way late to the party here, but for those who come here looking - like I did and didn't find the answer. Go into settings, scroll to the app you are using, in my case it was keynote, and then select 'Select and scroll with Apple Pencil' :)

View in context

110 replies

May 22, 2018 8:36 AM in response to IdrisSeabright

How long have you folks been married? This sounds like a full blown domestic dispute over a very paltry thing.

Jun 5, 2018 5:56 AM in response to IdrisSeabright

Just imagine how many MORE they might have if they would merely press a button on some super-server in Apple-Land and fix this little glitch...............

Always a pleasure..............stay safe.

Jun 5, 2018 10:48 AM in response to IdrisSeabright

Ha!

Sooooooo correct.

celia275

Level 1

4 points

Jun 17, 2018 1:35 PM in response to f1major

How do I disable drawing program?

Jun 17, 2018 7:37 PM in response to Smittyjo

You haven't used Pages. That's the one I'm talking about. Pages is still compromised

Graeme74

Level 1

10 points

Oct 4, 2018 2:13 AM in response to MichelPM

It really is irrelevant. if you have the Pencil, of course you want to be able to use it for navigation and drawing.

Oct 4, 2018 10:19 AM in response to IdrisSeabright

Since this problem exist, it seems that Apple sees no interest in allowing an optionnal drawing usage of the pencil in Numbers.

For me Numbers has lost a lot of interest on iPad.

Graeme74

Level 1

10 points

Oct 4, 2018 10:45 AM in response to christianfromheuringhem

Hi, there is a solution, it's in the iPad settings. You can tell numbers to both draw and be used for navigating.

Graeme74

Level 1

10 points

Oct 4, 2018 10:52 AM in response to IdrisSeabright

? I'm not asking Apple to make changes, the problem was resolved.

Oct 4, 2018 11:23 AM in response to Graeme74

Thank you very much.

I have activated the new option for pencil and it works.

I did not know that this option had been added.

InesP94

Level 1

10 points

Oct 24, 2018 3:03 AM in response to MichelPM

Yes Michel, IT IS. Why should I have to buy two styluses? Who even draws when making a presentation?

MichelPM

Level 10

81,535 points

Mar 31, 2018 4:48 AM in response to Zack1234x

Send feedback here.

https://www.apple.com/feedback/pages_ios.html

https://www.apple.com/feedback/numbers_ios.html

https://www.apple.com/feedback/keynote_ios.html

Cognizant Apple employees read ALL feedback generated from all of the various feedback pages and transfers the data to the proper and responsible Apple teams and personnel , but NO Apple employees will ever respond with any type of direct, individual replies from the feedback you post.

Good Luck to You

jade66

Level 1

4 points

Apr 12, 2018 1:31 AM in response to Mikkeelikes

I too find this very frustrating. I am in my 70 s and use my Apple pro a lot. My right arm does not work well and the pencil is a very accurate tool. Much better than my very stiff fingers. as an artist I also paint and draw on the iPad., but also use numbers quite a bit. Numbers has now become unusable for me.

Smittyjo

Level 1

4 points

Apr 29, 2018 9:19 AM in response to IdrisSeabright

No, but when youndon’t get any type of response, you can go to the app store and leave a review. That often gets their attention. They do respond there, if only to tell you to go to the feedback page, but it annoys them enough to respond.

May 3, 2018 12:18 PM in response to phillipfrommcminnville

phillipfrommcminnville wrote:

So you must not really use the Apple Pencil much. They are right! It is the coolest way to enteract with the iPad and when you are working through several apps to develope a page or drawing to have the thing start drawing lines for no reason is really frustrating. You have to undo and say done and then when you close or move to the other page you have to discard. Having to use the old style ones is not even an option after using the Apple Pencil. Get one and you will see what we mean. Peace

I have one and I don't agree with you. Just because you believe something should work one way doesn't mean there won't be just as many people who think it should be different.

Submit your feedback to Apple.

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Disable Apple Pencil automatic drawing