For administrators who manage Chrome browser or ChromeOS devices for a business or school.
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You can use virtual keyboard policies to allow your Chrome users' to input characters without the need for physical keys.
Just getting started? See Understand Chrome policy management.
Chrome virtual keyboard policies
The virtual keyboard policies available are:
- VirtualKeyboardEnabled—An accessibility policy. This is the primary virtual keyboard policy. You can turn on or off the virtual keyboard for user devices, both in laptop and tablet mode. If you select Allow the user to decide, the user can turn the keyboard on or off on their own device. For more details, see On-screen keyboard.
- TouchVirtualKeyboardEnabled—Associated with touchscreen devices and provides tablet mode users with a virtual keyboard.
This policy works best in one specific case: if you select Enable on-screen keyboard in both tablet and laptop modes, the user can use a virtual keyboard in tablet mode even if you have selected Disable on-screen keyboard for the VirtualKeyboardEnabled policy on the device.
The keyboard that is activated by the Touch policy also has a specific appearance: the number of keys is limited and they are bigger, which displays better for the tablet mode. For more details, see On-screen keyboard in tablet mode.
The differences between the policies are outlined in the following table. It describes the user experience given different policies settings. The table uses the following key:
- Tablet—ChromeOS device in tablet mode
- Laptop—ChromeOS device in laptop mode
- Full—Full virtual keyboard layout
- Compact—Compact virtual keyboard layout
Tablet on (full) means that, given the policies combination, the user sees a full virtual keyboard layout in tablet mode. Laptop off means they see no virtual keyboard in laptop mode.
| Disable on-screen keyboard | Allow the user to decide(1) | Enable on-screen keyboard | |
| Don't enable on-screen keyboard in tablet mode |
Tablet off Laptop off |
Tablet off(2) Laptop off(2) |
Tablet on (full) Laptop on (full) |
| Enable on-screen keyboard in tablet mode |
Tablet on (compact) Laptop off |
Tablet on (compact)(2) Laptop off(2) |
Tablet on (full) Laptop on (full) |
| Enable on-screen keyboard in both tablet and laptop modes |
Tablet on (full) Laptop on (full) |
Tablet on (compact)(2) Laptop on (compact)(2) |
Tablet on (full) Laptop on (full) |
- When you select Allow the user to decide for the VirtualKeyboardEnabled policy, the user can change the setting for their device in Chrome OS Settings
Advanced
This user device setting takes precedence over the TouchVirtualKeyboardEnabled policy value. When you select Enable on-screen keyboard or Disable on-screen keyboard, the settings toggle, that the user can change, is disabled. For more details, see Use the on-screen keyboard. - The results in the table correspond to the user device setting, Enable on-screen keyboard, being turned off. When the setting is on, a full virtual keyboard is displayed.