Windows 11 display and touchpad: how to activate, configure and troubleshoot

Windows 11, like the previous version of the system, has two keyboards for on-screen use: a touch keyboard and an on-screen keyboard, with the former updated with new features.

This tutorial details how to start the Windows 11 On-Screen and Touch Keyboard, configure touch keyboard settings, and resolve some potential issues—for example, turning off autostart at logon.

How to open the keyboard on the screen or on the touch screen

Before we talk about how to open on-screen keyboards in Windows 11, here's some of the differences between the two available keyboards:

Ways to start the Windows 11 touch keyboard

Now let's see how to boot these keyboards. First of all, how to start the touch screen keyboard:

1. From the taskbar: If you don't see the touch keyboard icon in the Windows 11 notification area, right-click the taskbar (use a long touch on the taskbar when using the touch screen). keyboard), select “Taskbar Options” and then turn on “Touch Keyboard” under “Taskbar Corner Icons”. Thus, an icon will appear at the bottom right of the screen to quickly launch the touch keyboard.
2. In settings – go to Windows 11 settings, go to “Personalization” – “Touch keyboard”, click “Open keyboard” at the bottom of the settings list.
3. you can press the keys Windows + R on your keyboard (or right-click the Start button and select Run), enter

   C:\program files\common files\microsoft shared\ink\tabtip.exe

   in the Run window and press Enter. This method only works if the keyboard has not been started before and has been hidden afterwards (ie, if the tabtip.exe process is in Task Manager, running the command will not bring up the keyboard on the screen).

4. The path specified in the previous paragraph can be used to create a touch keyboard shortcut in a convenient location, including the ability to pin it to the taskbar.

How to open the on-screen keyboard in Windows 11

To open the old version of the on-screen keyboard, you can use the following methods:

1. Press the key combination Ctrl + Windows + O (In latin).
2. Press the keys Windows + R on the keyboard, enter osk and press Enter.
3. Go to Settings, open “Special functions”, activate the option “On-screen keyboard”.
4. Go to Control Panel, open the “Special Features Center” and click “Enable On-Screen Keyboard”.
5. Start typing “On-Screen Keyboard” in taskbar search, open the desired result.
6. Open the Start menu, tap “All apps”, and you will find the “On-Screen Keyboard” item in the “Windows Special Features” folder.

Of course, it is also possible to run both keyboards by directly launching the executable files from their location.

Windows 11 Touch Keyboard Settings: Personalization, Design Themes, and More

Some touch screen keyboard settings are available by clicking the corresponding icon in the title bar:

Here you can change the keyboard appearance (the menu item is called "Keyboard Layout," but it's not about the writing language), turn on the handwriting panel, or go to other sections of the personalization, language, and typing settings in Windows 11 Preferences .

The Windows 11 touch keyboard supports a wide range of customization options. You can customize the appearance of the keyboard according to your needs by following the steps below:

1. Go to Settings (you can press Win+I) – Personalization – Touchpad. Another way to access the same settings section is to click on the settings icon in the upper left corner of the touch keyboard and select “Theme and resizing”.
2. In the settings section that opens, you can change the size, as well as select one of the touch keyboard layout themes, turn the background of the keys on or off, and change the size of the text on the keys.
3. If you select "Custom Theme" at the bottom of the theme list and then click "Change", you can set your own touch keyboard theme: the text color of keys and hints, the background color of keys and the degree of transparency of the keyboard, the color of the keyboard itself with the option to set an image as the background.
4. At the bottom of the touch keyboard customization settings page, you can click the “Keyboard input settings” item and change the spell check settings and some other input settings.

The on-screen (touch) keyboard starts by itself, how can I fix it?

The main problem with Windows 11 on-screen and touch keyboard is that it starts automatically even though there is no touch screen. This can happen for various reasons, one of the most common is the installation of applications with their own drivers, for example, to turn the tablet into a second monitor for a computer or laptop.

Ways to disable automatic launch of the on-screen keyboard and touch screen:

1. Go to Control Panel, open the “Special Features Center”, go to “Use the computer without a mouse or keyboard”, make sure the “Use the on-screen keyboard” box is unchecked.
2. If you have installed any apps that emulate additional monitors using a tablet or could theoretically install their own touchmonitor drivers, you can remove those apps and their drivers or, if they are present in autostart, remove them from there. How to disable the Windows 11 program autoloader.
3. If you never plan to use the touchpad in Windows 11, you can disable the associated service. press the keys Win + R on the keyboard, enter services.msc and press Enter. Find “Touchpad and Writing Pad Service”, double-click it, set it to “Disabled” in the “Startup type” field, apply the settings and restart your computer. There are hints on the internet that changing the boot type to "Automatic" can help too, oddly enough.

I hope that the information in the instructions was useful to some of the readers, well, if there are still any questions, ask them in the comments.