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A virtual keyboard that can be used with your mouse or touchpad, helpful for diagnosing keyboard issues

A virtual keyboard that can be used with your mouse or touchpad, helpful for diagnosing keyboard issues

Vote: (140 votes)

Program license: Free

Developer: Comfort Software Group

Version: 5.0

Works under: Windows

Vote:

Program license

(140 votes)

Free

Developer

Version

Comfort Software Group

5.0

Works under:

Windows

Pros

  • Fast & lightweight
  • Standalone application
  • Window can be resized
  • Users can move the keyboard

Cons

  • Closes unexpectedly
  • A bit too sensitive

Free Virtual Keyboard is an app that brings all of the functionality of a mobile touchscreen keyboard to the Windows platform. You can use it on desktop PCs as well as laptops and conversion tablets running the Windows operating system, which makes it an extremely portable solution.

Speaking of portability, the app can run as a single standalone portable executable. That means you can copy it to any USB memory stick or SD card so you can run it on different PCs without having to run any kind of installer.

Once you do have the software running, it's easy to resize the window that the keyboard lives in. This makes it much more flexible than the traditional OSK app that comes with Windows, though the two programs can exist side by side. If you run Free Virtual Keyboard like this, then gestures registered by either program will turn into keystrokes.

Unlike most other solutions, Free Virtual Keyboard has many of the keys you'd expect on a full sized peripheral. After you start the app up and make a few changes to the internal settings, you'll be free to enable keys like Insert and Delete. This makes the app suitable as a replacement for physical hardware if you don't mind exclusively using the touchscreen to interact with your PC.

On top of this, you'll find the Print Screen key so you can take screenshots right from the panel. It also includes the Alt and AltGr keys. Even the Menu key, sometimes known as the Hamburger or Air Vent button, is present right on the virtual keyboard.

Those who want to customize their keyboarding experience can install different themes to give it a different look. While the default color scheme isn't the most inspiring, there's no reason that you can switch to something that matches the theme you're already using on Windows. You could also opt for something more fanciful or techie. For instance, it's possible to make the entire window look more like a physical vintage keyboard if you so prefer. That should certainly please the Model M fans in the crowd as well as those who wish they had an old fashioned AEKII attached to their PC.

Gamers and those who work with financial software will be pleased to know that the app includes a complete numeric keypad. If you don't have a touchscreen, then every key is clickable with a mouse pointer. This extends to the full set of F1-F12 function keys.

Those who do have a touchscreen can still use their mouse too, so you have plenty of options. Running the app doesn't override any keyboard that you have attached to the system. Depending on how much you like to use keyboard shortcuts, you can start a chord on one device and finish it on another.

Those using emulators will be happy to know that the Windows key in Free Virtual Keyboard can work as a Command or Option key. Windows Subsystem for Linux users might even want to use it to emulate a Super key.

Speaking of emulation, those using console emulators can map whatever keys they prefer to one. As long as you're playing a game that doesn't require you to make quick decisions you should be perfectly fine. That makes Free Virtual Keyboard a good choice if you find yourself playing vintage RPG titles on a regular basis.

Some people might prefer to use the app to write short emails or texts. While you might get tired attempting to key in full missives, that's not really what Free Virtual Keyboard was designed for.

Nevertheless, it should be a huge step up from the integrated OSK widget for those who need a program for accessibility reasons. Most users will find that they can type much faster with Free Virtual Keyboard than most other options.

When supplemented with either a mouse or a speech recognition package, the app could even be seen as part of a complete accessibility suite. There are some one-touch controls in it that you could key macros to, which makes using it much faster.

Content creators and gamers that need an accessibility app will certainly find it useful in this respect. Some people might even want to code bits of text to these macros and increase their input speed that way.

Others could use the Ctrl-V paste shortcut without much difficult to enter text quickly. You can get used to holding down modifier keys with the screen with just a minimum amount of practice.

That should help to further improve usability for those who plan on deploying Free Virtual Keyboard as a more permanent solution for day to day work. Those who prefer it as a gaming supplement might want to use some of these tricks to start programs as well. If you take a few moments to sort out all of the configuration options, then you'll be in a great position to use them.

Those who might never have had a chance to use a piece of software like this shouldn't have too much difficulty getting used to it, though, in part because none of these configuration options are entirely necessary. If you just copy the binary file over and run it, then you'll be presented with a simple keyboard that's easy to work with.

Power users will appreciate all of these additional options, especially since they enable the software to grow with you and your needs. Free Virtual Keyboard should prove to be a rather useful utility for gamers as well as those who have to rely on their machine for doing serious work.

It's also not a bad idea to have around in case your physical keyboard breaks and you don't happen to have a spare lying around at the moment. Those who keep an emergency OS install on an external hard drive will certainly want to add Free Virtual Keyboard to it so they won't ever be without an input device even if things go wrong with their hardware.

Pros

  • Fast & lightweight
  • Standalone application
  • Window can be resized
  • Users can move the keyboard

Cons

  • Closes unexpectedly
  • A bit too sensitive

Pros

  • On-screen emulated keyboard
  • Portable

Cons

  • Lacks macros

Free Virtual Keyboard is a software-based keyboard and an alternative to physical keyboards.

Emulated keyboards, also called virtual keyboards, were at one time a niche PC tool that came in handy when you spilled your coffee on your actual keyboard. They were also used by IT professionals as well as disabled users who couldn’t interface with a traditional keyboard. Today, however, they’re ubiquitous. Smartphones have them, tablets have them, and even our televisions have them.

This solution is standalone, which means that it has no dependencies and doesn’t require installation. That means that you can install in on a USB flash drive, an SD card or any other portable storage. Many IT pros and even home computer users like to a USB toolkit for emergencies, and this program is a great addition to that collection. You never know when a keyboard will break or you’ll need to interface with a Windows machine that lacks one.

Free Virtual Keyboard functions like any other window. Some virtual keyboards will lock the window to a particular shape and size, but you can move and resize this one however you please, including into a non-standard shape. They keys will simply cascade into place as the available space allows. It also doesn’t demand focus, so you can use this keyboard to type into a focused window on the same screen.

Although Free Virtual Keyboard wasn’t developed as a touchscreen keyboard, it works fine in that role. The keys are easy to read and interact with, and there’s nothing about the program that interferes with touch controls if you have a touchscreen on your Windows laptop, tablet, all-in-one and so forth. It doesn’t even have any particular Windows requirements, so it works on just about any version without emulation all the way back to Windows 95.

It’s worth mentioning that Windows 10 includes an on-screen keyboard. In fact, so-called accessibility keyboards have been included with most versions of Windows. So, what does Free Virtual Keyboard do to set itself apart? Not much unfortunately. It perhaps gives you a little more control over resizing and whatnot. You may prefer the aesthetic, but the Windows keyboard provides a lot of options in that regard. It’d be nice if this keyboard set itself apart with macro support, customizable keys and so forth.

Pros

  • On-screen emulated keyboard
  • Portable

Cons

  • Lacks macros