8 ways to open virtual keyboard on Windows 10

The Win 10 virtual keyboard is a quite useful and necessary feature in some cases for Windows users. On-Screen Keyboard (OSK) was first integrated into Windows XP, and is still maintained today. It proves to be extremely useful when your hard keyboard is paralyzed, or your computer is suspected of being infected with a virus or keylogger.

This virtual keyboard is very intuitive, with a full set of standard keys, you can use a mouse or other pointing device to select keys or use a physical key or group of keys to move through the keys on the screen. . Below, Network Administrator will guide you in 8 ways to open the virtual keyboard On Screen Keyboard on Windows 10.

1. Open the virtual keyboard with the shortcut

Press the Win + Ctrl + O keys to enable or disable the virtual keyboard.

If your keyboard is broken, use the mouse to highlight the osk and copy it, then use the mouse to paste it into the Windows 10 search box.

2. Open the virtual keyboard on the Start Menu

Enter the keyword On screen keyboard into the Search box on the Start Menu or on the Taskbar and then press Enter to open the virtual keyboard On screen board on Windows 10. If your keyboard is broken and cannot enter text, see method number 5, Or ask someone to send you the word "osk" via messaging application, use the mouse to copy and paste into the search box.

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3. Open the virtual keyboard from the Run command window

To open the virtual keyboard from the Run command window, follow the steps below:

Step 1:  Press the Windows + R key combination to open the Run command window.

Step 2:  On the Run command window, enter OSK (no need to capitalize) there and press Enter to open the virtual keyboard.

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4. Open the virtual keyboard via Command Prompt or PowerShell

Follow the steps below to open the virtual keyboard via Command Prompt or PowerShell:

First open a Command Prompt window or PowerShell window, then enter "OSK" there and press Enter .

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5. Open the virtual keyboard in Ease of Access via the Start menu

Open the Start Menu, then click All apps , then click the Windows Ease of Access folder icon to expand the folder, then click On Screen Keyboard to open the On Screen Keyboard virtual keyboard.

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6. Use Ease of Access Center in PC Settings

Step 1:  Open the Settings application by clicking the Settings icon in the left corner of the Start Menu.

Step 2:  On the Settings window, find and click Ease of Access.

Step 3:  Click Keyboard, then in the Turns on the on-screen keyboard section , change the option status to ON.

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7. Open the virtual keyboard via Control Panel

Step 1:  Open Control Panel by right-clicking the Start button , then selecting Control Panel .

Step 2:  On the Control Panel window, find and click Ease of Access .

Step 3:  Click on Ease of Access Center.

Step 4:  Finally click Start On-Screen Keyboard to open the virtual keyboard.

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8. Enable virtual keyboard every time Windows starts

From Ease of Access Center, click Use the computer without a mouse or keyboard , under Explore all settings .

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Under Type using a pointing device , select the Use On-Screen Keyboard option , then click OK.

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9. Open the virtual keyboard Touch keyboard on Windows 10

In addition to the traditional virtual keyboard found on all Windows, Windows 10 also has a built-in virtual Touch keyboard for touch screens. To open this keyboard, right-click on the taskbar > select Show touch keyboard button > a keyboard icon will appear next to the speaker icon. This keyboard has a built-in sticker. The special feature of the keyboard is that when needed, you click on the icon to use it. When not in use, you just need to move the mouse away, type from the real keyboard, the touch keyboard will be hidden.

If using on a touch device or using a phone or touch screen to remotely control Windows 10, you can go to Settings > Device > Typing > turn on the Show the touch keyboard not in tablet mode and there's no keyboard attached option. When you point your mouse over the text input area, the keyboard will automatically appear.

10. Configure the virtual keyboard

Once the keyboard is displayed on screen, you can adjust it to suit your needs by clicking the Options key on the virtual keyboard, in the bottom right corner. Here you have several ways to use the virtual keyboard:

1. Use the Scanning Speed ​​slider to select the scanning speed.
2. Use click sound - Use this option if you want to hear a sound when you press a key.
3. 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.
4. Turn on numeric keypad - Use this option to expand OSK and display the numeric keypad.
5. Click on keys  or press Alt + C to access the keyboard with a mouse or other pointing device by clicking on the box you want to use.
6. Hover over keys  or press Alt + H to access the keyboard with a mouse or other pointing device, by moving over the box to select. You can choose the hover duration using the Hover duration slider .
7. Scan through keys  or press Alt + S to access the keyboard using access devices such as spacebar, switch or gamepad. Use this mode if you want OSK to continuously scan the keyboard. Scan mode highlights areas where you can enter keyboard characters by pressing a keyboard shortcut, using an input device, or using a one-click emulation device.
8. Use Text Prediction or press Alt + T : Use this option if you want OSK to suggest words for you, to speed up typing and check spelling.
9. You can also choose to add spaces to all selected words by clicking to select or pressing Alt + W .

11. How to pin virtual keyboard in Windows 10

1. Open the Start menu by clicking the Windows button at the bottom left of the screen.

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2. Select Settings.

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3. Click Ease of Access in Windows Settings.

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4. Select Keyboard under the Interaction heading .

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5. Turn on the On button in the Use the On-Screen Keyboard option .

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6. Click X to close the Keyboard dialog box. The virtual keyboard will stay in its place.

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Good luck!

Samuel Daniel

Update 23 June 2024