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We have an application that need some key instructions, but does not have a text field (like an old console application).

Since the "tablet" keyboard in windows 10 only appears, when the cursor is staying in a text field, this does not work.

Furthermore the windows explorer is disabled and the program is defined as shell (after logging in, only the program is started on a blank desktop, no task-bar or window management). This is required to reduce the chance that the user changes anything on the system. He can only use the program. Some kind of a kiosk-mode.

We've already tried to use the old windows on-screen keyboard, but since these is a tablet, we want to use vertical, the keys are too small. So we wish to use this modern windows keyboard, wich came with windows 10.

How can we force it to always be on the screen regardless of the focus of the cursor?

We already played with some off the options in the settings panel, but no one of them affected this focus behavior

The new windows 10 tablet keyboard

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  • The windows on-screen keyboard can be resized to be bigger.
    – harrymc
    Sep 6, 2017 at 12:10
  • The problem is that the tablet in vertical is not wide enough. So only the new model keyboard would work. Sep 7, 2017 at 8:48

1 Answer 1

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To show the tablet keyboard start this process :

C:\Program Files\Common Files\microsoft shared\ink\TabTip.exe

However, since Windows 10 Anniversary update, you need to turn on in Settings the option of "Show Touch Keyboard in Desktop Mode when No Keyboard Attached".

This can be achieved by running this .reg file:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\TabletTip\1.7]
"EnableDesktopModeAutoInvoke"=dword:00000001
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  • Thanks, this works perfectly! - Only problem left, if the user closes the keyboard, the process is still running. You can't just check for the process and restart it when exited/closed. But this is a smaller problem :) Sep 7, 2017 at 11:16

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