On Screen Keyboard

Contributed by Haresh Karamchandani

A client called us complaining that some keys on her HP Laptop were broken. We brought the laptop over to the workshop for an assessment and tried to fix the broken keys. All efforts failed as the keys were beyond repair.

We concluded that the only solution was to either replace the keyboard completely or use an USB external keyboard attached to the laptop.

We were wrong! Our Head of IT came up with the idea of using an On-Screen Keyboard.

All you have to do in such a situation is click on the “Start “menu, then click “Run “and then type in OSK for (On screen Keyboard). A virtual keyboard will appear on your screen which can be used like a normal keyboard. Both keyboards can be used in conjunction with each other.

Problem solved! Another happy client for NATC!

You should note that this solution only applies to a situation where only a couple of keys have stopped functioning. If most of the keyboard has been damaged, using an on-screen keyboard will be cumbersome and slow down your typing speed. 

For MAC users, please go to System Preferences > Keyboard > Click on 'Show Keyboard & Character Viewer in  menu bar'.