On Screen Keyboard in Windows 8.1

There are many kind of keyboards available such as an external keyboard that plug into your PC and touch keyboard which is used to type in touch screen devices such as tablets. When you tap in the text field the on screen keyboard will automatically appear.

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The OSK (On Screen Keyboard) can be used in PC’s which running on Windows. The OSK Keyboard has all standard keys and by pressing group of keys allowing you to cycle through the keys on the screen using mouse or any other pointing device.

To access the on screen keyboard in Windows 8.1

• In touch screen—–> Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, and then tap Search.
• Using mouse——–> Move to the right edge and and then click Search
• In the search box enter On-Screen Keyboard and then tap or click On-Screen Keyboard.

The keyboard will remain in the screen until you close it.

You can also access the OSK within Sign In screem. For that click on Ease of Access button in the lower-left corner and then tap or click On-Screen Keyboard.

You can see several options when tap or click the OSK Options key. The options are:

• Use click sound: If you want to hear a sound when you press a key use this option.
• Show keys to make it easier to move around the screen: If you want the keys to light up as you type then use this option.
• Turn on the numerical keypad
• Hover over keys or Click on keys :you can select the method of inputting, whether it is click on keys or hover over the keys.
• Scan through keys: Use this mode if you want 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.
• Text Prediction: It shows the available options of words when you type.

By clicking on the keyboard button at the right lower corner of touch Keyboard you can switch to different keyboard layouts. If you are a tablet user then you can use thumb keyboard option which is more comfortable to use. Change the size of the thumb keyboard by pressing and sliding the three dots next to the Spacebar on the left side of the keyboard.

• Double-tap the Spacebar to insert a period and a space after a sentence.
• See similar characters by press and hold keys such as pressing and holding “e” reveals è, ē, é, ê, and ë.
• To switch to the numbers and symbols view tap he “&123” key. You can switch to and from the numbers and symbols view more quickly by pressing and holding the “&123” key, tapping the keys you want, and then releasing it.
• By double-tapping the Shift key turn Caps Lock on
• By tapping the Ctrl key and then tapping another key you can access shortcut keys
• Tap the Emoticon key for some fun characters.

See Also : What’s new in Windows 8.1