From: nospam@needed.invalid   
      
   On Mon, 12/22/2025 1:37 AM, Handsome Jack wrote:   
   > I was recently given a Surface Pro notebook, on which I have installed   
   > Linux Mint with XFCE. The touch screen didn't work at first (it had worked   
   > on Windows 10 and Zorin) and I had to install some extra stuff to get it   
   > working, as described at   
   > https://github.com/linux-surface/linux-surface/wiki/Installation-and-   
   > Setup#Debian--Ubuntu   
   >   
   > However I still can't get the soft keypad to pop up on the screen. Anyone   
   > know how?   
   >   
   >   
      
   You can see in this tiny graphic, that access hides in a menu, which means   
   selecting it with a knuckle. You can't press "F3" without having an OSK to do   
   it :-)   
      
      https://forum.manjaro.org/uploads/default/original/3X/c/4/c4f   
   a3178f30571c6228214071708e1727af3ea0.png   
      
   They mention "Onboard" and "qt6-virtualkeyboard" here   
      
      https://forum.manjaro.org/t/onboard-keyboard-still-doesnt-wor   
   -on-the-login-screen/163526   
      
         [General]   
          InputMethod=qtvirtualkeyboard   
      
          in /etc/sddm.conf   
      
   but these things seem to have a lot of gotchas, so the odds of getting   
   something like that working elsewhere are pretty low. The Onboard one   
   seems to crash at login time, as an example.   
      
   To make ideas like this more commonplace, requires a fleet of users   
   doing OSK on their tablet touch screens. That generates the momentum   
   to get it done. For example, I can't recommend anything for you by   
   testing it, as I have no touchscreens at all in the house.   
      
   *******   
      
   One place to look to for features on a computer, is "Assistive Technologies".   
   There are some legal requirements for things we buy, to have various features   
   so vision impaired people can use them. This is how some of our DE get   
   "magnifying glasses" in the interface. This is not happening because   
   "a magnifying glass is cool lets make one", it is a legal requirement   
   to help the visually impaired. This is also how we get things like   
   "giant cursor support".   
      
   Touch then, might be for people who lack the ability to work a keyboard   
   (either from a neurological point of view, or because they've lost   
   some digits). It suggests there should be packages, to put together   
   an Assistive Technologies capability. It should be more than just   
   a trivial hardware project.   
      
   This comes up occasionally, where you will see a lot of threads about   
   "yeah, that hardware doesn't support X". When the factor of the matter,   
   is every last blasted one of the hardware items in question, have the   
   feature in hardware. It was a legal requirement. They all have it.   
   Well, what happened then ? Nobody to put support in the driver. This   
   is why people would buy an item, and a thread would start "I can't   
   make my X work". The person to blame is the software dev at the   
   hardware company, who decided not to do it (when there was a   
   legal requirement to finish the work). On the other hand, the   
   hardware people recognized the compliance issue and did it.   
      
   *******   
      
   Now that the background is out of the way, we can use the AI to hunt for   
   nuggets.   
      
   CoPilot Question   
      
   XFCE support for virtual keyboard on a ten point touch screen (Surface Pro   
   notebook) in Linux.   
   What kinds of packages exist so at least an on-screen keyboard would work ?   
   OS is Linux Mint. Support works in Zorin (which might be Gnome), but   
   XFCE seems to have thinner support for things like this.   
      
   ********************** Begin CoPilot Answer *****************************   
      
   Here’s the short version: **XFCE *can* use on‑screen keyboards**,   
   but unlike GNOME (used by Zorin), it doesn’t have built‑in touch‑first   
   support.   
   You must install an external OSK package and configure XFCE to launch it   
   automatically when needed.   
      
   Below is a complete, practical guide to what works on Linux Mint XFCE, what   
   doesn’t, and what to install.   
      
   ---   
      
   # **On‑Screen Keyboard Options for XFCE (Linux Mint)**   
      
   XFCE doesn’t ship with its own virtual keyboard, but several mature OSKs   
   work well:   
      
   ## **1. Onboard (most common and best supported)**   
   **Package:** `onboard`   
   **Pros:**   
   - Actively maintained   
   - Works well with touchscreens   
   - Supports auto‑show on text fields (with tweaks)   
   - Configurable layouts, themes, docking   
   - Works in XFCE, Cinnamon, GNOME, MATE   
      
   **Install:**   
   ```bash   
   sudo apt install onboard   
   ```   
      
   **Notes:**   
   - XFCE won’t auto‑show it by default; you may need to add it to *Session   
   and Startup -> Application Autostart*.   
   - For lock screen support, XFCE Screensaver can launch it using the `-e` flag   
   (as referenced in search results).   
      
     https://askubuntu.com/questions/1353835/showing-on-screen-keyb   
   ard-in-lock-screen   
      
     [And remember that "onboard" can crash, in the login screen, as a field   
   report...]   
      
   ---   
      
   ## **2. Florence**   
   **Package:** `florence`   
   **Pros:**   
   - Lightweight   
   - Good for touch   
   - Auto‑show support via AT-SPI  [AT would be shorthand for Assistive   
   Technologies]   
   **Cons:**   
   - Less polished than Onboard   
      
   **Install:**   
   ```bash   
   sudo apt install florence   
   ```   
   ---   
      
   ## **3. Matchbox-keyboard**   
   **Package:** `matchbox-keyboard`   
   **Pros:**   
   - Very lightweight   
   - Good for embedded/tiny systems   
   **Cons:**   
   - Not ideal for 10‑point touch   
   - No auto‑show   
      
   **Install:**   
   ```bash   
   sudo apt install matchbox-keyboard   
   ```   
   ---   
      
   ## **4. Gnome On‑Screen Keyboard (Caribou)**   
   **Package:** `caribou`   
   **Pros:**   
   - Works well in GNOME (why Zorin works for you)   
   **Cons:**   
   - **Does not integrate well with XFCE**   
   - No auto‑show   
   - Often buggy outside GNOME   
      
   **Install (not recommended for XFCE):**   
   ```bash   
   sudo apt install caribou   
   ```   
   ---   
      
   # **Touchscreen Support in XFCE**   
      
   XFCE itself supports touch input (via Xorg or Wayland), but it lacks:   
      
   - Auto‑show OSK when tapping text fields   
   - Touch‑friendly window decorations   
   - GNOME‑style gesture support   
      
   This is why Zorin (GNOME) “just works” and XFCE requires manual setup.   
      
   ---   
      
   # **Recommended Setup for Surface Pro + XFCE**   
      
   ### Install Onboard   
   ```bash   
   sudo apt install onboard   
   ```   
   ### Enable AT-SPI accessibility (needed for auto‑show)   
   In Mint XFCE:   
   **Settings -> Accessibility -> Enable assistive technologies**   
      
   ### Add Onboard to autostart   
   **Settings -> Session and Startup -> Application Autostart -> Add ->   
   `onboard`**   
      
   ### Optional: Auto‑show on text fields   
   Run:   
   ```bash   
   onboard-settings   
   ```   
   Enable:   
   - *“Show when editing text”*   
   - *“Auto-hide when not needed”*   
      
   ### For lock screen   
   XFCE Screensaver can launch Onboard using:   
   ```   
   onboard -e   
   ```   
   (as referenced in search results).   
      
     https://askubuntu.com/questions/1353835/showing-on-screen-keyb   
   ard-in-lock-screen   
      
   ---   
      
   #  **Summary Table**   
      
   | OSK                   | Touch Support | Auto-Show         | XFCE   
   Compatibility | Notes                   |   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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