Basic How-tos about Surface Dial

Here's how to navigate with the Surface Dial.

• Rotating the dial to switch between the main functionalities. For example, switching between different brushes.
• Press to switch between options in one main functionality. For example, after you switch to a pencil, you can press the Dial to jump between the opacity or the size bar.
• Rotate to adjust the scale within one option, eg. in the opacity option, rotate to adjust the percentage. 
• The Dial vibrates at each turn, so it’s easy to know whether the desired value is achieved.

Use Surface Dial with Animation Desk

Zoom

While the Dial is at Zoom function, rotate to zoom in and zoom out.

Brush

When the Dial is at Brush function, press to switch between the brush size and opacity selections.

When in size or opacity, rotate the Dial to adjust the meter.

See more on how to use brushes.

Color

When the Dial is at Color function, press to switch between Hue, Saturation, and Value selections.

See more on how to use the color palette in Animation Desk.

Frames

When the Dial is at frame function:

• Turn to switch between frames.
• Press to play the sequence from the frame selected.

In this case, frames are the frames you actually draw. The repeated frames will not show in the keyframes.

See more on how to use a frame manager.

Mor information about Surface Dial, please read "Meet Surface Dial"  official Microsft support center.