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Virtual keyboard overview

The 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.

info

This component is available as part of Avalonia Pro or higher.

The virtual keyboard component includes the following classes:

  • VirtualKeyboardScope: A container control that manages keyboard visibility and input methods.
  • VirtualKeyboard: The actual keyboard control that can be placed manually.
  • VirtualKeyboardInputMethod: Represents a particular input method or keyboard layout.

Getting started​

  1. Install the Avalonia.Controls.VirtualKeyboard NuGet package by running dotnet add package.
dotnet add package Avalonia.Controls.VirtualKeyboard
  1. Include your Avalonia license key in the executable project file (.csproj). Your license key is available from the Avalonia portal.
<ItemGroup>
  <AvaloniaUILicenseKey Include="YOUR_LICENSE_KEY" />
</ItemGroup>
tip

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

  1. Reference the VirtualKeyboard fluent theme via a StyleInclude in your App.axaml file. This adds the resources needed to properly style the virtual keyboard.
<Application.Styles>
   <StyleInclude Source="avares://Avalonia.Controls.VirtualKeyboard/Themes/Fluent.axaml"/>
   <!-- other styles -->
</Application.Styles>

For more information on installing Avalonia Pro controls, see Installing Avalonia Pro.

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 PlaceholderText="Type here"/>
        </StackPanel>
    </VirtualKeyboardScope>
</Window>

Using VirtualKeyboard Directly​

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

Input will be directed to the specified Target element regardless of the current input focus.

<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>

Managing input methods​

The virtual keyboard supports a wide range of input methods and keyboard layouts. Here's how to specify which input methods to include:

XAML​

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

C#​

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

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

Retrieving 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​

See the virtual keyboard control page for a table of supported input methods and their identifiers.

RIME input method engine​

The virtual keyboard supports the RIME input method engine for Chinese text input. RIME support is provided as a separate plugin package.

See the VirtualKeyboard control reference for installation and configuration instructions.

Text input options​

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

See also​

On this page