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The use on-screen keyboard in Windows and Chromebook can help you type when you don’t have a keyboard. You can use a mouse to type on it. You can set up and use this feature even if you don’t have a keyboard connected to your computer. This can be helpful if you don’t have access to your keyboard.
ChromeOS has a lot of cool tricks that are hard to find. A virtual keyboard is one of these tricks. You might be wondering why you would even need a virtual keyboard, since your Chromebook already has a handy physical keyboard.
Think about this: if your Chromebook can be used as a tablet, you can flip the screen over and the physical keyboard is suddenly not very useful. What do you do? The virtual keyboard is what you use.
Use on-screen keyboard on Wimdows
Use Command Prompt
- To do this, select Start and type CMD.
- Select Command Prompt > Run as Administrator in the search results.
- In the Command Prompt window, type osk and press Enter.
Use Windows PowerShell
- To do this, right click Start > Windows PowerShell.
- Next, enter osk in the PowerShell window and press Enter to execute the command.
- If you want to pin the on screen keyboard in desktop mode, select Start > Settings > Ease of Access > Keyboard and toggle the Use the on screen keyboard switch to On.
Use on screen keyboard On Chromebook
- The first icon from the left is the clipboard icon that lets you see the last five items you copied.
- Next to the clipboard is the Doodle icon that lets you handwrite using a stylus or finger on the blank area provided by the on-screen keyboard.
- The layout icon that appears after the doodle icon lets you change the size of the on-screen keyboard as you can switch from a full-screen keyboard to a floating one and vice versa.
- Next to the layout icon is the Settings icon that takes you to the keyboard settings.
- The microphone icon enables you to type using your voice literally.
FAQ
How do I bring up the On-screen keyboard?
Go to Start, then Settings > Ease of Access > Keyboard, and turn on the switch next to Use the On-Screen Keyboard. The screen will show a keyboard that can be used to move around and type text. Until you close it, the keyboard will stay on the screen.
Why is my On-screen keyboard not working Chromebook?
To open the ChromeOS status tray, click the clock in the bottom right corner of the screen. Choose the Power icon and wait 10–30 seconds for your Chromebook to shut down. Press the Power button to turn on your Chromebook, and then check to see if the keyboard or the keys that weren’t working now do.
Why does On-Screen Keyboard not pop up?
Click on Start, then Settings. Choose Personalization > Taskbar from the list of settings. Use the toggle to turn the on-screen keyboard on or off. You can bring up the on-screen keyboard by clicking the keyboard icon on your taskbar.