# The Ubuntu Forum Community > Other Discussion and Support > Assistive Technology & Accessibility >  on screen keyboard

## kerry_s

Hey all i found a small on screen keyboard that is just fantastic. I'm typing with it right now, it's great for those who just love using there mouse. I'm running mine with->
xkbd -geometry 400x150 -font sans-12

Grab it here-> http://packages.ubuntu.com/warty/x11/xkbd

I was surprised that it works on edgy, but it does.

----------


## frafu

I just installed it to give it a try and I get the keyboard in the upper/left corner of the screen; but it is not in a window, it lies simply on the desktop. 

Am I running the wrong window manager? 

I started it from the terminal. Should I start it differently? 

frafu

PS: I was not able to find it in the edgy repositories.

----------


## kerry_s

hmmm, it should be in a window. I put it on all my installs and there all in windows. What window manager are you using? Have you tried logging out and back in? Did you get any errors when you installed? You can move it with alt+left mouse click. Mine is working great, i haven't had to use the real keyboard yet. I even been fixing the looks a little. Here's a pic->

----------


## frafu

Hello,

I am using the window manager that was installed by default from ubuntu. (My windows look differently than yours.) 

Moreover, my celeronbox is headless, so I am using it remotely through vnc and through nx. But xkbd appears without windows both on vnc and nx. 

Maybe it is due to the forwarding, though I don't think it is the case, especially when using vnc. 

frafu

----------


## t0rtois3

> Hey all i found a small on screen keyboard that is just fantastic. I'm typing with it right now, it's great for those who just love using there mouse. I'm running mine with->
> xkbd -geometry 400x150 -font sans-12
> 
> Grab it here-> http://packages.ubuntu.com/warty/x11/xkbd
> 
> I was surprised that it works on edgy, but it does.


You might find a lot of subtle errors when using xkbd because of the way gtk works.  

Have you tried onboard?  It's installed by default on edgy.  Start it by clicking System->Preferences->Assistive technologies.

----------


## falkenheart

> You might find a lot of subtle errors when using xkbd because of the way gtk works.  
> 
> Have you tried onboard?  It's installed by default on edgy.  Start it by clicking System->Preferences->Assistive technologies.


Is there anyway to edit the layout/ colors of onboard?

----------


## frafu

Yes, there is a way to customise the layout. 

You might have a look at the following thread: 
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=400661


Have a nice day.

----------

