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Virtual Keyboard Quick Start Guide

Overview​

The Avalonia Virtual Keyboard component provides an on-screen keyboard for Avalonia applications. It is designed for touch-based or kiosk scenarios where physical keyboards may not be available, enabling text input through touchscreens or mouse clicks.

The Virtual Keyboard component includes two main controls:

  • VirtualKeyboardScope - A container that manages keyboard visibility and input methods
  • VirtualKeyboard - The actual keyboard control that can be placed manually

Installation​

See the Installation Guide for step-by-step instructions on how to install Accelerate components.

Add the Virtual Keyboard package to your project:

dotnet add package Avalonia.Controls.VirtualKeyboard

Add the License Key​

Include your Avalonia UI license key in the executable project file (.csproj):

<ItemGroup>
  <AvaloniaUILicenseKey Include="YOUR_LICENSE_KEY" />
</ItemGroup>
tip

For multi-project solutions, you can store your license key in an environment variable or a shared props file to avoid duplication.

Include the Control Theme​

To ensure the virtual keyboard is properly styled, add the keyboard theme to your application. Open your App.axaml file and include the following within the Application.Styles section:

<Application xmlns="https://github.com/avaloniaui"
             xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
             x:Class="YourNamespace.App">
    <Application.Styles>
        <FluentTheme />
        <!-- Include the Virtual Keyboard theme -->
        <StyleInclude Source="avares://Avalonia.Controls.VirtualKeyboard/Themes/Fluent.axaml"/>
    </Application.Styles>
</Application>

Requirements​

  • Avalonia 11.3.7 or newer

Basic Usage​

The simplest way to add a virtual keyboard to your application is to use the VirtualKeyboardScope control, which automatically shows and hides the keyboard when text input controls are focused:

<Window xmlns="https://github.com/avaloniaui"
        xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
        xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
        xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
        mc:Ignorable="d" d:DesignWidth="600" d:DesignHeight="600"
        Width="600" Height="600"
        x:Class="YourNamespace.YourWindow"
        Title="Virtual Keyboard Sample">
    <VirtualKeyboardScope InputMethods="en-US:kbd:standard, de:kbd:standard, ja:ime:kana">
        <StackPanel>
            <TextBlock>Hello world!</TextBlock>
            <TextBox Watermark="Type here"/>
        </StackPanel>
    </VirtualKeyboardScope>
</Window>

Using VirtualKeyboard Directly​

For more control, you can also use the VirtualKeyboard control directly and specify the target input element:

<Window xmlns="https://github.com/avaloniaui"
        xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
        Title="Virtual Keyboard Sample"
        Width="400" Height="600">
    <StackPanel>
        <TextBox x:Name="InputBox" Width="300" Margin="10"/>
        <VirtualKeyboard Target="{Binding ElementName=InputBox}" 
                           InputMethods="en-US:kbd:standard, de:kbd:standard, ja:ime:kana"
                           Margin="10"/>
    </StackPanel>
</Window>

Note, that input will be directed to the specified Target element regardless of the current input focus.

Managing Input Methods​

The virtual keyboard supports a wide range of input methods and keyboard layouts. You can specify which input methods to include:

In XAML​

<VirtualKeyboardScope InputMethods="en-US:kbd:standard, de:kbd:standard, ja:ime:kana">
    <!-- Your content here -->
</VirtualKeyboardScope>

In C#​

// Get all available input methods for specific languages
var inputMethods = new List<VirtualKeyboardInputMethod>
{
    VirtualKeyboardInputMethod.GetInputMethodsForLanguage("en-US").First(),
    VirtualKeyboardInputMethod.GetInputMethodsForLanguage("ja").First(),
    VirtualKeyboardInputMethod.GetInputMethodsForLanguage("de").First()
};

// Assign to the VirtualKeyboardScope
myKeyboardScope.InputMethods = inputMethods;

Retrieving Available Input Methods​

// Get all supported languages
var languages = VirtualKeyboardInputMethod.GetSupportedLanguages();

// Get input methods for a specific language
var englishInputMethods = VirtualKeyboardInputMethod.GetInputMethodsForLanguage("en-US");

// Get a specific input method by ID
var japaneseKana = VirtualKeyboardInputMethod.GetInputMethodById("ja:ime:kana");

Input Method Identifiers​

The virtual keyboard component supports a wide range of input method identifiers for different languages. See the Input Method Identifiers page for a complete list of supported identifiers.

TextInputOptions​

You can customize how the virtual keyboard behaves with different input fields using the TextInputOptions attached properties:

<TextBox TextInputOptions.ContentType="Email" 
         TextInputOptions.ReturnKeyType="Search" />

Available ContentType values:

  • Normal
  • Email
  • Url
  • Digits

Available ReturnKeyType values:

  • Default
  • Done
  • Go
  • Next
  • Previous
  • Return
  • Search
  • Send

API Reference​

For more detailed information about the Virtual Keyboard API, refer to the following classes:

  • VirtualKeyboardScope: A container control that manages keyboard visibility
  • VirtualKeyboard: The actual keyboard control for manual placement
  • VirtualKeyboardInputMethod: Represents a particular input method/keyboard layout

Platform Support​

The Virtual Keyboard is a managed component and works on all platforms supported by Avalonia.