Develop Reference

How to add a static keyboard in Android?

I want to add a keyboard to an activity in my app. I don't want the default Android keyboard, that pops up once the user clicks a text field and hides when the user clicks somewhere else. I want to make the keyboard static (it is accessible at any time and doesn't disappear) and identical on any device.
Essentially I would like the keyboard to function similarly as in this crossword puzzle app (Image) that I found.
The first solution that came to my head was to make the keyboard entirely by myself. Basically to add and hardcode every single button manually.
Is there a way to do this easier? Is there an available template?
(I am a total beginner in Android, so I might have missed even the most obvious solution)
Thanks.
EDIT: What I would like to achieve is not only that the keyboard stays open all the time, but also that I can easily control the size and position of the keyboard. I want it to cover a specific area of the screen.

You're going to need to make your own keyboard layout, but unless it needs to be a fully-featured keyboard, it won't be too difficult. Put it in its own layout XML, with corresponding IDs for each key.
You can then use <include> in the layouts where it needs to be included. In Java (or Kotlin), you can then make a "helper" class, which takes the root View of the current Activity/Fragment, finds the keys and sets up a listener framework for when a key is pressed.
As for keeping the device's keyboard hidden, check out the answers here.

Put these methods inside your activity . For opening the keyboard
public void openKeyboard() {
InputMethodManager imm =
(InputMethodManager) getSystemService(Context.INPUT_METHOD_SERVICE);
if (imm != null) {
imm.toggleSoftInput(InputMethodManager.SHOW_FORCED, 0);
}
}
For closing the keyboard :
public void closeKeyboard(Activity activity) {
if (activity != null) {
InputMethodManager inputMethodManager =
(InputMethodManager) activity.getSystemService(
Activity.INPUT_METHOD_SERVICE);
if (inputMethodManager != null && activity.getCurrentFocus() != null) {
inputMethodManager.hideSoftInputFromWindow(
activity.getCurrentFocus().getWindowToken(), 0);
}
}
}

Soft Input Opens over a custom keyboard on Text Selection -- how to prevent

Many questions refer to a keyboard service rearing it's head at the wrong time, or how to substitute a view specific keyboard. I have no problem doing this. This problem is different in that the keyboard service pops up on top of a custom keyboard that was working fine until a long press to make a selection. At that point the default keyboard appears. I want to stop this.
As further clarification, it is not the long press that opens the system keyboard. It is action of making a selection. For example: A long press at the end of input does not select anything, but does pop up the "cut copy select all share..." dialog. When you click on "Select All" then the system keyboard opens.
I think the misleading suggestion of a link to a solution to this problem should be removed.
I use the following to install a special keyboard under an EditText:
MA_expression.setOnClickListener { view ->
mKeyboardView.visibility = View.VISIBLE
mKeyboardView.isEnabled = true
if (view != null) {
val imm = getSystemService(Activity.INPUT_METHOD_SERVICE) as InputMethodManager
imm.hideSoftInputFromWindow(view.windowToken, 0)
}
}
This works as expected:
Now the goal is to use "45" as the argument to a function, so the range of text that is to become the argument is selected (simple here, but it could just as well be embedded in a more complicated expression):
Now the problem is evident -- the standard keyboard service has popped up. It can be dismissed with the done button, the selection remains, my keyboard remains, the FUNa keyboard is selected and the function to apply is picked.
The result is correct, it is only the intervening system keyboard that must be told it is not wanted.
How is that done?

dismiss the android key board on the focus listener
view.setOnFocusChangeListener
view.setOnFocusChangeListener(new OnFocusChangeListener() {
#Override
public void onFocusChange(View view, boolean hasFocus) {
if (hasFocus) {
val imm = getSystemService(Activity.INPUT_METHOD_SERVICE) as InputMethodManager
imm.hideSoftInputFromWindow(view.windowToken, 0)
}
}
});

Disable soft-keyboard from EditText but still allow copy/paste?

Hi I'm making custom dialer so I create my own input pad.
The problem is how do I disable the EditText but still allow cut/copy/paste? The stock dialer can do this.
I have tried android:focusable="false" but it disables cut/copy (can still paste though).
I also tried to disable the inputType programatically which disables all three commands:
myEditText.setInputType(InputType.TYPE_NULL); //Can't cut/copy/paste
Disabling it from manifest also doesn't work:
android:configChanges="orientation|keyboardHidden" //Keyboard still popped up
Any solution? Thanks

After hours and hours of research, I finally found a solution that works for all API versions. Hope this saves someone's time.
If you are developing for API >= 11, the solution is simple, either:
1) Add the two properties below in the xml file of EditText
android:inputType="none"
android:textIsSelectable="true"
or
2) Programatically do the below
myEditText.setInputType(InputType.TYPE_NULL);
myEditText.setTextIsSelectable(true);
And you're done.
If you want to cater for API < 11 as well, I found that there is no way to disable to keyboard from popping out if you wanted to select the text for copy paste purpose. Setting focusable to false will disable the keyboard but it doesn't help because it disables your ability to select text too. Any other solutions I found in stackoverflow all either doesn't work or disables text selection at the same time too.
One ugly way to solve this is as such..
First, add this property in the xml file of EditText
android:editable="false"
Yes this is deprecated, but necessary for making the EditText not editable in API version < 11.
Next, we will need to hide the keyboard as soon as it shows up, so that we can continue selecting text without the keyboard blocking the way.
Use this code below to detect keyboard showing up (solution obtained from https://stackoverflow.com/a/9108219/1241783), and hide it immediately.
if (android.os.Build.VERSION.SDK_INT < android.os.Build.VERSION_CODES.HONEYCOMB)
{
final View activityRootView = findViewById(R.id.activityRoot);
activityRootView.getViewTreeObserver().addOnGlobalLayoutListener(new OnGlobalLayoutListener() {
#Override
public void onGlobalLayout() {
Rect r = new Rect();
//r will be populated with the coordinates of your view that area still visible.
activityRootView.getWindowVisibleDisplayFrame(r);
int heightDiff = activityRootView.getRootView().getHeight() - (r.bottom - r.top);
if (heightDiff > 100) { // if more than 100 pixels, its probably a keyboard...
//Hide the keyboard instantly!
if (getCurrentFocus() != null)
{
InputMethodManager imm = (InputMethodManager) getSystemService(Context.INPUT_METHOD_SERVICE);
imm.hideSoftInputFromWindow(getCurrentFocus().getWindowToken(), 0);
}
}
}
});
}
It works for my case. Though you can see the keyboard showing up in a split second (which is the ugly part) but I can't think of any other way to get this to work at the time of writing. If you have a better solution, please leave a comment!
Let me know too if this saves someone's time :)

To disable the soft keyboard showing, keeping the copy/paste and cursor functionality, just add this line in your activity:
getWindow().setFlags(WindowManager.LayoutParams.FLAG_ALT_FOCUSABLE_IM,
WindowManager.LayoutParams.FLAG_ALT_FOCUSABLE_IM);

Since the current top answer uses a deprecated method and didn't have the paste method for me, here's another way that doesn't use old methods. But, it does try to use a hidden method via reflection with a fallback. =)
I've subclassed EditText into a new widget called KeyboardlessEditText that still retains all the cool editing features without the keyboard showing. Just drop the file in and go.
The full code is a little long for this post, but as long as GitHub doesn't go down, then this will work: https://github.com/danialgoodwin/android-widget-keyboardless-edittext/blob/master/KeyboardlessEditText2.java

To disable system keyboard automatic pop up for EditText or TextView do the following:
if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.LOLLIPOP) {
editTextView.setShowSoftInputOnFocus(false);
} else {
editTextView.setTextIsSelectable(true);
//N.B. Accepting the case when non editable text will be selectable
}

I had the same problem but later I also wanted allow typing after double tap.. after hours and hours of searching I found working solution (at least for me). Use this in your onCreate method:
editText.setCursorVisible(false);
editText.setTextIsSelectable(true);
editText.setShowSoftInputOnFocus(false);
getWindow().setSoftInputMode(WindowManager.LayoutParams.SOFT_INPUT_STATE_HIDDEN); // This just hide keyboard when activity starts
These lines should definitely do the trick.. and if you want to revert that use this:
editText.setCursorVisible(true);
editText.setShowSoftInputOnFocus(true);
To show keyboard again use:
private void showSoftKeyboard(View view) {
InputMethodManager inputMethodManager = (InputMethodManager) getSystemService(INPUT_METHOD_SERVICE);
view.requestFocus();
inputMethodManager.showSoftInput(view, 0);
}
To allow copy/paste next time just use these three lines:
editText.setCursorVisible(false);
editText.setTextIsSelectable(true);
editText.setShowSoftInputOnFocus(false);
For further keyboard hide use:
private void hideSoftKeyboard() {
if(getCurrentFocus() != null) {
InputMethodManager inputMethodManager = (InputMethodManager) getSystemService(INPUT_METHOD_SERVICE);
inputMethodManager.hideSoftInputFromWindow(getCurrentFocus().getWindowToken(), 0);
}
}
This code is working on API >= 21

try this
EditText et = ... // your EditText
et.setKeyListener(null) //makes the EditText non-editable so, it acts like a TextView.
No need to subclass. The main difference between this and making your EditText non-focusable, is that the EditText still has its own cursor - you can select text, etc. All it does is suppress the IME from popping up its own soft keyboard.

Had a similar need due to my custom inline "fake" input which was still visible as the os soft keypad was appearing after focus moved to an edit text.
Solution was to make the edit text hide soft input until the previous custom input widget had finished its edit lifecycle.
Used #Bruce's answer for inspiration, also saw a few related posts which I'll attach at end.
Solution I found worked was:
fun setInputType(inputType: Int) {
getEditText().setRawInputType(inputType)
if (inputType == InputType.TYPE_NULL) {
getEditText().setTextIsSelectable(true)
getEditText().isCursorVisible = true
}
}
had to use setRawInputType() instead as multiline text input was not respected when setting from InputType.TYPE_NULL back to InputType.TYPE_TEXT_FLAG_MULTI_LINE.
Seems there are users reporting issues relating to calling setInputType(InputType.TYPE_NULL). see:
https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/36907992
other useful related posts:
How to make EditText not editable through XML in Android?
EditText non editable

Show soft keyboard even though a hardware keyboard is connected

Is there any way to show software keyboard with USB keyboard connected (in my case RFID reader)?
I tried to force show it using InputManager (with these or similar parameters), but with no luck
((InputMethodManager) getSystemService(Context.INPUT_METHOD_SERVICE)).toggleSoftInput(InputMethodManager.SHOW_FORCED,0);
Important notice - I know that there is a button in status/system bar to show it, but this button is not visible to user (Kiosk app).

You need to override the InputMethodService method onEvaluateInputViewShown() to evaluate to true even when there is a hard keyboard. See onEvaluateInputShown() and the Soft Input View section of InputMethodService. Try creating your own custom InputMethodService class to override this method.
EDIT: The source for onEvaluateInputShown() should help. The solution should be as simple as creating your own class that extends InputMethodService and overriding this one method, which is only a couple of lines long. Make sure to add your custom service to your manifest as well.
From Source:
"Override this to control when the soft input area should be shown to the user. The default implementation only shows the input view when there is no hard keyboard or the keyboard is hidden. If you change what this returns, you will need to call updateInputViewShown() yourself whenever the returned value may have changed to have it re-evalauted and applied."
public boolean onEvaluateInputViewShown() {
Configuration config = getResources().getConfiguration();
return config.keyboard == Configuration.KEYBOARD_NOKEYS
|| config.hardKeyboardHidden == Configuration.KEYBOARDHIDDEN_YES;
}
Here are the possible configurations you can check for. Configuration.KEYBOARD_NOKEYS corresponds to no hardware keyboard. This method returns true (soft keyboard should be shown) if there is no hardware keyboard or if the hardware keyboard is hidden. Removing both of these checks and simply returning true should make the software keyboard visible even if a hardware keyboard is attached.
Try (not tested):
public boolean onEvaluateInputViewShown() {
return true;
}
Since this return value will not change, you won't need to call updateInputViewShown() yourself. If you modify this method differently, be sure to remember this detail.

The soft keyboard can have unpredictable behaviour on different platforms. First in your code, ensure you have an editable input control. Eg, if you have an EditText, you could use:
((InputMethodManager)getSystemService(Context.INPUT_METHOD_SERVICE))
.showSoftInput(myEditText, InputMethodManager.SHOW_FORCED);
However, you can just show and hide it whenever you want using:
//show keyboard:
getWindow().setSoftInputMode(WindowManager.LayoutParams.SOFT_INPUT_STATE_ALWAYS_VISIBLE);
//hide keyboard :
getWindow().setSoftInputMode(WindowManager.LayoutParams.SOFT_INPUT_STATE_ALWAYS_HIDDEN);
You could also add any of these events inside OnCreate or some other method of the controls.
If however for some reason any of the above fails, your best option might be to use an alternative keyboard, e.g. Compass Keyboard,
OR
You could even build yours:
See an example of a keyboard implementing the inputmethodservice.KeyboardView
You might also want to take a look at the GingerBread Keyboard source.

If your app has the WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS permission (available to system apps or Android Things apps) it can set the show_ime_with_hard_keyboard system setting which will enable soft keyboard even if a hard keyboard is plugged:
Settings.Secure.putInt(getContentResolver(), "show_ime_with_hard_keyboard", 1);

This worked in my app, interestingly, also an kiosk app.
This is a bit stripped, I did some checks beforehand, whether IMM is null and such.
((InputMethodManager) getSystemService(Context.INPUT_METHOD_SERVICE)).toggleSoftInputFromWindow(someInputView.getApplicationWindowToken(), InputMethodManager.SHOW_FORCED, 0);

according to this https://stackoverflow.com/a/24287780/2233069, I made working solution for Kiosk mode.
boolean hardwareKeyboardPlugged=false;
....
mEditText.setOnFocusChangeListener(this);//in onCreate()
....
#Override
public void onResume() {
//protect from barcode scanner overriding keys
hardwareKeyboardPlugged=(getResources().getConfiguration().hardKeyboardHidden == Configuration.HARDKEYBOARDHIDDEN_NO);
super.onResume();
}
....
#Override
public void onFocusChange(View v, boolean hasFocus) {
if (hasFocus)
if (hardwareKeyboardPlugged){
//protect from barcode scanner overriding keys
hardwareKeyboardPlugged=false;
((InputMethodManager)getSystemService(Context.INPUT_METHOD_SERVICE)).showInputMethodPicker();
Toast.makeText(this, "USB device detected. Turn OFF hardware keyboard to enable soft keyboard!", Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
}
}

Set soft keyboard default to numeric on Android browser app using jQueryMobile

I want to be able to open the Android softkeyboard using Javascript in numeric mode.
There are numerous posts out there about how to open the softkeyboard and about how to set its data type to numeric, but in my case there are some circumstances that prevent me from combining these solutions.
Currently, if the user manually taps the input field, the numeric soft keyboard appears correctly.
I've also figured out how to use the java method .addJavascriptInterface() to create a Javascript function that opens and closes the keyboard. That's mostly in this code:
public class KeyBoard {
private WebView mAppView;
private DroidGap mGap;
public KeyBoard(DroidGap gap, WebView view)
{
mAppView = view;
mGap = gap;
}
public void showKeyBoard() {
InputMethodManager mgr = (InputMethodManager) mGap.getSystemService(Context.INPUT_METHOD_SERVICE);
// only will trigger it if no physical keyboard is open
mgr.showSoftInput(mAppView, InputMethodManager.SHOW_IMPLICIT);
((InputMethodManager) mGap.getSystemService(Context.INPUT_METHOD_SERVICE)).showSoftInput(mAppView, 0);
}
public void hideKeyBoard() {
InputMethodManager mgr = (InputMethodManager) mGap.getSystemService(Context.INPUT_METHOD_SERVICE);
mgr.hideSoftInputFromWindow(mAppView.getWindowToken(), 0);
}
}
The problem is that when I use this custom Javascript-to-Java command, the keyboard always appears as Qwerty, even if the current value of the field is already numeric and it has a type=number tag.
I've tried these:
- set type=number attribute on input element.
- always have a numeric value ready (set value to zero before calling soft keyboard)
- set focus on the input (and select its value) before calling soft keyboard
- I've read solutions about setting properties of a TextView/EditText, but since my app is a browser app, the only Android object I can manipulate is the WebView.
- Setting the default input method on a Java WebView is currently not possible with Android.
The trouble with using Javascript-to-Java to open the soft keyboard is that it's a "generic" command, i.e. it's not tied specifically to the input. So the soft keyboard is opened in its default mode with no regard to the element where its keystrokes will be sent.