How to Enable the Onscreen Keyboard on a Mac

Last Updated: June 27, 2017

Typing with an onscreen keyboard can come in handy at times, whether you have a physical disability or perhaps just a broken keyboard. Using an onscreen or virtual keyboard allows you to select all the regular keyboard options with a mouse cursor or other input device. This article will help you activate the onscreen keyboard on a Mac.

Steps

1
Open your Mac's System Preferences. To do this, click the System Preferences icon in your Dock or Applications folder.
2
Select the Keyboard icon.
- If you're using an older version of the Mac software (Mountain Lion and earlier), it won't be called "Keyboard". Click on "Language & Text," instead.
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3
Click on the Input Sources tab.
4
Add a language/region option if needed. If you already have an appropriate keyboard option in the list (e.g. U.S. or British), then proceed to the next step. If you don't, click + and scroll through the list to select the language you want. Then click Add.
- Even keyboards from the same language but different regions can have different layouts, so make sure you're using the one you're familiar with.
5
Check the Show Input menu in menu bar option towards the bottom. It may be selected automatically or already, but if it isn't, check it.
6
Locate the Input icon on your Mac menu bar, towards the right-hand side. It may look like a keyboard/symbol icon or it may show the flag of the language you've selected. Click on it and select Show Keyboard Viewer to view the onscreen keyboard.
7
Use your cursor to select any of the onscreen keyboard keys just as you would on a regular keyboard. You can type with the virtual keyboard in any location on your screen: just click within the desired text box/area and then click on the virtual keyboard, one key at a time, to type.
- You can also move the virtual keyboard around as necessary to keep it out of the way. It will float on top of your other windows.

Community Q&A

Question

I am unable to type the password for enabling the desktop screen on my Mac Pro as water seems to have seeped into the keyboard. Can I somehow access the virtual keyboard?

Puffy2303

Community Answer

Unfortunately, there is no way to do this. The only way that I could think of was attaching a USB keyboard and then typing in the password, but that kind of defeats the purpose.