Activate on-screen keyboard in Windows 10, 8, and 7

Windows’ on-screen keyboard is ultra helpful if you’re unable to use an external physical keyboard for your PC or Windows device. The on-screen keyboard is a standard input tool in Windows 7, 8, and 10 that lets you navigate the system and use text input without a classic keyboard.

1. Open “Settings” via the Windows Start menu or via [Windows] + [I].
2. Click on “Ease of Access”.
3. Open the “Keyboard” menu.
4. Set the toggle under “Use your device without physical keyboard” to “On”.
5. The visual on-screen keyboard will now appear onscreen.
6. Click on “x” to close the on-screen keyboard.

1. Right-click in a free area in the lower taskbar.
2. Click on “Toolbars”.
3. Activate “On-Screen Keyboard”.
4. Click on the keyboard icon in the lower right corner of the taskbar to open it.
5. Click the icon again to close the keyboard

1. Click on the Windows logo at the bottom left.
2. Go to “All Programs”.
3. First select “Accessories” and then “Ease of access”.
4. Click on “On-Screen Keyboard” to open the keyboard.
5. Click on the “x” to close the keyboard.

For many, a normal, physical PC keyboard is as natural to their computer use as the screen. But what happens if your keyboard is broken or not responsive? Fortunately, Windows has a visual on-screen keyboard in case problems with the physical keyboard arise. This is also helpful if devices are infected with keylogger malware and there is a risk that malware will record sensitive data input such as login data or bank details via a physical keyboard.

With a Windows on-screen keyboard, you have all the standard physical keys and can make visual keystrokes with and without tablet mode, with a mouse, or, if parts of the keyboard don’t work, with selected key groups.

To enable or disable the on-screen keyboard on Windows 10, 8, and 7, follow our detailed step-by-step instructions or our quick guides.

It is also possible to open the Windows on-screen keyboard via the “Settings”, which you can open with the shortcut [Windows] + [I]. Select the submenus “Ease of Access” and “Keyboard” and then activate “Use On-Screen Keyboard”. We will show these steps again in more detail below.

Step 6: Alternatively, the Windows on-screen keyboard can be opened by swiping inward from the right edge of the screen, typing “on-screen keyboard” into the search bar, and clicking it.