elementary OS on-screen keyboard and sticky keys for accessibility

For accessibility, elementary OS’s On-Screen Keyboard provides a software keyboard that can be clicked or touched instead of relying entirely on physical keys. Sticky Keys changes how modifier keys such as Shift, Control, Alt and Super behave. Used separately or together, these tools can make typing easier for people with limited mobility, tremors, pain, a touch-only device, or a keyboard with troublesome keys.

Neither tool replaces the other. The on-screen keyboard supplies keys when the physical keyboard cannot, while Sticky Keys lets a modifier be activated separately from the next key. Labels depend on the elementary OS release: open Settings and look under Universal Access or Accessibility, then Typing. Recent builds call the first tool Screen Keyboard and group the modifier options under Typing Assist.

Enabling the on-screen keyboard

Open Settings from the dock or applications menu, select Universal Access in older elementary OS releases or Accessibility in newer ones, and choose Typing. Turn on Screen Keyboard. A floating keyboard should appear immediately. If it opens behind another window, use the top-panel accessibility indicator if your release provides one, or reopen Settings rather than assuming the feature has failed.

Try the keyboard in an ordinary text field, not a password box. Click the letters, numbers and punctuation you normally use, then test Backspace, Enter, Tab and the arrow keys. Check Shift and Control with a capital letter and a simple shortcut such as Control+C. A visible key that never produces a character usually means the chosen input layout or a modifier state needs attention.

Choose the input source under Settings, then Keyboard, then Layouts, and add Australian if it is not already present. Make sure the source used by the session matches your physical keyboard. The on-screen keyboard may follow the active layout, so switching to United States can move symbols such as @ and #. Test those symbols before relying on the keyboard for everyday communication.

Typing with the on-screen keyboard

Clicking a key sends it to the focused application, just as a physical key would. For capitals, hold or press Shift and then choose the letter, depending on the keyboard’s behaviour. If Shift stays highlighted, release it before continuing. The same rule applies to Control, Alt and Super, which are useful when the user cannot comfortably hold two keys at once.

Pressing Control before C should copy selected text, while Control before V should paste it. If that shortcut is difficult on a touchscreen, use the on-screen Control key once, select the next key and check whether the modifier clears automatically. A second press may latch it for another action, so watch the key’s highlighted state rather than repeatedly tapping every command.

Tab moves focus, Enter activates the current control, and Escape closes many dialogs. Arrow keys can move through menus and text, while the on-screen Backspace key removes the previous character. Move or resize the floating keyboard if the window manager permits it, then place it where it does not cover the text field. Full-screen magnification may be needed on a small display.

Setting up sticky keys

Return to Settings, select Universal Access or Accessibility, choose Typing, and open Typing Assist. Some older builds list Sticky Keys directly in the Typing panel instead. Enable it. Its basic behaviour is deliberately simple: one press of a modifier prepares it for the next key, while a second press can lock that modifier for several commands. The exact double-press rule can vary slightly by elementary OS version, so test it before saving important work.

For example, press Control once and then C to copy without holding both keys. For a longer sequence, double-press Control, use the needed commands and press Control again to release the lock. Shift works in the same way, making a capital letter or a selected range possible with one hand. These patterns can reduce strain for users with arthritis, tremors or limited reach.

Sticky Keys is not the same as Slow Keys. Slow Keys requires a key to be held briefly before it produces a character, which can reduce accidental repetitions but makes fast typing slower. Enable it only if repeated characters are a genuine problem, and check its interaction with the on-screen keyboard. A modifier that seems impossible to release is usually a latched or locked state, not a hardware failure.

Combining the two accessibility tools

Because the on-screen keyboard has its own modifier buttons, it is worth choosing one clear method for each task. A user may use the on-screen Control key for a single shortcut and physical Sticky Keys for several physical shortcuts. Mixing both methods can leave a modifier apparently active on one route while the other route treats it as released.

A reliable workflow is to choose the destination field, set any required modifier once, enter the next key and check the result before proceeding. If a capital or shortcut does not occur, clear the modifier and try the opposite route. When a command affects several items, a locked modifier may reduce effort, but keep it brief so the next typed sentence is not unexpectedly capitalised or altered.

Do not hold Alt while using Super+Space to change input source; that shortcut already uses a modifier, and a latched Alt can change the result. Change layouts from the input-source menu when Sticky Keys is active. Likewise, do not assume a highlighted on-screen Control key means the physical Control key is latched, and do not assume either one indicates the state of the other.

Australian layouts and daily use

Australian Standard QWERTY deserves particular attention because it differs from the United States layout. A full Australian keyboard commonly has an extra key beside the left Shift and places some symbols differently. On the usual Australian layout, Alt+2 produces @, while a US layout normally uses Shift+2. If the on-screen and physical keyboards disagree, select Australian as the active source in both the session and Screen Keyboard controls.

The same issue appears in shared offices and community workspaces in Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney and regional towns, where a borrowed compact keyboard may use US or ISO geometry. Australian users often shorten the tool’s name to OSK, and a report that “Sticky Keys is catching Shift” usually identifies a latched modifier rather than a damaged keyboard. Mentioning the exact layout makes community advice much more useful.

The Australian PC market remains heavily Windows-centred, while Chromebooks are common in schools and many small businesses. Some people therefore run elementary OS on a second device, an older computer or a dual-boot system while retaining Windows or ChromeOS at work. Keep a small note of the different layout and shortcut conventions during that transition, especially the locations of @, #, Alt and the Super key.

Troubleshooting and recovery

If Screen Keyboard does not appear, revisit the Typing panel and confirm the switch is on. Close any duplicate keyboard window, check the active input source and try reopening Settings. A display scale set very high can leave the keyboard partly outside the visible area. Test a physical key in the same text field; if that fails too, focus on input-source and keyboard-layout settings before reinstalling anything.

If modifiers stay active, disable Sticky Keys temporarily and release every physical Shift, Control, Alt and Super key. Re-enable the option and test with one modifier at a time. Check the selected input source as well, since changing layouts can alter punctuation. On the on-screen keyboard, tapping a highlighted modifier is usually enough to clear it.

The same maintenance principle applies to physical equipment: this cobot maintenance schedule shows how a new collaborative robot installation can be given regular, repeatable checks. For an elementary OS setup, write a short recovery checklist covering the keyboard layout, the Sticky Keys mode and the fallback method. Include how to open Settings without a physical keyboard if the on-screen panel is unavailable in a secure entry field.

Keeping the setup tested

Test the arrangement after each elementary OS update because accessibility labels and panel positions can move. Include your normal email address, a note containing @ and #, and any editing shortcut you depend on. Test password handling separately, because some secure fields may reject virtual keyboards. Remember that Screen Keyboard normally appears inside the logged-in desktop; it may not be available on the login screen, where the display manager controls keyboard input.

Keep the recovery checklist on another device or in a printed note. Record the selected Australian layout, whether Sticky Keys latches or locks, and how to turn both options off. If the physical keyboard fails during a session, a known route to Settings and a way to distinguish a locked modifier from a layout mismatch prevents a small problem from becoming a lockout.

Shared family and workplace devices should be returned with the original modifier state rather than left in an altered mode. A quick check before passing the device on confirms that letters are lowercase, the correct input source is selected and no Shift or Control key remains active. This habit is especially valuable on loan laptops used at community meetings and Australian co-working spaces.

The next practical step is to open Settings and enable Screen Keyboard.