.. include:: defs.txt

.. _librem_5_virtual_keyboard:

Virtual Keyboard
================

The virtual keyboard provides an on-screen replacement for a physical keyboard
that is used to input text.

.. contents::
   :local:

When an application presents a text input field or editable document, the virtual keyboard will be shown automatically.

Opening and Closing the Keyboard
--------------------------------

The virtual keyboard is shown automatically when a user interface element receives the input focus. However, you can also open and close it manually by pressing the |keyboard| (keyboard) symbol in the bottom-right corner of the screen. This will light up when the keyboard is available.

Layouts
-------

The layout of the virtual keyboard is close to that of conventional physical keyboards, except that it is designed more for text input than as a general input device. As a result, many of the keys found on a physical keyboard, such as *Ctrl*, *Alt* and the cursor keys are not included in the normal layout.

.. |keyboard-us-alpha| image:: images/keyboard-us-alpha.png
   :scale: 50%
   :alt: The virtual keyboard with US alphabet layout

.. centered:: |keyboard-us-alpha|

Since the user still needs to access upper and lower case characters, a key like the *Shift* is included as the |shift| key. This toggles between lower and upper case characters when the alphabet is shown.

The |backspace| key corresponds to the backspace key on a physical keyboard, causing the last character in an input field to be deleted.

The |enter| key behaves in the same way as the Return key on a physical keyboard.

The default layout is for a US English keyboard. This can be changed in the :ref:`librem_5_settings_region_language` section of the **Settings** application.

Views
-----

The keyboard provides different views that you can switch between: one with the alphabet, another with digits, and a third view with symbols.

.. |keyboard-us-numbers| image:: images/keyboard-us-numbers.png
   :scale: 50%
   :alt: The virtual keyboard with US numbers layout

.. |keyboard-us-symbols| image:: images/keyboard-us-symbols.png
   :scale: 50%
   :alt: The virtual keyboard with US symbols layout

.. centered:: |keyboard-us-alpha| |keyboard-us-numbers| |keyboard-us-symbols|

Switch between the views by pressing these special keys:

 * Press the **123** key to show a view with digits and common symbols.
 * Press the ***/=** key to show less common symbols.
 * Press the **ABC** key to return to the alphabet view for your language.

More specialized keyboard layouts will be shown when certain kinds of input are required by applications. The keyboard handles this automatically.
