Text input

There are several touch-based text input methods available for touch-enabled devices:

• Virtual keyboard (VKB) as stylus optimized

• Handwriting recognition (HWR) as stylus optimized

• Full screen handwriting recognition (Full screen HWR) as stylus optimized input method in Chinese

• Virtual ITU-T input with T9 as finger optimized

In landscape orientation there is also:

• Full screen QWERTY with input preview (Full screen VKB) as finger optimized.

Which input methods are available for the user depends on the product. The user is able to select suitable input method for the situation from those input methods that are included in the product. System recalls which method was used last and offers that next time when the user wants to input something. One key in each input method layout is reserved for the switching between methods.

Figure: Virtual keyboard (left), Handwriting recognition (middle), Virtual ITU-T (right)

Figure: Full screen QWERTY

The virtual keyboard displays a keyboard that has a collection of basic keyboard functions (Shift, Caps lock, punctuation marks, etc.) and a text field where the user can see the given input without having to follow it from the editor field. The handwriting recognition comes in a simple box (as in the topmost figure).

If touch input has been launched from an editor, pressing any hardware character key closes the touch input. Touch input never starts up automatically (i.e., a change of view does not launch it), but the user has to launch it by tapping onto the editing field. Note that merely moving the focus onto an editing field with the hardware keys does not launch touch input.