oooh! this is shaping up to be a really complete solution both for mobile and desktop accessibility usecases!
the initiative for tackling input on KDE is bearing fruit!
i do have something in mind that could be improved that is relevant to this as well as the input system as a whole, KDE currently doesn’t have a graphical way to create a custom keyboard layout or a keyboard layout based on an existing one, its a finicky process which involves messing around with xkb configs. this plus a way to export/import would be a game-changer for accessibility.
i would love to elaborate/help drive interest since im very passionate about this but im really not sure where to go. if anybody has an idea, be sure to point me in a direction!
As already mentioned, a “full” layout would be great for larger devices. Arrow keys, permanent number row, tab, ctrl, alt, etc. Pretty much a requirement for terminal usage.
Would love to use a virtual keyboard in sddm on the desktop to log in, as someone who mostly just use a mouse. It’s an important accessibility feature!
No, we’re not planning to replace fcitx5. A lot of work went into the fcitx5 ecosystem, it would be unwise to think that we can do better for all of the problems that fcitx5 is already solving.
We are hoping to make switching between different input methods easier. Currently, you have to select an input method in the “Virtual Keyboard” page in System Settings, and in addition to that, you have to go into a different settings page to configure fcitx5 or Plasma Keyboard. And then also fcitx5 takes over the physical keyboard layout, which is not always desirable. All of this is too much work for a user who wants to use both, we have some ideas and plans about how to make it better.
But that will be a different effort, mostly separate from the current push for Plasma Keyboard. In this first phase, Plasma Keyboard is targeting users that only need a single virtual keyboard and no other input method for physical key input.
Last time I tested it (a few weeks ago). I was having problems with the size on my Surface Pro 8. It would take up too much of the screen. Has this been addressed?
Is it possible to build with the upcoming features yet? lack of ctrl keys and floating mode were a deal breaker for me.
I really like how the virtual keyboard is shaping up, if the virtual keyboard does take up the entire width of the device then I have no complaint, the gnome virtual keyboard doesn’t take up the entire width of the screen and that makes the keys smaller, and harder to touch on smaller touch screen displays.
The only proper feedback I want to give is that I’ve seen you’ve mentioned the Cursor navigation in text field:
“Holding the spacebar, then moving left/right should move the cursor in the text field.”
I think it’s good to have this feature, but I would also hope that there is the ability to click in between the letters of a word to move the cursor in the place I want to move it, in iOS the only way to move the cursor in between letters is by holding the space bar and moving, and I find it super annoying, instead on Android I can just click in between the letters and put the cursor where I want it, so I hope this feature is available as I find it just easier than holding the space bar and moving the cursor.
Just wondering if AutoKey woud be of any use to you as an add-on. It provides desktop automation of sequences of keyboard, mouse, and window events which might be useful for reducing the need for direct user input or providing precise mouse movements, etc. that might be difficult for some users.
The current version requires x11, but we have a new version in development that works with Wayland.
Not being able to do modifiers or special keys was the reason I kept using OnBoard instead of Maliit. Very much looking forward to those being widely available.
Floating mode and custom width are also very welcome when dealing with smaller screens with scaling.
Again, this all looks amazing. Looking forward to using PVK
Having non-character keys (ctrl, tab, …) and function keys would make this the best Wayland compatible keyboard around.
It would be nice if the keyboard supports all desktop environments, not just Plasma. Onboard was a one-size-fits-all solution, and we really need an alternative for Wayland.
About the space bar cursor feature you describe, I think that you should take a view on what luneOS developers did on their virtual keyboard, with a very small virtual trackball that moves the cursor when you swipe it. I used it a lot and it’s the best, more precise and user-friendly cursor feature I ever saw on a virtual keyboard.
Are there plans for a flick keyboard (フリック入力), mainly for the mobile form factor? If I ever switch from Android to “regular” Linux (which, with how both Android is getting worse and mobile Linux is getting better, will probably be something I do in the future), this would be something I’d like to have as part of the OSK.
Mozc is probably a good backend to use there. On desktop, I use Fcitx5 with a Mozc backend, and on Android I use an old and abandoned port of Mozc which comes with a flick input frontend - to my knowledge this is the only libre option right now for that platform.
This Android Mozc also comes with options for QWERTY and godan rōmaji input, which might be preferable to some. I imagine QWERTY might also be a good default for desktop use, just like with other languages.
For TVs (and larger touchscreens), I think gojūon (50音入力) layout is a good solution. I’ve seen this layout on consoles such as PS Vita and Nintendo Switch, and it’s quite usable.
On mobile Linux I’m using my own Layout on Squeekboard (Phoshs customizable phone keyboard). The uncommon buttons I’m using most: menu button, modifier button (real Shift included for Shift + Ctrl + V on terminal etc), Del, PgUp, PgDn, Home, End, F2, F11 and similar. I also added layers for maths (num-block plus math related buttons for faster typing) and a layer for some unicode sign that are maybe useful. There are separate layouts for landscape and portrait mode, number entry (for number fields), smileys (portrait and landscape) etc.
I know, this is no feedback to Plasmas OSK, but it may helps to understand what kind of buttons, layers and layouts can be useful to compare it with Plasmas OSK by your own. I’m daily driving it on my phone for 2 years.
And I know at least one person that
thinks in a similar way. She wants a keyboard where you have 9 huge buttons similar to the picture above (plus side panels with Enter key etc), where you can swipe in 8 directions to add other signs.
Love it great job guys I know still only early days but still great. My pick the floating keyboard and cursor navigation in text using space bar, excellent options. I may have missed it so please forgive me but how is upper case represented. Is it a highlight like droid or do the key graphics change?
