Show Virtual Keyboard Automatically

[TedN]

Is there any way to get the virtual keyboard to appear automatically when a text input area is touched? And hopefully disappear when the screen is touched outside of a text input area?

 

[J515OP]

Hi Ted, this has been covered many times (example http://www.surfaceforums.net/forum/...ke-keyboard-open-when-i-enter-text-field.html). In Modern UI the keyboard is auto and in desktop you have to pull the keyboard up manually.

 

[TedN]

Thanks for reply J515OP,

Actually I did look this up before I came here and found a Microsoft site which said exactly what you said. So, if I understand this correctly, if I open Windows Explorer via the Modern UI and touch the address bar it should bring up the keyboard - but it doesn't. Same with Google. Nothing happens if I touch the search box. I can see the cursor blinking in the box but no keyboard appears when I touch it. It's probably a setting that needs changing but I've gone to all the obvious places and haven't found anything. Any ideas?

 

[mitchellvii]

Thanks for reply J515OP,

Actually I did look this up before I came here and found a Microsoft site which said exactly what you said. So, if I understand this correctly, if I open Windows Explorer via the Modern UI and touch the address bar it should bring up the keyboard - but it doesn't. Same with Google. Nothing happens if I touch the search box. I can see the cursor blinking in the box but no keyboard appears when I touch it. It's probably a setting that needs changing but I've gone to all the obvious places and haven't found anything. Any ideas?

So if you open IE 10 in Modern UI and click the address bar the keyboard does not appear? It should. Only Modern UI apps that take the whole screen will make the keyboard appear when clicking a text box. Just because you launch something from Modern UI Start Interface doesn't mean it is a Modern UI app.

 

[TedN]

That's right. If I open IE10 from the Modern UI the keyboard doesn't appear when I click the address bar. One thing I noticed is that just after I click the IE10 icon in the Modern UI the Desktop briefly appears before IE10 opens up. Could this indicate that IE10 is still opening from the Desktop?

 

[Sin]

Is the address bar on the top (desktop) or the bottom (Metro)?

 

[tonyz3]

Do you have an external keyboard. If you disconnect it or connect it while the SP is sleep than it will effect the use of the on-screen keyboard.

 

[TedN]

The address bar of IE10 is at the top. Also, when I close IE10 my desktop appears even though I opened IE10 in Metro.

I have connected and disconnected my external keyboard in both sleep mode and operating mode. My external keyboard is not connected when I'm trying to get the virtual keyboard to appear.

 

[Wayne Orwig]

You are running the desktop IE. Find the modern version and try it. it should be easy to find in all apps. It is much more 'touch' and zoom friendly. And the keyboard pops up automatically. Though the favorites management is lacking.

 

[TedN]

I'm getting a bit confused here. Are we saying there are two versions of IE10, the desktop version and the modern version. Or is there one version that can be run in either desktop or modern (Metro) mode. I have searched in the Apps and can find only one instance of IE10. Clicking it brings up the same IE10 which has the address bar at the top.

 

[J515OP]

There are two very different versions of IE in Windows 8. One is the traditional IE that opens and runs in desktop. The other is a Modern UI app that runs from the Start screen. Have you changed your default browser to something other than IE? If so the Modern IE option will be removed from the Start screen leaving only a shortcut to Desktop IE.

See here: http://www.surfaceforums.net/forum/...-discussion/3189-modern-ie-vs-desktop-ie.html

 

[TedN]

OK. I finally found an IE10 icon that opened it up in Metro mode. The virtual keyboard appears and disappears as expected. It would be really nice if there was a single icon that when clicked would change the operating mode (desktop - surface, surface - desktop).