Windows 10: Enable/Disable On-Screen Keyboard

Windows 10: Enable/Disable On-Screen Keyboard

How to enable or disable the On-Screen Keyboard in Microsoft Windows 10. Use the On-Screen keyboard to type without an actual keyboard.

Note: The On-Screen Keyboard and the Touch Keyboard are considered two different keyboards.

Launching On-Screen Keyboard (OSK)

• Select the “Start” button, type “osk“, then press “Enter“.

Touch Keyboard

• Right-click the taskbar, then select or deselect “Show touch keyboard button“. Select the keyboard near the time whenever you wish to use the touch keyboard.

Enable or Disable OSK Via Setting

1. Select “Start” > “Settings“.
2. Choose “Ease of Access“.
3. Select “Keyboard“.
4. Set “On-Screen Keyboard” to “On” or “Off” as desired.

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Enable or Disable OSK Via Registry

1. Hold down the Windows Key and press “R” to bring up the “Run” dialog.
2. Type “regedit“, then press “Enter“.
3. Navigate to the following location:
   • HKLM
   • SOFTWARE
   • Microsoft
   • Windows
   • CurrentVersion
   • Authentication
   • LogonUI
4. Open “ShowTabletKeyboard” and set it to “1” to enable it. Set it to “0” to disable it. If this key doesn’t exist, you can create it.

Now the On-Screen Keyboard should be enabled or disabled as desired.

FAQ

This setting is not selected, but a keyboard still appears when I start Windows. Why is this happening?

Try these steps:

1. Right click the window start button at the bottom left of your screen to bring up a menu.
2. Click “Run” and type in “osk.exe” press “Enter” key.
3. Previously I had closed out the On-screen Keyboard so when I pressed the “Enter” key and the OSK will pop up.
4. At the bottom of the keyboard to your right you will see a key “Options”, click that key.
5. You will get a popup “Options” box and at the bottom you will see a blue link “Control whether the On-Screen Keyboard starts when I sign in” PRESS THAT LINK and another box will popup.
6. If “Use On-Screen Keyboard” is checked…. Uncheck it!
7. Select “Apply” then “OK” (this will close out the box).
8. Select “OK” on the “Options” box to close it out. “Ease of Access Center” box may be visible, no problem, just close it out.
9. Close out the Keyboard allowing you to FINALLY get rid of that aggravating OSK!

Thanks to James Davis for the above solution.

If the above steps do you work for you, you may also have a third-party keyboard installed or one that was installed by the manufacturer of your device. Windows Vista & 7 users can go to Start, run “msconfig“, then check under the “Startup” tab to disable (uncheck) any keyboard software that might be running. Windows 10 & 8 users can right-click a blank area of the taskbar, select “Task Manager“, then select the “Startup” tab to disable keyboard software.

Thanks for Reading...

Masud Rana