Using the Windows 10 Touch Keyboard

Written by Eric Wyatt (last updated March 11, 2019)

Sara has a situation with the computers in her home—she has two computers and only one keyboard. When she needs to use both computers at the same time this can be problematic. Thankfully Windows 10 offers a solution that can be used to enter text when this problem occurs. To get Touch Keyboard running on your computer follow these simple steps:

  1. Right click on an empty area of the Taskbar. Windows displays a Context menu. (See Figure 1.)

    2. Figure 1. Taskbar Context menu.

  2. Select the Show Touch Keyboard Button option. Windows displays the Touch Keyboard icon in the lower-right corner of the Taskbar. (See Figure 2.)

    3. Figure 2. Touch Keyboard icon in the Taskbar.

  3. Click the Touch Keyboard icon to open the onscreen keyboard. (See Figure 3.)

    4. Figure 3. The onscreen Touch Keyboard.

Once setup you can also use the Touch Keyboard to quickly add emojis to your text as well. With the Touch Keyboard running, simply click on the smiley face icon on the keyboard. The keyboard changes to display the emojis that you can use. (See Figure 4.)

Figure 4. The emojis available on the Touch Keyboard.

By simply enabling the Touch Keyboard you'll be able to quickly enter the text you need when your physical keyboard is unavailable. When you are done using the Touch Keyboard, click the X at its upper-right corner. The Touch Keyboard icon remains available on the Taskbar so you can later display the keyboard, if desired.

 This tip (6056) applies to Windows 10.

Author Bio

Eric Wyatt

Eric Wyatt is a swell guy (or so his friends tell him). He is a formally trained designer and branding expert, bringing a wide range of skills to his Tips.Net articles. ...

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