Click here to Skip to main content
Licence 
First Posted 21 Mar 2000
Views 481,323
Bookmarked 93 times

Onscreen Keyboard

By | 21 Mar 2000 | Article
An onscreen keyboard for pen computing and touchscreens
  • Download source files - 143 Kb

    Sample Image - OnscreenKeyboard.gif

    I needed a simple onscreen keyboard to interface with a touch / pen based computer that I bought through an online auction. Although Microsoft supplies one with its Pen Extensions 2.0 it only works win Win95 and I wanted to use NT.

    All of the available onscreen keyboards I found were either too expensive, or they were only designed to operate with 3.1 and 9x so (of course) I decided to see if I could make one. Along the way I learned a little about how the keyboard is handled, and the thread keyboard maps.

    Included with this article is a working, but simple, onscreen keyboard. I submitted it mostly as an example of the methods:

    • AttachThreadInput
    • keybd_event
    • VkKeyScan
    • GetKeyState

    This program has one nasty limitation, and that is that it "flashes" since it does not prevent the changing of focus to itself when clicked, and then back to the target window when the keystroke is generated. If someone wants to tackle that one please feel free ;-)

  • License

    This article has no explicit license attached to it but may contain usage terms in the article text or the download files themselves. If in doubt please contact the author via the discussion board below.

    A list of licenses authors might use can be found here

    About the Author

    Randy More



    United States United States

    Member



    Sign Up to vote   Poor Excellent
    Add a reason or comment to your vote: x
    Votes of 3 or less require a comment

    Comments and Discussions

     
    You must Sign In to use this message board. (secure sign-in)
     
    Search this forum  
     FAQ
        Noise  Layout  Per page   
      Refresh
    GeneralRe: Fixed the ESC key Pinmemberstorein14:58 17 Dec '06  
    QuestionONSCREEN KEYBOARD Pinmemberraeesa3:47 4 Sep '06  
    GeneralRe: ONSCREEN KEYBOARD Pinmemberbrahmma7:55 9 May '07  
    QuestionCan we change initial size? Pinmemberpeterpecker5:43 10 Mar '06  
    QuestionRe: Can we change initial size? Pinmembergidtitan10:06 21 Mar '07  
    Generala better Onscreen Virtual keyboard PinmemberIlanbm2:11 1 Mar '06  
    GeneralRe: a better Onscreen Virtual keyboard - Link PinmemberIlanbm2:12 1 Mar '06  
    http://www.gate2home.com[^
    GeneralRe: a better Onscreen Virtual keyboard - Link Pinmemberjmelgaard1:57 17 Jan '07  
    GeneralTentative Enhancement Pinmemberdickch13:19 20 Dec '05  
    QuestionRe: Tentative Enhancement PinmemberJYCiou14:20 5 Mar '06  
    QuestionRe: Tentative Enhancement PinmemberHomero De la Garza8:37 5 Aug '07  
    GeneralRe: Tentative Enhancement Pinmembergidtitan10:07 21 Mar '07  
    QuestionJapanese? Pinmembermatsnas22:07 6 Dec '05  
    GeneralTimer Pinsusssimcon23:20 7 Jun '05  
    Generalexecute PinmemberSimon Potzkai23:58 29 May '05  
    GeneralKill keyboard from another app Pinmemberbarnes1022@yahoo.com11:10 16 Feb '05  
    GeneralRe: Kill keyboard from another app PinmemberDirk Moshage6:26 21 Feb '05  
    GeneralRe: Kill keyboard from another app Pinmemberjbarnes10226:45 25 Feb '05  
    GeneralUsing the Windows OSK PinmemberAlex Evans18:35 29 Jan '05  
    GeneralRe: Using the Windows OSK PinmemberEjayBoy12:04 1 Aug '06  
    GeneralRe: Using the Windows OSK PinmemberEjayBoy13:10 1 Aug '06  
    GeneralDon't work on remote desktop logon window Pinmemberyoslee21:11 20 Jan '05  
    GeneralOnscreen Keyboard Internationalization Matter ... PinsussDuranti Loris2:04 11 Jan '05  
    Generalabt OnScreen Keyboard PinmemberTripura.K0:06 3 Dec '04  
    Generalabt OnScreen Keyboard PinsussAnonymous22:31 2 Dec '04  

    General General    News News    Suggestion Suggestion    Question Question    Bug Bug    Answer Answer    Joke Joke    Rant Rant    Admin Admin   

    Use Ctrl+Left/Right to switch messages, Ctrl+Up/Down to switch threads, Ctrl+Shift+Left/Right to switch pages.

    Permalink | Advertise | Privacy | Mobile
    Web03 | 2.5.120529.1 | Last Updated 22 Mar 2000
    Article Copyright 2000 by Randy More
    Everything else Copyright © CodeProject, 1999-2012
    Terms of Use
    Layout: fixed | fluid