How to use the on-screen keyboard on Windows 11

2 min read · 6 steps · Updated 2 October 2026

Short answer

Press Windows + Ctrl + O to open the on-screen keyboard, and the same keys to close it. You can also switch it on under Settings, Accessibility, Keyboard. Click the keys with the mouse or tap them on a touch screen.

The on-screen keyboard is a full keyboard in a window. It helps when a key or the whole keyboard has stopped working, when you need a key your keyboard does not have, or when typing with a pointer is easier for you than pressing keys.

These steps are for Windows 11. The pictures are simplified diagrams, not screenshots.

Step by step

  1. Windows+Ctrl+OOpen or close the on-screen keyboard

    Open it with the shortcut

    Press the Windows key together with Ctrl and O. This works at any time, also when another window is in the foreground.

  2. Or open it from Settings

    Press Windows + U, click Keyboard and switch on On-screen keyboard.

  3. If no key works at all

    Click Start with the mouse, open Settings, Accessibility, Keyboard and switch it on there. On the sign-in screen, click the Accessibility icon at the bottom right and choose On-screen keyboard.

  4. Type

    Click a key to type it. For combinations such as Ctrl + C, click Ctrl first and then C. Modifier keys stay pressed until the next key.

  5. Change the layout

    Click Options on the keyboard to switch the number pad on, turn on click sounds, or type by hovering over keys instead of clicking.

  6. Use Sticky keys with a real keyboard

    If pressing two keys at once is the difficulty, switch on Sticky keys on the same Settings page. You then press shortcuts one key after the other.

Good to know

The touch keyboard is a different thing: a larger keyboard for tablets that appears when you tap a text field. Its icon can be shown on the taskbar under Settings, Personalization, Taskbar.

Mouse keys, under Accessibility, Mouse, do the reverse: they let you move the pointer with the number pad when the mouse has failed.

For a keyboard or mouse that has stopped: Windows 11 keyboard or mouse not working: 7 fixes to try.

Typing by voice is another way round a broken keyboard: how to use voice typing on Windows 11.

In short: Windows + Ctrl + O, or Settings, Accessibility, Keyboard, On-screen keyboard. Options for number pad and hover typing. Sticky keys for shortcuts.

Sources
  • Microsoft Support: Make your mouse, keyboard, and other input devices easier to use

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