How To Enable And Use On-Screen (Virtual) PC Keyboard In Linux.
Tags: howto, linux, ubuntu, onscreenkeyboard
Published: 2019-11-06 04:53:26

---
title: How To Enable And Use On-Screen (Virtual) PC Keyboard In Linux.
published: true 
tags: HowTo,Linux,Ubuntu,on-screen keyboard
canonical_url: https://fossnaija.com/onscreen-virtual-keyboard-linux/
---

![linux on-screen keyboard banner](https://i2.wp.com/fossnaija.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/linux-on-screen-keyboard-banner.jpg?resize=665%2C373&ssl=1)

If for any reason you have a malfunctioning keyboard or there <g id="7" data-gr-id="7">is no</g> keyboard attached to your computer at the moment, a virtual keyboard may come handy when there is <g id="5" data-gr-id="5">need</g> for you to enter text.

In this post, I’m going to show you three (3) very simple ways of activating the virtual keyboard in [ubuntu](http://ubuntu.com) [Linux](https://fossnaija.com/linux-installation-dual-booting-with-windows-7/).

**METHOD 1: USING ACCESSIBILITY SETTINGS.**  
 To enable on screen keyboard using this method. Follow the steps outlined below.

**STEP 1:** Got to “settings”.

**STEP 2:** Click on the “universal access” at the bottom of the settings window.

![settings ubuntu](https://i1.wp.com/fossnaija.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/settings-ubuntu.png?w=665&ssl=1)<figcaption>Universal Access settings.</figcaption>

**STEP 3:** Select the “typing” tab and click on the “On Screen Keyboard” enable toggle button.

![virtual keyboard settings](https://i1.wp.com/fossnaija.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/universal-access-settings.png?w=665&ssl=1)<figcaption>On-Screen Keyboard Settings.</figcaption>

Then an accessibility icon suddenly appears on the menu bar; showing that an on screen keyboard is now active (even when temporarily not displayed).

**METHOD 2 : USING ONBOARD ICON**  
 This is a simpler way of activating the keyboard.

**STEP 1:** Open the “dash” by pressing the super (Windows) key.  
**STEP 2:** Type “onboard” into the dash and click on the onboard icon that appears.

![on-screen keyboard](https://i1.wp.com/fossnaija.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/on-screen-keyboard.png?resize=665%2C338&ssl=1)<figcaption>On-screen keyboard</figcaption>

Then the virtual keyboard will appear.

**METHOD 3: USING THE COMMAND-LINE (TERMINAL).**  
 This is another simple method just like the method above, you can use a [command-line](https://fossnaija.com/the-anatomy-of-the-linux-command-line/) to activate the on-screen keyboard.

To do this, simply open your [terminal](https://dev.to/xeroxism/6-commands-you-must-know-to-be-productive-on-the-terminal-h9a) and type the following command:

```
onboard
```

Then anytime you want to type; the on-screen keyboard would automatically open at the bottom of the screen. And also when you reboot your PC the screen keyboard appears on the desktop.

![on-screen keyboard writing test](https://i1.wp.com/fossnaija.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/onborad-writing-test.png?resize=665%2C364&ssl=1)<figcaption>On-Screen keyboard in LibreOffice.</figcaption>

The keyboard has an intuitive interface, that is familiar to common PC keyboards.

To hide the temporarily, you can check on the “X” button at the top right corner of the keyboard. It will show up <g id="9" data-gr-id="9">again,</g> when there is a need for you and some typing (i.e. writing).

When you are done with the use of the on-screen keyboard you can permanently disable it by following the same steps as enumerated above. This time the toggle button is clicked to disable it.

Though the on-screen keyboard is not a long-term (permanent) solution it can come very useful in some desperate circumstances to save the day.

There you have it , how to enable on-screen keyboard on Linux (Ubuntu).

Happy Linux’NG!

The post [How To Enable And Use On-Screen (Virtual) PC Keyboard In Linux.](https://fossnaija.com/onscreen-virtual-keyboard-linux/) appeared first on [Foss Naija](https://fossnaija.com).