When can we finally have an “on screen keyboard” in ubuntu desktop with voice input , like the one we have in Windows 10 
where you don’t need to type with your fingers all the time, but actually dictate to write stuffs everywhere 
2 Likes
This looks absolutely phenomenal. Totally embarrasses Apple’s iPad keyboard.
I am glad to see that the KDE team is finally working on a OSK. This is very much needed for the accessibility users, especially in Wayland. I have raised a issue/feature request for a OSK in Cosmic DE GitHub too. I am sharing the same content here for your consideration. 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 fonts and 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.
I searched and came across this since the plasma keyboard was mentioned by Devin Lin in Tech Over Tea podcast. Thanks to the KDE devs for talking about the tech updates through popular platforms like youtube. Because I searched for the discussions on OSK in KDE discuss and bugs a year ago. There were very few topics and there was almost no discussion or interest. So I left it at that (also since I don’t have the energy to initiate discussions and bugs due to disability 
). I hope the KDE devs can give more attention to accessibility in the future and continue to announce or talk about such updates through youtube (because there are people like me who aren’t active in KDE sites and only visit them once or twice a year and they may miss such updates).
PS - Should the above request be raised as a bug or posting here is enough for consideration?
4 Likes
How about integrating fcitx into KDE so that people using this don’t have to constantly switch between plasma keyboard and fcitx
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X11 apps aren’t accepting german or japanese inputs such as ö or お from plasma keyboard.
Plasma keyboard keeps popping up and covering the screen when I click or open a text input field.
If I finger tap a text input field, plasma keyboard comes up and the screen moves up to accommodate it, so clearly it’s able to differentiate if I’ve tapped the text input with my finger.
I’d like plasma keyboard to only show up if I tap a field with my finger.
Onboard (especially the fork) can do most of that, except the proper Wayland support and the auto complete is too old and broken, iirc currently it works only in the mode about saving all words into a text database (which can e.g. leak the password).
Another important feature is creating custom layouts, like adding buttons with some special characters, snippets, scripts, changing their position. Onboard kind of can do that but the process is quite complex, requiring editing of XML files and pictures. afaik it’s much simpler in Hot Virtual Keyboard on Windows.
2 Likes
Voice typing will be a nice feature to have in OSK. I wanted to include this in my request comment above, but felt like it would be too demanding for the devs. It will be a great help for accessibility users and considering that this OSK is built for multiple platforms like mobile and TV, this feature should be included.
3 Likes
Voice typing will be a game changer for many.
By the way I am dictating this message via Windows 10’s voice dictation, it is definitely not perfect, but it works 75% of the time.
Voice typing will be a game changer for many.
By the way I am dictating this message via Windows 10’s voice dictation, it is definitely not perfect, but it works 70% of the times.
Most of the people in the world cannot type without looking at the keyboard and that includes me.
I literally have to look for every KEY , when I type , and it gets very stressful.
What I have struggled with the most when it comes to on-screen keyboards (as well as a decent amount of other circumstances), in Plasma 6, was the fact that pointer devices are tracked separately.
Due to my circumstances, I am using a variety of different non-mouse pointer devices. With this setup it is difficult to, for example, move the mouse with one of them, while clicking with the other; or, depending on the device, hold the pointer still to activate some function or read a tooltip, without the pointer snapping back to the position of the mouse.
My friend, one more point I would like to mention, 
according to Google only 25% of computer users worldwide doesn’t need to look at the keyboard while typing, while the rest of the 75% of the world needs to find every key in order to type a word on their computer.
So now you can imagine how big the demand is for a “Voice Based” keyboard like system.
Hey everyone. Looking at the last 20 or so comments in this thread, it seems to me that requested features are described very well, but descriptions of use cases are few and far between.
When commenting, please consider to include some information about:
- Which app(s) and functionalities you are trying to use.
- What makes the current solutions inadequate for you in those circumstances.
- How the solution that you’re requesting compares to other possible solutions that KDE might consider.
If we want to prioritize improvements, or avoid breaking people’s workflows over time, then we need to be able to go to the root of the issue and say, “this user with this workflow would be impacted by this new proposed change”.
So please, don’t just tell us what you need to get your stuff done, but also what your current and envisioned workflow is like. Be specific. It really helps! Of course, all of the feedback that you contributed already is also appreciated.
Thank you, and back to the regular scheduled programming 
3 Likes
My biggest complaint with Maliit is that on a 2-in-1 device there doesn’t seem to be a way to automatically enable and disable it based on whether the device is in laptop or tablet mode. This results in it popping up a lot when I try to use the touchscreen in laptop mode. If plasma virtual keyboard has this as a built in setting, that would be fantastic!
3 Likes
I think this will be a nice addition to Plasma itself instead of for a specific virtual keyboard (maybe by detecting whether there is a physical keyboard attached). An option to enable or disable the virtual keyboard regardless of this behavior should be there as well, as an override switch imo.
Edit: A relevant bug report on BKO here.
1 Like
My biggest use for an onscreen keyboard would be typing in non-native alphabets (mostly Ukrainian and sometimes accented Spanish characters). Current solution is 2 separate keyboards one with Ukrainian key caps and another with English key caps and Spanish layout stickers. It’s a mess, but it works.
I have a convertible laptop that I use mostly in laptop mode, but I like using the touch screen. Unfortunately, I had to disable the on-screen keyboard, because it kept popping up when I tapped a text box, even though I have a physical keyboard.
Now when I use the laptop in tablet mode, I need to manually open the on-screen keyboard when I need it.
Ideally, the keyboard would know if there’s a physical keyboard or not, and only open if there isn’t.
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The upcoming features allowing it to float and use ALL the keys is SO NICE. Losing Windows top tier on screen keyboard has been rough and my existing on screen keyboard for arch is obviously only for tablets. Kde connect helps when I can only use one hand, but just being able to sanely use my mouse is a game changer. THANK YOU.
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After getting a 2-in1 device I can safely say the current keyboard experience is what turned me away from KDE on that device even though it’s my main and favorite DE.
The current criteria for the keyboard to appear is the following:
if a touch is detected a certain amount of time before a textbox is focused, then the keyboard appears.
That is a big showstopper as the user will find the on-screen keyboard to appear very often and not disappearing even if the physical keyboard is not folded back and the user starts typing.
I really hope this gets rectified in the new and improved osk by making it appear only if the physical keyboard is folded back (the same criteria to make title bars and pinned panel applications bigger) (just like how gnome, windows and iOS/Android tablets do it)
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Can you tell me what eye tracker you use?
I am developing an accessibility focused Linux distro for people with paralysis and I need an eye tracker that is readily available and easy to setup for caregivers
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Make it pop-in and pop-out when the user clicks its associated icon instead of automatically appearing.
The point is that the user already has a physical keyboard but might want to type in different languages.
1 Like