JP2002014760A - Virtual keyboard - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that the control needs to be put in focus on a virtual keyboard again when a target window is switched during the use of the virtual keyboard. SOLUTION: This virtual keyboard sends a character or character string to the target window where characters should be inputted and the target window is a window of another process; and a user's instruction for switching the target window is detected by the virtual keyboard, the window handle of a new target window is obtained in response, and control is so performed that the focus do not move to the new target window, thereby making it possible to switch the target window while the virtual keyboard is held active. Then the character or character string is sent in the new target window having been switched to.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a method for inputting characters such as a virtual keyboard in a window system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Since a process for inputting characters on a virtual keyboard or the like gains focus when activated, it can receive all key messages from a keyboard driver and button down messages on the virtual keyboard. Become. Then, when the character or character string is determined from the received message, the character string is transferred by a message to a process that was active until immediately before, that is, a target process. If characters continue to be input on the virtual keyboard, those character strings are sent to the target process in the same manner.

[0003]

However, during or after that, when the left mouse button is pressed to activate another process other than the virtual keyboard,
The focus is moved to the process pointed by the mouse cursor and the process is activated. On the other hand, the virtual keyboard loses focus and becomes inactive, so if you want to use the virtual keyboard in the newly gained process, you must regain focus on the virtual keyboard here.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a virtual keyboard for sending a character or character string to a target window to which a character is to be input, wherein the target window is a window of another process and switches the target window. The virtual keyboard detects the user's instruction, obtains the window handle of the new target window in response to the instruction, and controls the new target window so that the focus is not shifted to the new target window. The object of the present invention is to solve the above problem by allowing switching and sending characters or character strings to the new target window that has been switched.

[0005]

FIG. 2 shows the operation when a general application program is activated and its process becomes active. The application process receives the mouse left button down message indicating that the left mouse button has been pressed (step S1).
1) The own window handle is written in a predetermined area of the system shared memory (S11).
Also, when another window in the same process is pointed by the mouse, the message of the left mouse button down is received, so that the window handle of the window is written in a predetermined area. Therefore, by reading the window handle stored in the predetermined area, it is possible to know the window that has been focused immediately before.

In the window system, some application program process is running,
In the process, when a window in which a character string is to be input has focus, a virtual keyboard is activated by the user. FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing the operation of the virtual keyboard which is the character input support tool of the embodiment. This virtual keyboard is also one process, and when activated, gains focus and becomes active. On the other hand,
The window of the application that had the focus immediately before loses the focus, and the application process becomes inactive.

Therefore, when the virtual keyboard is started, first, a hook procedure for hooking a window system message is set (step S1). As a result, all messages sent to windows other than the window of the virtual keyboard itself can be intercepted. And the received message is
If the message is a mouse left button down message for a window of another process (S3; Yes), it is an instruction to switch windows by the user, so the message of mouse left button down is transferred to the corresponding window (S8). . The window receiving this message performs the operation shown in FIG. However, here, a message for shifting the focus to the window is not sent, so that the window is not activated.

If the received message is a character input message, character input is accepted on the virtual keyboard (S4), and Kana-Kanji conversion is performed according to the instruction to determine the character string (S5). When a user instructs input of a character string in an application window, such as pressing a predetermined button on a virtual keyboard,
The window handle of the target window to which the character string is to be sent is read from a predetermined area of the system shared memory (S6). Then, the determined character string is sent by a message to the window of the window handle (S7). If the user continues to input characters using the virtual keyboard, the process of the virtual keyboard determines the character string (S5), and transmits the character string to the target window every time there is an instruction (S7).

Finally, when the user instructs the termination of the virtual keyboard (S2; Yes), the hook procedure set first is reset (S9).
Return the focus to the target window that was in focus immediately before, and end your own process.

[0010]

According to the present invention, it is possible to switch the application window in which characters are to be input while the character input support tool is active, and to newly specify a character string determined by the character input support tool. You can send it to the window. Then, even when the application window is switched, it is not necessary to activate the character input support tool again, so that the character input processing can be performed efficiently without any trouble.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing an operation of an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A virtual keyboard for sending a character or a character string to a target window to which characters are to be input, wherein the target window is a window of another process, and the virtual keyboard detects a user's instruction to switch the target window. Correspondingly, obtains the window handle of the new target window and controls the new target window so as not to receive the focus, allowing the switching of the target window while the virtual keyboard is active,
A virtual keyboard, wherein characters or character strings are sent to a new target window that has been switched.