A virtual keyboard is a software component that allows a user to enter characters. A virtual keyboard can usually be operated with multiple input devices, which may include a touchscreen, an actual Computer keyboard and a computer mouse.On a desktop PC, one purpose of a virtual keyboard is to provide an alternative input mechanism for users with disabilities who cannot use a physical keyboard. Another major use for an on-screen keyboard is for bi- or multi-lingual users who switch frequently between different character sets or alphabets. Although hardware keyboards are available with dual keyboard layouts (e.g. Cyrillic/Latin letters in various national layouts), the on-screen keyboard provides a handy substitute while working at different stations or on laptops which seldom come with dual layouts. The standard on-screen keyboard utility on most touch screen systems allows [hot key] switching between layouts from the physical keyboard (typically alt-shift but this is user configurable), simultaneously changing both the hardware and the software keyboard layout. In addition, a symbol in the Systray alerts the user to the currently active layout. Although Linux supports this fast manual keyboard-layout switching function, many popular Linux on-screen keyboards such as gtkeyboard, Matchbox-keyboard or Kvkbd do not react correctly. Kvkbd for example defines its visible layout according to the first defined layout in Keyboard Preferences rather than the default layout, causing the application to output incorrect characters if the first layout on the list is not the default. Activating a hot-key layout switch will cause the application to change its output according to another keyboard layout, but the visible on-screen layout doesn't change, leaving the user blind as to which keyboard layout he is using. Multi-lingual, multi-alphabet users should choose a linux on-screen keyboard that support this feature instead, like Florence. Virtual keyboards are commonly used as an on-screen input method in devices with no physical keyboard, where there is no room for one, such as a pocket computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), tablet computer or touchscreen equipped mobile phone. It is common for the user to input text by tapping a virtual keyboard built into the operating system of the device. Virtual keyboards are also used as features of emulation software for systems that have fewer buttons than a computer keyboard would have. Virtual keyboards can be categorized by the following aspects:
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