Best Free Onscreen Keyboard for Accessibility [1]
Introduction
As the name implies, an On-Screen Keyboard (OSK) is a virtual keyboard that is displayed on the computer screen. It is used as an alternative to a physical keyboard, so people can "type" by using a mouse or other input device.
As a general rule, these are two main reasons why someone would want to use an OSK: Accessibility and Security.
For accessibility, users prefer an OSK to a physical keyboard as they may wish to use their native language on a foreign-language machine; or they may not be able to use a physical keyboard, rather they use accessibility devices such as a pointing or touch-screen device.
The good news is that there are some great free programs that will assist with these needs. However, I want to stress that people should use the right tool for the job. Accessibility OSKs do not offer any real protection against malicious software, just as security OSKs do not offer much functionality as physical keyboard replacements.
For security, read this article Best Free Onscreen Keyboard for Security [3]. This review recommends accessibility OSKs only.
Rated Products
Platforms/Download: Windows (Desktop) [7] | [8]
Version reviewed: n/a
Gizmos Freeware [9]
| Our Rating: 4.5/5 |
|
Read more... [6]
[10]
Microsoft On-Screen Keyboard [10] [11]
A pre-installed OSK with standard and extended keyboard layout in Windows
Platforms/Download: Windows (Desktop) [12] | [8]
Version reviewed: n/a
Gizmos Freeware [9]
| Our Rating: 3.5/5 |
Read more... [11]
Platforms/Download: Windows (Desktop) [15] | [8]
Version reviewed: n/a
Gizmos Freeware [9]
| Our Rating: 3.5/5 |
Read more... [14]
Platforms/Download: [field_blackberry_download] | iOS [18] | Linux [19] | Mac OS [19] | Windows (Desktop) [19] | [8]
Version reviewed: n/a
Gizmos Freeware [9]
| Our Rating: 3.5/5 |
Read more... [17]
Honourable Mention
- Tapir [20] is an assistive on-screen keyboard with an entry method similar to mobile phones. It has very good predictive text capabilities and was created by the same team as Dasher (Open Source).
Related Products and Links
You might want to check out these articles too:
- Best Free Onscreen Keyboard for Security [3]
- How to Improve Your Security When Using a Public Terminal [21]
Editor
This software category is in need of an editor. If you would like to give something back to the freeware community, contact us by clicking here [22].
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