There are several different kinds of keyboards for PCs. The most common type is a physical, external keyboard that plugs into your PC. It displays a visual keyboard with all the standard keys, so you can use your mouse or another pointing device to select keys, or use a physical single key or group of keys to cycle through the keys on the screen.
Note: A PC with a touchscreen also has a touch keyboard. The touch keyboard will appear when you tap inside a text box when your PC is in tablet mode.
A keyboard that can be used to move around the screen and enter text will appear on the screen. The keyboard will remain on the screen until you close it. With the OSK open, select the Options key, and choose the options you want:.
Use click sound. Use this option if you want to hear a sound when you press a key. Show keys to make it easier to move around the screen. Use this option if you want the keys to light up as you type. Turn on numeric keypad. Use this option to expand the OSK to show a numeric keypad. Click on keys. Use this mode if you prefer to click or tap the on-screen keys to enter text.
Hover over keys. Use this mode if you use a mouse or joystick to point to a key. The characters you point to are entered automatically when you point to them for a specified time. Scan through keys. Use this mode if you want the OSK to continually scan the keyboard.
Scan mode highlights areas where you can type keyboard characters by pressing a keyboard shortcut, using a switch input device, or using a device that simulates a mouse click. Use Text Prediction.
Use this option if you want the OSK to suggest words for you as you type so you don't need to type each complete word. If you want to use one of these languages and it isn't installed, install the language files for that language.
If you're using either hovering mode or scanning mode and accidently minimize the OSK, you can restore it by pointing to it in the taskbar for hovering mode or by pressing the scan key for scanning mode. There are a few different kinds of keyboards. The most common is a physical, external keyboard that you plug into your PC. The OSK displays a visual keyboard with all the standard keys.
Select keys using the mouse or another pointing device, or use a physical single key or group of keys to cycle through the keys on the screen. For more info about the touch keyboard, see How to use the touch keyboard. Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, and then tap Search. If you're using a mouse, point to the lower-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer up, and then click Search. A keyboard appears on the screen that can be used to move around your PC and enter text.
Note: To open the OSK from the sign-in screen, tap or click the Ease of Access button in the lower-left corner of the sign-in screen, and then tap or click On-Screen Keyboard. Open the OSK first, and then go to the Start screen or app. Instead of relying on the physical keyboard to type and enter data, you can use On-Screen Keyboard.
On-Screen Keyboard displays a visual keyboard with all the standard keys. You can select keys using the mouse or another pointing device, or you can use a single key or group of keys to cycle through the keys on the screen. In hovering mode, you use a mouse or joystick to point to a key for a predefined period of time, and the selected character is typed automatically. In scanning mode, On-Screen Keyboard continually scans the keyboard and highlights areas where you can type keyboard characters by pressing a keyboard shortcut, using a switch input device, or using a device that simulates a mouse click.
If you're using either hovering mode or scanning mode and accidently minimize On-Screen Keyboard, you can restore it by pointing to it in the taskbar for hovering mode or by pressing the scan key for scanning mode. If you're using a mouse click to select a key in the Scan through keys mode, the mouse pointer must be located over On-Screen Keyboard.
The keyboard layout changes in On-Screen Keyboard depending on the language displayed in the active program. Click Options , select the Use click sound check box, and then click OK. Click Options , select the Turn on numeric key pad check box, and then click OK. When text prediction is enabled, as you type, On-Screen Keyboard displays a list of words that you might be typing.
If you don't want to automatically add a space after you insert a word using text prediction, clear the Insert space after predicted words check box, and then click OK. To enable text prediction in a specific language, you must first install additional language files for that language.
Windows 10 Windows 8. Watch this video to learn how to type without using the keyboard To change how information is entered into On-Screen Keyboard.
Click Options , and then, under To use the On-Screen Keyboard , select the mode you want: Typing mode Description Click on keys In clicking mode, you click the on-screen keys to type text.
Hover over keys In hovering mode, you use a mouse or joystick to point to a key for a predefined period of time, and the selected character is typed automatically.
Scan through keys In scanning mode, On-Screen Keyboard continually scans the keyboard and highlights areas where you can type keyboard characters by pressing a keyboard shortcut, using a switch input device, or using a device that simulates a mouse click. Notes: If you're using either hovering mode or scanning mode and accidently minimize On-Screen Keyboard, you can restore it by pointing to it in the taskbar for hovering mode or by pressing the scan key for scanning mode.
You can have On-Screen Keyboard make an audible click when a key is pressed. You can use a numeric key pad to enter numbers with On-Screen Keyboard. Text prediction isn't included in Windows 7 Home Basic. Need more help? Join the discussion. Was this information helpful? Yes No. Any other feedback? The more you tell us, the more we can help. How can we improve? Send No thanks. Thank you for your feedback! It sounds like it might be helpful to connect you to one of our Office support agents.
Contact Support. In clicking mode, you click the on-screen keys to type text.
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Owners of touch-sensitive computer devices will be able to type faster, easier, and with greater comfort. Now you can write entire sentences with a few taps. Because as you type, you'll see choices of words you'd probably type next, based on your past conversations and writing style. The Text Suggestions are optimized for languages around the world. Which means you'll see suggested words and phrases that are right for your language. The virtual keyboard can be shown on the logon screen before any user logs into the computer system.
If the active window is under the keyboard, Hot Virtual Keyboard can change the position and size of the active window. You can bundle Hot Virtual Keyboard with your own application.
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