By now, you may have guessed that the HP Pen’s primary use is to tap an object with its tip to select it and double-tap it to open it. However, the HP Active Pen has a lot more hidden features as well, so that’s not all it can do.

Therefore, we will delve deeply into the HP Active Pen’s world in this post and share some of its insider secrets with you. Think of this article as a manual or a guide for your HP Pen.

Let’s get going.

PEN USE AS AN ERASER

The majority of HP Pens have two side buttons. For this post, we’ll refer to them as top and bottom buttons. For your model, the button’s shape might change.

By default, the Pen becomes a digital eraser when the bottom button is pressed. In supported programmes like OneNote, Word, Sketchpad, and others, it is used to remove any drawings, coloured text, or handwritten notes. All you have to do to delete some data is press the button and move your Pen over it.

WITHOUT MOUSE RIGHT-CLICK

Wherever right-clicking is supported, you can use the top button to do so. To accomplish this, use your pen to touch the laptop screen, then press and hold the top button for a few seconds before releasing it and lifting the pen. The right-click menu will appear after doing that. Try these fixes if your PC’s right-click menu is sluggish.

Select Text First:

Selecting the standard text the same way you would with a mouse is another practical way to use the HP Pen. To do that, all you have to do is touch the screen with the Pen and wait for the typing icon to show up. Drag the Pen to select the text after that.

On programmes like Word, the feature operates without the user pressing any buttons. However, for some applications, such as Chrome, you must first press and hold the top button before touching the screen. Then, while holding the button pressed, drag the Pen over the text you wish to select.

Again, just like a mouse, you can select a word by tapping it twice, and an entire paragraph by tapping it three times.

VIEW PREVIEW

Pen serves as the traditional mouse’s substitute or an alternative on Windows devices that support touch. Thus, it performs nearly identical tasks, including displaying previews. Simply move your Pen over an item to reveal a preview.

Use it to view the video preview in YouTube, drag it over menus and buttons on a website, or hover it over the taskbar apps, to name a few uses.

CHANGE The BUTTON FUNCTIONS

Do you dislike how your HP Pen’s buttons operate by default? Change it to the function of your choosing, then. The buttons allow you to play, pause, undo, take a screenshot, and perform other helpful operations.

You will require the assistance of the HP Pen Control app to customise the buttons. It comes preinstalled on some devices. Go to Start Menu and search for HP Pen Control app to launch it. Download the app from the provided link if it isn’t already installed.

Once installed, launch it. You will see the following window:

From the drop-down boxes next to each button’s name, choose the new action for the buttons, then click Apply.

The buttons can’t be changed to open specific apps. On the other hand, if you use the HP Active Pen with App Launch, you can personalise the App launch button to launch a specific app. Visit Windows Settings > Devices > Pen & Windows Ink to do that. Under Pen shortcuts, scroll down and change the function.

WRITE TEXT ON SCREEN

You can enter handwritten text into the text field when using your HP laptop as a tablet, though not always in tablet mode. In other words, if you write well by hand, you can write directly on the screen and it will be converted to text rather than using the touch keyboard.

The handwriting panel will open if you use the tip of the Pen to press any text field. Write with the Pen now to see it instantly translate to text.

Then DRAW IN WINDOWS APPS

In supported Windows applications like the Sticky Notes, Photos, and Microsoft Office applications, direct pen input is available. You can immediately begin writing or drawing in the app when you touch the screen with the tip of your Pen. Options for customization, including pen type, size, and colour choices, will be made available to you. How To Use HP Pen? [A Complete Guide with Tips]

Tip:

Where available, you can use this mode to translate handwritten formulas into mathematical form using the Ink to Math option.

BONUS HANDWRITING PANEL TIPS

Here are some suggestions for making writing with your pen in the handwriting panel easier. The panel appears as follows:

Discard a Word

Draw a single, preferably horizontal line over the word you want to delete in the handwriting panel or input after the handwriting has been converted to text.

Relate Words

Draw an arc over two words to connect them.

Separate

Similar to this, place a caret () between any two words to separate them.

CAN YOU GIVE US MORE?

So that’s how you can utilise your HP Active Pen to its full potential. I really wish the S Pen from the Samsung Note series had more capabilities. It would be useful to be able to customise the long press and open apps using the side buttons.

What characteristics are you looking for in the HP Active Pen? Tell us in the comments section below. How To Use HP Pen? [A Complete Guide with Tips]

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