USING THE PEN WITH YOUR SURFACE BOOK
The Surface Pen (4) provided with the Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book differs from the Surface Pro 3 pen in several ways: The pen writing nub is different, the pen is pressure-sensitive, buttons placement and purpose are reconfigured, and the pen is magnetic, for attaching to your screen.
If your pen is not paired to your computer, or not all the functions work, read below "Connect the Pen"
Customize pen buttons:
Launch the "Surface" app to customize use of the pen buttons.
Launch multiple items with a single Pen button:
HowTo - Launch multiple Apps and Programs with single Pen button | Microsoft Surface Forums
DEFAULT PEN BUTTON FUNCTIONS:
Top "eraser" button:
- One click opens OneNote, allowing writing immediately.
- Two rapid clicks (double-click) takes a screenshot. The screenshot is stored in the Screenshots folder (default location is
C:\User\[account]\Documents\Screenshots, but the pen can be used immediately to crop out a particular area of the screenshot.
- Click and hold to start a Windows search, hosted by Cortana.
- Bring the "eraser" button to the screen to undo, or "erase" your writing. In some applications, the eraser button can also be used to draw, though this may be a bit clumsy.
Side "right-click" button is located near the writing tip of the pen, on its flat edge:
- Hold the button and touch the screen for a right-click. This is the same action as touching the screen with your finger and holding.
Battery Indicator
- A single AAAA battery powers the pen. A tiny LED is located around the pen opposite the pen clip. If it glows red, your battery needs changing. You may want to keep a couple of spare AAAA batteries in your computer travel case.
Pen sensitivity can be adjusted by opening the
free Surface App from the Microsoft Store . If you apply any kind of physical glass or plastic screen saver to your screen, you will certainly want to do this. For most people, the default sensitivity is just fine.
Get started:
To try out writing with your pen immediately, you might
- Give the "eraser" a single click, and begin writing into OneNote.
- From Edge Browser, click the icon of a pen in the upper-right (or tap it with your finger). Begin writing with the pen.
Connect the pen:
Of course, if your pen is not paired to your device, it must be set up.
1) Settings, Devices, Bluetooth
2) Turn Bluetooth on.
3) Hold the "eraser" button of the pen for seven seconds until an LED glows white.
4) Click Pair
If the pen shows as already paired, but is not working, select that item, and click Remove device. Then start from Step 3.
If you cannot get the pen to Show by name ready to pair in Bluetooth Devices:
Uninstall the pen device driver, and allow Windows to re-install.
Updated drivers are also available here. Windows may not show the pen to be available when connecting the Surface Pen 4 to a Surface Pro 3 which previously had the Surface Pro 3 pen.
1) Start, type Device Manager
2) Find Human Interface Devices, Surface Pen Settings, and Uninstall the driver.
Do not remove the driver, however. Immediately re-try to connect the pen, according to the instructions above.
Use a pen previously paired to a Surface
If the pen is already paired to another Surface device within range (less than 10m (33 feet) feet or so), you must either un-pair (remove) the pen from the Bluetooth list of that device, or power the device down. A single pen cannot be paired to two devices.
