As requested from the kde input matrix room, this is a thread to capture ideas proposed for input accessibility options.
So in the matrix weve been talking about various things, mostly physical keyboard emulation
Until a full size osk is available on wayland, nothing really matters. Everything else is convenience but not an absolute necessity. The reason for this is physical keyboards require precise movements with force applied, which is far too difficult to expect someone with cerebral palsy to perform.
A full size physical keyboard emulator is required because linux administration is a bit more involved than text input. Features like an arrow cluster and function keys and modifiers make operating a linux terminal far easier. The current solution is to use gnome with gjs-osk. Nothing else comes close on wayland.
The proposed workaround for kde mobile’s terminal was to use the menu bar, but this requires too many precise movements to be useful.
Other niceties include flypie, which supports tap gestures to perform actions like opening a file manager. The suggested replacement is kando, with manual configuration
Swipe to open (like in the assisted touch menu in ios) would be useful
The proposal for the original topic of this thread was to expand edge screen gesture controls. These must all be single tap and not multi touch gestures, nor should they require precise inputs.
Examples would be swipe from bottom of screen to center to open osk, top to center to full screen or unfullscreen an application, left to center to close an application.
I would like to raise the same request too. I have raised this same issue/feature request (pop-os/cosmic-epoch/issues/550) in Cosmic DE GitHub too. I hope the KDE devs can seriously consider this request for accessibility users.
Issue Description
The default OSK in GNOME and many other Desktop Environments are docked to the bottom of the screen and it takes up a lot of space in the screen. The OSK is made to auto show/auto hide when clicking in/out of text fields. This workflow is not suitable for accessibility. Also they don’t have the option for full keyboard layout with modifier keys like ctrl, alt, super, etc. and function keys.
Requested Features
Option to use OSK as a floating window (with window decoration) that can be resized by mouse (at window corners/edges). This window is always visible and can be kept always on top of other windows.
Option to use full keyboard layout with modifier and function keys
Clicking on modifier key to toggle latch and then lock it (for using keyboard shortcuts like copy, paste)
Suggestions for word auto complete while typing (similar to Windows 11)
Changing themes on OSK
In addition to the above requests, please consider developing the KDE OSK as a separate and standalone app if possible. This will be helpful for accessibility and touchscreen users in linux across various distros and desktop environments. There is no good OSK in Wayland and XOrg (except maybe Onboard) for accessibility users.
Reference
The above requested features are all available in Windows 10 & 11. It is so far the best and easy to use for accessibility in PC. So please consider its design and model for the OSK.
I have used a tool called Onboard (built for XOrg). It is used in Linux Mint by default. The above requested features are available in Onboard too.
Also check out GJS OSK GNOME extension for a model reference too.
Personal Description
I have been affected by gradually increasing motor impairment for the past 4 years. I am unable to use the keyboard and so I only use the mouse and OSK for using the PC.
Hope I don’t mean to bump this thread up but I’m an accessibility advocate.
What if cerebral palsy is combined with visual disability? Wouldn’t it be possible to have a fixed on-screen keyboard while zoomed in? I have not read thoroughly, but I’m thinking this can be useful for those who use a touchscreen device.
Yeah that’s something android has. Zoom is independent of the keyboard. and tbh that’s the ideal goal is making a Linux tablet as usable as an android tablet