On-screen keyboard for a RaspberryPi

[Martin Gregorie]

I'm wondering about using one of the new high resolution 4", 5" or 7"
displays and a Pi Zero W to create what's effectively a replacement for
an old WinCE-based PDA, but it would need a pop-up on-screen keyboard.

So, has experience with an onscreen keyboard application that would run
on an RPi?


--
Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org

[Jim Price]

On 24/02/2020 19:20, Martin Gregorie wrote:
> I'm wondering about using one of the new high resolution 4", 5" or 7"
> displays and a Pi Zero W to create what's effectively a replacement for
> an old WinCE-based PDA, but it would need a pop-up on-screen keyboard.
>
> So, has experience with an onscreen keyboard application that would run
> on an RPi?

Not specifically on the Pi, but on general Linux systems I tend to use
cellwriter. It's default mode is handwriting recognition, but it can be
optionally started with --keyboard-only, which I prefer to the other
onscreen keyboards I've tried. Available in Raspbian and Ubuntu AFAICT.

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[Richard Owlett]

On 02/24/2020 01:42 PM, Jim Price wrote:
> On 24/02/2020 19:20, Martin Gregorie wrote:
>> I'm wondering about using one of the new high resolution 4", 5" or 7"
>> displays and a Pi Zero W to create what's effectively a replacement for
>> an old WinCE-based PDA, but it would need a pop-up on-screen keyboard.
>>
>> So, has experience with an onscreen keyboard application that would run
>> on an RPi?
>
> Not specifically on the Pi, but on general Linux systems I tend to use
> cellwriter. It's default mode is handwriting recognition, but it can be
> optionally started with --keyboard-only, which I prefer to the other
> onscreen keyboards I've tried. Available in Raspbian and Ubuntu AFAICT.
>

Is there English documentation available?
https://manpages.debian.org/buster/cellwriter/cellwriter.1.en.html
refers to http://risujin.org/cellwriter which is apparently in either
Chinese or Japanese.

[Martin Gregorie]

On Mon, 24 Feb 2020 19:42:21 +0000, Jim Price wrote:

> On 24/02/2020 19:20, Martin Gregorie wrote:
>> I'm wondering about using one of the new high resolution 4", 5" or 7"
>> displays and a Pi Zero W to create what's effectively a replacement for
>> an old WinCE-based PDA, but it would need a pop-up on-screen keyboard.
>>
>> So, has experience with an onscreen keyboard application that would run
>> on an RPi?
>
> Not specifically on the Pi, but on general Linux systems I tend to use
> cellwriter. It's default mode is handwriting recognition, but it can be
> optionally started with --keyboard-only, which I prefer to the other
> onscreen keyboards I've tried. Available in Raspbian and Ubuntu AFAICT.

Thanks - exactly what I wanted to know, and in looking for a bit more
about it I found matchbox-keyboard, which seems to be one of the Raspbian
standard packages.

FYI, the screen I'm most interested in trying is a new 4" one from
Pimoroni: the HyperPixel 4.0 TFT, touch screen and claiming 800 x 480
resolution, but its blurb doesn't say anything about brightness, which is
important because this will be used outdoors in bright conditions.

[Jim Price]

I never had sufficient reason to need documentation for it beyond the
--help option, which was actually a reason I chose it in preference to
onboard in historic versions of Ubuntu. More recent onboard versions
have seemingly improved, but still don't really work the way I want.

--
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╔═╝ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ╔═╝
╚═══╩═╩═╩═╩═╩═╝ -- JimP.

[Jim Price]

On 24/02/2020 20:29, Martin Gregorie wrote:
> On Mon, 24 Feb 2020 19:42:21 +0000, Jim Price wrote:
>
>> On 24/02/2020 19:20, Martin Gregorie wrote:
>>> I'm wondering about using one of the new high resolution 4", 5" or 7"
>>> displays and a Pi Zero W to create what's effectively a replacement for
>>> an old WinCE-based PDA, but it would need a pop-up on-screen keyboard.
>>>
>>> So, has experience with an onscreen keyboard application that would run
>>> on an RPi?
>>
>> Not specifically on the Pi, but on general Linux systems I tend to use
>> cellwriter. It's default mode is handwriting recognition, but it can be
>> optionally started with --keyboard-only, which I prefer to the other
>> onscreen keyboards I've tried. Available in Raspbian and Ubuntu AFAICT.
>
> Thanks - exactly what I wanted to know, and in looking for a bit more
> about it I found matchbox-keyboard, which seems to be one of the Raspbian
> standard packages.

I have a vague recollection from a decade or so ago that they were
related, but I'd forgotten about matchboard-keyboard.

> FYI, the screen I'm most interested in trying is a new 4" one from
> Pimoroni: the HyperPixel 4.0 TFT, touch screen and claiming 800 x 480
> resolution, but its blurb doesn't say anything about brightness, which is
> important because this will be used outdoors in bright conditions.

Sounds like an interesting project. I'd be interested to know if it can
manage daylight readability.

--
╔═╦═╦═════╦═══╗
║ ║ ║ ║ ║
╔═╝ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ╔═╝
╚═══╩═╩═╩═╩═╩═╝ -- JimP.

[Martin Gregorie]

On Mon, 24 Feb 2020 21:12:01 +0000, Jim Price wrote:

> Sounds like an interesting project. I'd be interested to know if it can
> manage daylight readability.
>

If this one works out, I'll build a second - same screen but on a Pi 2B+
with external power (3A 12v->5v converter) and a USB GPS puck for use in
much more challenging lighting conditions. This will be the navigation
system in my glider, running the Linux version of LK8000. 'More
challenging' lighting because it will be mounted on my panel and MUST be
easily readable even with direct sunlight coming over my shoulder and
onto its display. Hopefully, this will replace a Medion S.3747 PNA, which
has a transreflective display, so its a big ask.

[S Deyoreo]

I have a 7" touch screen with the on-screen keyboard. I forget where I got it, but it wasn't hard to find.
I don't like it, you have to touch towards the top of each button, it's too small...
I don't use it.

[Martin Gregorie]

Thanks for the input. I don't like this type of keyboard either. I'm too
used to the tactile feel of proper, moving keys.

There were devices around in 1978 with capacitative keys printed on a
flat piece of rigid plastic that were as horrid to use as a modern on-
screen keyboard - like drumming your fingers on a sheet of cardboard.

However, in this case I'm planning to make a pocketable device equivalent
to a WinCE-based PDA (think Compaq iPAC and successors) from an Pi Zero W
and a touch screen, It will sometimes need keyed input and there's no way
I'm going to carry a keyboard, no matter how small and cute it might be,
so I will need an on-screen pop-up keyboard from time to time.