Are you the ones that wonder: How do I get a virtual keyboard on my Raspberry Pi based PLC? Does my Raspberry PLC have a virtual keyboard? How can I control my industrial Raspberry Pi PLC controller or Panel PC without a physical keyboard?

If your industrial Raspberry PLC controller has an operating system with a desktop, and you have a Panel PC without a virtual keyboard yet, you dropped in the right place!

In this blog post, we will see the top 3 virtual keyboards and how to install them, so that you can control your device with no need for a physical keyboard with your favourite virtual keyboard.

A virtual keyboard is software that is used to emulate a standard keyboard. So, if you have a touchscreen, you will be able to simulate a real keyboard only by pressing the keys. So, if your Raspberry Pi industrial PLC has an operating system with a desktop, but you do not have a real keyboard, you will be able to click on the keys in order to simulate a real keyboard.

1. Onboard

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The first virtual or onboard keyboard is the Onboard keyboard. Follow these steps in order to install it:

sudo apt update 
sudo apt install onboard

If you go to the Menu > Universal Access, you will be able to see the Onboard keyboard. Click on it and start exploring the multiple possible configurations like show/hide options, desktop integration, layouts, themes, key-press behaviour, typing assistance, and more.

Although this one has fewer configurations than the onboard keyboard, it also has a floating icon, and it can work properly as a physical keyboard with many styles, windows, behaviour and layout to choose from.

Install it on your open source PLC Raspberry Pi by running these two commands:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install florence -y

3. Matchbox

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This keyboard is a full-width simple onboard keyboard. Right-click on the top bar for more options. Install it by running:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install matchbox-keyboard