Windows utility to render which key I am pressing on-screen [closed]

Question

I'm giving training to a large group of people remotely and will be covering a number of application shortcut keys.

I've seen MousePose's on-screen display of keystrokes; is there a way to get this same effect but for key presses?

I do not need anything fancy, just key presses displayed on screen where they can be captured by meeting software during a screen share.

I haven't been able to figure this out myself.

Answer 1

KeyPosé is a free alternative to MousePosé for Windows. You can see it in action in the screencast.

Here is a sample screenshot:

Answer 2

I highly recommend Carnac The Magnificent. It's nicely executed, nicely designed and open sourced on GitHub project that really solves this problem well.

A keyboard logging and presentation utility for presentations, screencasts, and to help you become a better keyboard user.

There is a fork with visualization of mouse input here: https://github.com/bfritscher/carnac/releases

Answer 3

I would like to share my tool -- keycastow.

https://brookhong.github.io/2014/04/28/keycast-on-windows.html

Answer 4

I've written an AutoHotkey_L script for this purpose.

To run it, use AutoHotkey_L (direct dl), it's FOSS. Also, with AutoHotkey you can compile script to EXE (simply Ahk2Exe.exe /in DisplayPressedKeyOnScreen.ahk/outDisplayPressedKeyOnScreen.exe ).

It can display pressed keys OSD-like or standard Tool-tip near mouse cursor. Also, it displays mouse button clicks and wheel scrolling.

(note that frame & blurring is done for illustration purposes, the script itself only displays text w/o any disturbances)

Heres's the script (copy and paste to notepad, save as DisplayPressedKeysOnScreen.ahk):

#NoEnv
#SingleInstance force
#InstallKeybdHook
#MaxHotkeysPerInterval 500

;This work by LogicDaemon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

Global IdleDelay, LargeDisplay

IdleDelay:=3000

LargeDisplay:=1
; 0 = Tooltip near mouse pointer
; 1 = Big pane at screen bottom

;TrayTip %A_ScriptName%, Чтобы выйти`, нажмите правую клавишу Windows
TrayTip %A_ScriptName%, To Exit`, press the Right Windows logo key.

InputHook := InputHook("BCL1qMV*", "", "")
InputHook.KeyOpt("{All}", "INV")
InputHook.OnKeyDown := Func("OnKeyDown")
InputHook.OnKeyUp := Func("OnKeyUp")
InputHook.OnEnd := Func("RegisterKey")
Loop {
    InputHook.Start()
    InputHook.Wait()
}

return

RWin::
    ExitApp

~*LButton::
~*RButton::
~*MButton::
~*XButton1::
~*XButton2::
    MouseTooltip(SubStr(A_ThisHotkey, 3), 1)
    return

~*LButton Up::
~*RButton Up::
~*MButton Up::
~*XButton1 Up::
~*XButton2 Up::
    MouseTooltip(SubStr(A_ThisHotkey, 3, -3), 0)
    return

~*WheelDown::
~*WheelUp::
~*WheelLeft::
~*WheelRight::
    MouseTooltip(SubStr(A_ThisHotkey, 3), 1)
    MouseTooltip(SubStr(A_ThisHotkey, 3), 0)
    return

MouseTooltip(mbuttons, state){
    RegisterKey(mbuttons, state)
}

TooltipOff:
    If LargeDisplay
        Gui Hide
    Else
        Tooltip
    lastStatesText := {}
    return

OnKeyDown(inputHook, VK, SC) {
    RegisterKey(inputHook, 1, VK, SC)
}

OnKeyUp(inputHook, VK, SC) {
    RegisterKey(inputHook, 0, VK, SC)
}

RegisterKey(inputHook, kstate := 1, VK := 0, SC := 0) {
    local
    global IdleDelay, lastStatesText, inputString
    static keyStates := {}, prevKey, lastPressed, prevState, repeated := 0
         , KeyMappingToName := { (Chr(27)): "Escape"
                               , (Chr(32)): "Space"
                               , (Chr(10)): "Enter" }
         , SkipRepeat := { "LShift": ""
                         , "RShift": ""
                         , "LControl": ""
                         , "RControl": ""
                         , "LAlt": ""
                         , "RAlt": ""
                         , "LWin": ""
                         , "RWin": "" }
         , StringEndKeys := { "{Enter}": ""
                            , "{Escape}": ""
                            , "{Tab}": ""
                            , "{Up}": ""
                            , "{Down}": ""
                            , "{PgUp}": ""
                            , "{PgDn}": "" }
    
    If (VK || SC) {
        singleKey := GetKeyName(Format("vk{:02x}sc{:02x}", VK, SC))
    } Else If (!IsObject(inputHook)) {
        singleKey := inputHook
    }
    textKey := StrLen(singleKey) == 1 ? singleKey : "{" singleKey "}"
    keyStatesText := ""
    For key, state in keyStates
        If (state && key != singleKey)
            keyStatesText .= key "+"
    keyStates[singleKey] := kstate
    If (kstate && lastPressed == textKey && keyStatesText == lastStatesText) {
        If (!SkipRepeat.HasKey(singleKey))
            repeated++
    } Else {
        If (kstate) {
            If (repeated) {
                inputString .= (repeated > 4 || StrLen(lastPressed) > 1) ? "×" . repeated+1 : StrRepeat(lastPressed, repeated)
                , repeated := 0
            }
            If (keyStatesText != lastStatesText || StringEndKeys.HasKey(lastPressed))
                inputString := textKey, lastStatesText := keyStatesText
            Else If (StrLen(inputString) < 15)
                inputString .= textKey
            Else
                inputString := "…" SubStr(inputString, -15) textKey
            lastPressed := textKey
        }
    }
    ShowKeys((lstate ? keyStatesText : lastStatesText) . inputString . (repeated ? ("×" . repeated+1) : (kstate ? "↓" : "↑")))
    prevKey := singleKey, prevState := kstate
    
    SetTimer TooltipOff, % -IdleDelay
}

ShowKeys(text) {
    global GUIx, GUIy, GUIw, GUIh
         , blkOsdCtrlName, blkOsdCtrlName2
         , MonitorLeft, MonitorRight, MonitorBottom, MonitorTop
    
    If (LargeDisplay) {
        CoordMode Mouse, Screen
        MouseGetPos MouseX, MouseY

        InitLargeDisplay(MouseX, MouseY)
        
        If ((!GUIy) || (MouseX >= MonitorLeft && MouseX <= MonitorRight && MouseY >= GUIy && MouseY <= (GUIy+GUIh)) ) {
            If (MouseY < (MonitorTop + (MonitorBottom - MonitorTop) / 2) )
                GUIy := MonitorBottom - (MonitorBottom - MonitorTop) * 0.2
            Else
                GUIy := MonitorTop + (MonitorBottom - MonitorTop) * 0.2
        }
        
        GuiControl Text, blkOsdCtrlName, %text%
        GuiControl Text, blkOsdCtrlName2, %text%

        Gui, Show, x%GUIx% y%GUIy% NoActivate
    } Else {
        Tooltip % text
    }
}

InitLargeDisplay(MouseX, MouseY) {
    global GUIx, GUIy, GUIw, GUIh
         , blkOsdCtrlName, blkOsdCtrlName2
         , Monitor, MonitorLeft, MonitorRight, MonitorBottom, MonitorTop
    static guiInitialized := False
    ;Initializing GUI / reinitializing after changing monitor
    ;modded func originated from http://www.autohotkey.com/board/topic/8190-osd-function/

    If ( (   MouseX < MonitorLeft
          || MouseX > MonitorRight
          || MouseY < MonitorTop
          || MouseY > MonitorBottom)
        || !guiInitialized) { ; mouse is outside of last screen GUI was positioned at
        ;80 SM_CMONITORS: Number of display monitors on the desktop (not including "non-display pseudo-monitors"). 
        SysGet monCount, 80
        Loop % monCount
        {
            SysGet Monitor, Monitor, %A_Index%
            If (MouseX >= MonitorLeft && MouseX <= MonitorRight && MouseY >= MonitorTop && MouseY <= MonitorBottom) {
                found := true
                break
            }
        }

        If (!found) ; mouse cursor not found on any screen, fallback to default monitor
            SysGet Monitor, Monitor
        
        GUIx := MonitorLeft
        , GUIw := MonitorRight - MonitorLeft
        , GUIh := (MonitorBottom - MonitorTop) * GUIw * 0.00003
        If (GUIh > ((MonitorBottom - MonitorTop) * 0.3))
            GUIh := (MonitorBottom - MonitorTop) * 0.3
        
        opacity:="230"
        , fname:="Tahoma"
        , fsize:=GUIh * 0.65 ; really, pixel = 0.75 point, but with 0.75 lowercase letter with lower part (like "g") will get cut
        , fcolor:="cccccc"
        , bcolor:="222222"
        , fformat:="600"
        
        If (guiInitialized)
            Gui Destroy
        Gui +LastFound +AlwaysOnTop +ToolWindow -Caption
        Gui Margin, 0, 0 ;pixels of space to leave at the left/right and top/bottom sides of the window when auto-positioning.
        Gui Color, ffffff ;changes background color
        Gui Font, s%fsize% w%fformat%, %fname%

        ; 0x80 = SS_NOPREFIX -> Ampersand (&) is shown instead of underline one letter for Alt+letter navigation
        Gui Add, Text, c%bcolor% Center +0x80 w%GUIw% h%GUIh% BackgroundTrans VblkOsdCtrlName, tesT test test
        Gui Add, Text, c%fcolor% Center +0x80 w%GUIw% h%GUIh% BackgroundTrans VblkOsdCtrlName2 xp-3 yp-3 , tesT test test
        
        WinSet ExStyle, +0x20 ; WS_EX_TRANSPARENT -> mouse klickthrough
        WinSet TransColor, ffffff %opacity%

        guiInitialized := True
    }
}

StrRepeat(str, cnt) {
    If (cnt<1)
        return ""
    o := str
    Loop % cnt-1
        o .= str
    return o
}

Answer 5

I have written a small Windows app called QiPress. It has controls to change the look-n-feel, display or ignore certain key-groups, even add static text (your own name or company name for example). Positioning is possible by disabling click-through and click-dragging the pop-up. There are other features which you probably may not require, but it covers mostly what you want.

Answer 6

You can use the on screen keyboard to show key presses that comes with windows. When you type on your physical keyboard the on screen one highlights said key.

Answer 7

Presentation Pointer is a best alternative to MousePosé for Windows. It provides Pointer Effect, Mouse Clicks Effect, Keystrokes and even allows you to draw freely on the screen but not lock the screen. That's really an advantage of the program.

Answer 8

PointerFocus can display your keystrokes.

Answer 9

You can use PassMark KeyboardTest (Free 30 day evaluation, then US$24.00 to purchase.)

FYI:

• A similar question was asked on SO: How to display pressed keyboard shortcuts on screen during presentations or screencasts
• A similar question was asked for OS X: https://apple.stackexchange.com/q/62168/20338
• A related question was asked on software recommendations (the OP asks the program to display the keys the user is currently pressing while using other programs. It should show all the keys pressed, and as soon as the user releases a key - it should disappear.): Utility to display on screen the currently pressed keys