Programming your Gaomon tablet means installing the driver software, configuring pressure sensitivity and button shortcuts, and mapping the tablet surface to your screen
A Gaomon tablet works as a blank slate until you install the driver — the software that tells your computer how to interpret the pen's movement, pressure, and tilt. Without it, your tablet may move the cursor but won't respond to pressure or custom buttons. The setup takes about 10 minutes and happens in three stages: driver installation, pressure curve adjustment, and button mapping.
The process is the same whether you own a Gaomon pen display (a screen you draw on) or a pen tablet (a trackpad-style surface). Both need the same driver software, available free from Gaomon's support website. Once installed, you'll open the driver control panel to fine-tune how the tablet responds to your touch and pen.
Key Takeaways
- read the correct driver from Gaomon's official website by matching your tablet model number, found on the back of the device or in your manual.
- Install the driver, restart your computer, and plug in your tablet — the control panel will appear in your system tray or applications menu.
- Adjust the pressure curve so light pen strokes register as light marks and hard pressure creates dark, thick lines in your drawing software.
- Map the tablet's physical buttons to keyboard shortcuts or software commands that match your workflow in Photoshop, Clip Studio Paint, or your preferred tool.
- Test your settings in your actual drawing software before starting a project, because pressure response feels different in each process.
Finding and downloading the correct driver
Visit gaomon.net and navigate to the Support or Downloads section. Look for your tablet's model number — it's printed on the back of the device, usually near the serial number, or listed in your product manual. Common models include the M10K, M16, S620, and PenDisplay series, but Gaomon makes dozens of variants.
Select your model from the dropdown menu, then read the driver for your operating system (Windows or macOS). The file will be a .zip or .exe on Windows, or a .dmg on Mac. Save it to your Downloads folder. Do not unzip or open it yet — run the installer directly.
If you cannot find your exact model, check the manual that came with your tablet or look at the product box. Gaomon's support page also has a search function where you can type partial model numbers. Installing the wrong driver will not damage your tablet, but it won't work properly, so take 30 seconds to confirm the match.
Installing the driver and connecting your tablet
On Windows, double-click the .exe file and follow the on-screen prompts. Click "Next" through the license agreement, choose your installation folder (the default is fine), and let it finish. On Mac, double-click the .dmg file, drag the Gaomon icon into the Applications folder, then open Applications and double-click the Gaomon installer.
After installation completes, restart your computer. This step is not optional — the driver needs to load at startup to work properly. Once your computer restarts, plug your Gaomon tablet into a USB port. Windows will recognize it automatically; on Mac, you may see a prompt asking permission to allow the driver. Click "Allow" or "OK."
The driver control panel should appear in your system tray (Windows) or menu bar (Mac) within 10 seconds. On Windows, look for a small Gaomon icon in the bottom-right corner of your screen. On Mac, look at the top-right menu bar. If you don't see it, open your Applications folder and search for "Gaomon" to launch the control panel manually.
Adjusting pressure sensitivity and pen response
Open the driver control panel and find the Pressure or Pen Pressure tab. You'll see a diagonal line graph — this is your pressure curve. The horizontal axis represents how hard you press; the vertical axis represents how dark or thick your mark becomes in your drawing software.
By default, the line is straight, meaning light pressure = light mark, hard pressure = dark mark. If you want light pressure to register more easily, drag the curve upward on the left side. If you want to require more pressure before marks appear, drag it downward. Most artists adjust this by trial and error in their actual drawing software, so don't spend time perfecting it here — you can come back and tweak it later.
Test your pressure curve in a drawing program like Clip Studio Paint, Photoshop, or even the free program Krita. Open a blank canvas, draw a few strokes with varying pressure, and see if the response feels natural. If light strokes don't show up, raise the left side of the curve. If you're pressing hard and the line doesn't get much darker, lower the right side. Save your changes and test again.
Mapping buttons and customizing shortcuts
Most Gaomon tablets have 8 to 12 physical buttons on the side or top. In the driver control panel, find the Buttons or Express Keys tab. Each button shows a dropdown menu where you can assign a keyboard shortcut or software command.
Common assignments include Undo (Ctrl+Z on Windows, Cmd+Z on Mac), Redo (Ctrl+Y or Cmd+Shift+Z), and brush size adjustment. Some tablets let you assign modifier keys like Shift or Alt, so a single button can do different things depending on whether you hold Shift while pressing it. Check your drawing software's keyboard shortcut menu to see what commands are available, then match them to your buttons.
For example, in Photoshop, you might assign one button to Ctrl+Z (Undo), another to the Bracket keys (which adjust brush size), and a third to the spacebar (which temporarily switches to the hand tool for panning). Write down your assignments so you remember them while you work. You can always change them later if a shortcut doesn't feel natural.
Mapping the tablet surface to your screen
If you use multiple monitors or want the tablet to control only part of your screen, find the Display Mapping or Screen Area tab in the driver panel. By default, the entire tablet surface maps to your entire screen — moving your pen to the top-left corner of the tablet moves the cursor to the top-left corner of your monitor.
If you have two monitors side by side and want the tablet to control only the left one, you can set that here. Click the dropdown and select your primary monitor, or use the custom area tool to draw a rectangle on your screen that the tablet will map to. This is optional — most artists leave it on full-screen mapping — but it's useful if you keep reference images or palettes on a second monitor.
After you change the mapping, move your pen to each corner of the tablet and verify the cursor moves to the corresponding corner of your screen. If the mapping is off, the tablet will feel unnatural to use.
Testing your setup in your drawing software
Open your drawing process — Photoshop, Clip Studio Paint, Procreate (iPad only), Krita, or whatever you use — and create a new blank canvas. Select a brush and draw a few strokes with light, medium, and hard pressure. The marks should get darker and thicker as you press harder. If they don't, return to the driver control panel and adjust the pressure curve again.
Test each button you programmed. Press one and confirm it performs the action you assigned — for example, pressing a button should undo your last stroke if you assigned it to Undo. If a button does nothing, check that your drawing software recognizes that keyboard shortcut. Some software uses different shortcuts than you expect.
Draw for a few minutes to get a feel for the tablet's response. Pressure sensitivity, button placement, and screen mapping all feel different in actual use than they do in the driver settings. If something feels wrong, make a note of it and adjust the driver settings after you finish testing. Most artists need two or three rounds of tweaking before their tablet feels comfortable.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do I do if the driver won't install?
Make sure you downloaded the driver for your operating system — Windows and Mac drivers are different files. On Windows, try running the installer as Administrator: right-click the .exe file and select "Run as Administrator." On Mac, make sure you have permission to install software in your Applications folder. If installation still fails, restart your computer and try again.
My tablet is recognized but the pen doesn't move the cursor
The driver may not have loaded at startup. Restart your computer and wait 30 seconds after it boots before plugging in the tablet. If that doesn't work, unplug the tablet, open the driver control panel, and look for a "Reconnect" or "Reset" button. Plug the tablet back in and wait for it to appear in the panel.
Pressure sensitivity works in some programs but not others
Different software handles pressure differently. Photoshop and Clip Studio Paint recognize pressure by default, but some programs need you to enable it in their brush settings. Open your software's preferences and search for "pressure" or "pen sensitivity." Make sure pressure is enabled for your brush. If it's already enabled, the software may not support your tablet — check the software's documentation.
Can I use the tablet without installing the driver?
Your computer will recognize the tablet as a generic input device, and the pen will move the cursor, but pressure sensitivity and custom buttons won't work. The driver is what makes the tablet useful for drawing, so installation is strongly recommended.
How do I update the driver after I've installed it?
Visit Gaomon's support website periodically to check for newer driver versions. read the latest version for your model, run the installer, and restart your computer. The new driver will overwrite the old one. Your button assignments and pressure curve settings will be preserved.