The computer keyboard is virtual. Why do you need an on-screen keyboard when there is a regular one? Where is the virtual keyboard

Keyboard Utilities: Comparison Tables

What surprises life will not give us! There are, of course, pleasant ones, but without unpleasant ones, too. Once again, carelessly typing on your favorite laptop, the keyboard may stop working.

Of course, you can take it for repair, but what if you wrote an important message? To resolve this situation, there are virtual keyboards that do not differ in functionality from their physical counterparts.

Today you will get acquainted with the Free Virtual Keyboard program, learn about its functionality, interface, and, finally, you can download a virtual keyboard to your computer for free.

What are the features of the Free Virtual Keyboard program?

Attention! Have you heard of Telegram? This is a new program from Pavel Durov, the creator of VKontakte, I suggest.

Free Virtual Keyboard is a free program that simulates a real keyboard. Its functional component is no different from a real keyboard, and besides, it is customizable. This application works on any device running Windows.

Zooming

You can resize the keyboard in the window as it supports stretch mode.

This is how it looks if you lower it to the bottom of the screen (convenient for touch devices):

This is how it looks like if it is “compressed” to the smallest size:

Change color gamut and transparency

Among the useful options are color and transparency settings. True, the transparency is fully adjustable according to your desire, but the color settings are limited. Within one minute, I made the program look like this:

Auto repeat function

The auto repeat function is similar to pressing any key on a real keyboard.

Portability

Free Virtual Keyboard is a completely portable application that can be copied to any flash drive and then launched. All program settings are stored either in the FreeVK.ini file or in the Windows registry.

Multilingual

This program can be downloaded in eight languages ​​with subsequent work on them.

Outcome

The program is convenient because:

1. Constantly receives updates.
2. Works on all versions of Windows (98-8.1).
3. Supports touch screens (relevant for tablet computers).
4. Stretches in the window.
5. Downloading this keyboard to your computer and setting it up is very simple.

The virtual keyboard will help you out when the main physical input device fails, in whole or in part ( several keys broken). It will also be an excellent solution to the problem of lack of availability in nearby stores. keyboards with your native layout(suddenly fate will throw you in Honduras).

Built-in Windows virtual keyboard

To begin with, I will briefly talk about the native (built-in) on-screen keyboard of the Windows operating system, how to turn it on and in general - what it is.

Finding it is very easy - in all versions of Windows, the switch is in accessibility control panels…

Very fast access to these settings system hotkeys"Win + U" - they immediately throw us where we need to be, even in a slightly confusing Windows 10 ...

The built-in on-screen (virtual) keyboard does not have a huge number of settings ...

…and additional convenient features – absolute minimalism…

No choice of covers (skins), no possibility automatic stretching across the width of the screen (only with handles, by the edges), there is no transparency adjustment (only the "Disappear" button, which temporarily, until the first click on any key, makes the "clave" translucent).

My personal opinion is that a very “sad” virtual keyboard is built into the most popular operating system.

Free Virtual Keyboard - free virtual keyboard

It's quite another thing - third-party more practical and convenient solutions, such as the free portable Free Virtual Keyboard.

It starts with one click on the portable file you downloaded from the official link at the end of the article...

Magic poke any button computer mouse the small keyboard icon in the upper left corner of the program window takes you to the menu of this on-screen input device...

Here, with simple clicks on the lines "Activate the following type of keyboard" and "Change colors" ...

…the look is changing…

...and keyboard color...

The slider at the bottom right controls the transparency...

A very convenient feature - the keyboard does not cover the contents of the site or forum, you can read and type text at the same time.

I also liked the ability to automatically stretch to the width of the screen ...

By the way, when manually resizing the window of this wonderful virtual keyboard, the “boldness” of the characters on the keys also changes, if you notice. I am sure that people with low vision will appreciate this "trick".

The input language is changed in a standard way - using hot keys or by clicking on the system tray icon ...

If you do not have your native language in the operating system, then it is not at all necessary to batch download, install and constantly change it if necessary - you can use special online keyboards, but this is a completely different story (I will tell you it next time).

Download Free Virtual Keyboard

On the the official page of the program You will find several links to different installer options...

The size of a convenient free virtual keyboard, as you can see, is quite tiny - only 227 kb. It works in all versions of the Windows operating system: 2000/XP/Vista/7/8/8.1/10. There are no viruses, as well as built-in "useful" additional software.

P.S. I also liked the on-screen virtual keyboard called Virtual Keyboard 4. It has dozens of input languages ​​\u200b\u200bbuilt into it and there is a cool text transfer mode, but it’s completely not clear whether it’s free or “greedy”.

On his website, the author writes that it can be “free to download and use in accordance with the license agreement,” but there is not a word about the terms of use. Moreover - in the properties I saw a temporary limited status ...

For an average user with normal motor skills and the usual number of fingers, this question may seem strange at first glance. But there are other people whose fingers do not have the necessary mobility, or even some of them are absent on one or both hands. For them, the only way to access the Internet is to download an electronic keyboard, and then it will be possible to send an email, the desired site, or communicate with a friend from a social network.

This is an undeniably necessary item. And if you download an electronic keyboard, and not type on a regular one, then it can even prevent hackers from invading your computer.

It is no longer possible for a simple user to imagine working at a computer without a keyboard. It has firmly entered our lives, and if suddenly this gadget stops working, for example, from spilled coffee, then that's it, the work stops.

But if you download an electronic keyboard for free, then it will help out many in this difficult situation, if for some reason it is impossible to type text due to the failure of the keyboard.

This software includes the wonderful program Hot Virtual Keyboard, let's talk about it in detail.

Go to official program website

This electronic keyboard and its capabilities are an order of magnitude higher than simple gadgets:

• Able to automatically complete the word that you were going to write;
• Skillful customization of keyboard shortcuts will allow you to perform some necessary actions;
• The choice of design styles is huge, it supports the layout of many languages, and not only that.

Download the file and install it on your computer, then you can go to the settings:

• Set the language of the program and its type;

All actions on the electronic keyboard are similar to the usual ones, only you will have to enter letters and symbols with the mouse cursor as shown in the figure below. If the cursor is held for a long time, then the character will be entered repeatedly;

• Select the input language as shown by the arrow in the figure. The arrangement of symbols on the virtual keyboard will be different, depending on the configured input language;

• You can position the keyboard at the bottom or top of the screen. And all open windows of open programs will be located so that the keyboard will be visible in any case;
• If you want to master touch typing, you can also configure this option: go to settings → design → keys. Here, turn on the button "Colorize the zone of the fingers." That is, those positions that can be pressed at the same time will be tinted in one color;

To configure the input of printed letters or other characters, just like on a regular keyboard, you must activate the Shift key, and you will see capital letters on the screen, to switch again, you need to press the same key.

Features of work on the electronic keyboard

Some users, especially those who are just starting to work on a computer, are perplexed: why are the symbols and letters arranged so strangely? The capabilities of this program allow you to customize the arrangement of characters and letters in the order that the user wants. For example, put the letters alphabetically. To activate this option, go to the "shortcut settings" and press the key you want to rearrange. In the context menu, select "replacement", and indicate which character or letter it needs to be replaced with. Detail:

• The letter row begins with the letter Y in the Russian layout or the letter Q in the English one. If you want A (F) to be typed instead, then click on the replace option, and select F, and click on this option. Once the redistribution is set up, save the settings in a file by clicking on the "save as" option and you can type according to the new rules you created.

This ability to change keys is available only in an electronic keyboard; this is not provided for simple gadgets.

But these are not all the benefits of the program. There are other very useful features:

• You can configure the execution of a specific macro;
• Insert text with just one key;
• Run the required software;
• Open the desired web page;
• Internet connection or disconnection;
• Manage sound effects, monitor, etc.

Probably many people will like the auto-completion of words setting. To do this, you need to set up hints, and after that the program will study your style of typing words, and the next time it will offer you to fill in the desired word without a set of keys on the screen. All words are entered into the dictionary, and the replacement will be visible above the program window. You can separately download an electronic keyboard and a dictionary for it in the language that will be used for typing.

Have you heard of cybercriminals? For sure. And they know how to steal your personal data precisely from pressing keys on an ordinary laptop keyboard. Usually this comes from downloaded dubious software, and along with it, a spy gets onto the computer, who will steal your data and transfer it to the criminal. These can be passwords, bank card numbers, etc. But this will not happen if you use an electronic keyboard. Some banking structures offer to fill in their personal data on the electronic keyboard.

And if you have mobile devices, then it is simply impossible to type information without it: you only need to use typing on the electronic keyboard.

In contact with

An on-screen keyboard is a keyboard that is located on the screen of your computer, laptop, tablet, smartphone, or other device. Like a regular keyboard, it contains a full set of necessary letters, symbols and numbers. Keystrokes are performed using the mouse cursor, and if the device screen is touch-sensitive, then using fingers or a stylus.

Today there is a fairly large selection of virtual keyboards, which often differ in appearance. Some of them are paid. A free analogue of such a program exists in Windows operating systems, but I will talk about it below. In the meantime, I will answer one very popular question among users.

What is this keyboard for?

I completely understand why this question was raised. I myself once used the most ordinary mechanical keyboard, but recently I have begun to resort to using the on-screen keyboard more and more often. There are many reasons for this, and here are the most popular ones.

• First of all, you will need a virtual keyboard if you do not have its mechanical counterpart, or the latter simply died at the most opportune moment.

• Secondly, a software version of the keyboard is needed if one or more buttons do not work. Let's say the "Space" key has stopped working for you. What to do? You can, of course, copy a space from various documents and texts, but this, you see, is stupid. The on-screen keyboard will help temporarily solve the problem, although it is quite problematic to use it for a long time, because it is inconvenient.

• The on-screen keyboard is often used by people who have problems with the mobility of their fingers, as well as without them.

• Finally, this kind of keyboard allows you to fight against keyloggers. For those who have forgotten what it is, let me remind you: a keylogger is a malicious program installed on a user's computer that collects all the information typed on the keyboard and sends it to an attacker. Often, among the typed information are passwords from social network accounts, mail servers and even plastic cards. The presence of a keylogger can be very costly for the user. However, according to numerous statements, the virtual keyboard is not always able to protect the user, since modern keyloggers can do, which often contains valuable information.

How to enable the on-screen keyboard?

As I wrote above, the on-screen keyboard is built into the operating system. I will show an example of how to run it based on Windows 7.

Click on the "Start" button, then select the "All Programs" section, the "Accessories" - "Accessibility" - "On-Screen Keyboard" subsection. After that, this kind of window with buttons will appear in front of you, copying a regular mechanical keyboard.

It can be launched in another way. To do this, go to the "Control Panel", select the "Ease of Access Center" subsection and click on the "Enable On-Screen Keyboard" button, as shown in the screenshot.

There is a third, and the most simple method. Click the "Start" button, in the "Search programs and files" box, add the phrase osk.exe and press Enter.

If you need the panel to be loaded along with the operating system, go to the "Settings" section.

Did you manage? Well done, there is nothing complicated in this process. As, however, in using the virtual keyboard. However, there are a couple of interesting nuances here. First, it works in parallel with your main (read - mechanical) keyboard. Secondly, some versions do not allow you to switch between languages. Switching between English and Russian can be done using the control panel in the operating system, or by pressing the Win button (Microsoft logo).

We ask questions on the topic through the comments.