v8.1.25
OS: Windows 10
Touch panel: Advantech TPC1551WP-E3AE
(note: I wouldn't recommend this HMI for anything other than to someone who likes to drink a lot of coffee, as an HMI with an Atom processor with ~400 CPU passmarks, it's barely capable of launching Windows within the time it takes to drink 4 coffees - it's also super old now and probably isn't even available anymore)
(PS. We use Beckhoff HMIs now which have > 8000 passmarks)
I just wanted to document here some findings, as I have had issues recently and in the past with the OSK automatically displaying (and correctly) in Perspective Workstation on touchscreens without physical keyboards. All issues appear to stem from the OS.
Install all Windows updates, including optional ones (most notably any driver updates). I have found many issues with automatically displaying the OSK without updating Windows, even in Windows OS fields itself (e.g. start menu search).
Windows 10 LTSB has issues. This has been replaced by LTSC
This version, even with all updates, I found shows the OSK automatically but it automatically closes again after a second, making it useless.
The OSK doesn't automatically show at all in the Perspective Workstation launcher (e.g. when trying to add an application connection to launch a client). Opening the OSK manually does work and you are able to use it to input into fields as expected. I haven't found a solution to this yet
I'd be interested in others' notes on this as well with other OS' and other touch panels.
This is actually a bug i am tracking with JavaFX. There is an override prop (javafx.virtual.keyboard) in the workstation.json file to enable the javafx virtual keyboard if its needed on that system.
Sharing for Linux Users:
Linux Ubuntu 20.04, moving the unzipped 'perspectiveworkstation' folder to the user shared applications directory allows for the native OSK in Ubuntu from Perspective Workstation to function.
Download perspective workstation (tar.gz) file and unzip it in the downloads folder.
The /usr/local/share/applications folder does not exist by default in 20.04, so make the folder using terminal:
$ cd /usr/local/share
$ sudo mkdir applications
Open a terminal wherever the tar file was unzipped. Move the unzipped 'perspectiveworkstation' folder to /usr/local/share/applications
I change the property javafx.virtual.keyboard to true
i import the configuration
Then i restart workstation and launch a project but the keyboard doesn't appear when trying to enter a value.
When export again the settings config i see that the propertie javafx.virtual.keyboard is back to false.
It seems that at import the property is not override or is set back to false by the launcher.
I'm using the last version available of the workstation on a linux mint 21.1 Cinnamon
Have you any idea why that property is not working?
The launched Perspective Session uses Chromium, which uses the OS's settings for OSK. Typically this is through some accessibility settings to enable it.
The javafx.virtual.keyboard property applies only to the "configuration" side of the launchers due to a JavaFX bug. OSKs within the running session/browser are controlled by the OS.
Thanks for the response. I didn't understand like that.
The problem than that i have is that in most linux distribution i have tried (Linux mint, Ubuntu or kubuntu) the on screen keyboard doesn't appear when using workstation (When using firefox or chrome it's working without any problems).
I still have an issue, where a customer is using desktop hardware with a monitor and mouse but no keyboard. Windows 10 hates me and simply won't show the OSK at all when clicking on any input fields, whether it's P Workstation, Windows OS itself, browsers, anything............ I'm at my wit's end.
This is where an OSK from IA would help to get around these dumb circumstances.
I need to use Workstation to enable local fallback, but a keyboard is far more important to have than redundancy Without being able to login, it becomes an operational mountain.
But the fun didn't start here...
I am currently running Perspective in Chrome. Because the Windows OSK just doesn't display (a bit like how Bing just doesn't work - new company motto? Just doesn't do it™), I installed a Chrome OSK extension. This opens up when clicking on any input, including the login screen. However, it seems to only superficially write to Perspective input components, and the values never make it into the tags... So then I looked to downloading the OSK popup Views from the Exchange, and take control of the on click action of the P input components to instead open these Views instead (alphapad or numpad). So that's two custom solutions just to get OSK support for Perspective running in a browser... It was an incredibly frustrating journey and many hair-pulling hours trying to work out a combination that actually worked. I was 100% there but then the customer wanted to add local fallback clients and i'm back at square one with no way forward...
Windows 10 was fine, using the tablet mode. Windows 11, with the same group policies, do not work.
I want to move to using Windows' native kiosk mode, where the designated app runs in front of the lock screen. Everything works, except the OSK. So the entire effort is useless. IT apparently has an open issue with Microsoft.
Sounds like an on-machine or fixed-mount HMI? Vision is the answer, sorry. And Vision has some super on-screen configurable keyboard support now. You can tailor multiple different OSKs to different parts of your application.
If it is a critical, urgent requirement, I'd say not an overreaction at all.
I've occasionally purchased unfamiliar hardware for projects based on a sales team's assurances that it was fit for purpose, and had to eat the loss when some aspect of it was discovered to not be fit for purpose after all. How is this different?
I don't see why those would be a problem in Vision. I've done many.
Not sure what you mean by this, but Vision can do a lot of that, too.
As a work around, you could look at some of the Ignition Exchange options. There are several Perspective on-screen keyboard options that have been developed and made available there.
You may have missed my semi-rant above, but the exchange Views can't help you for logging in Otherwise these are perfect and I'm using these for the project itself.
I think it is this one?
I can't press enter without a keyboard though I assume that I'd have to do this after the keyboard is closed. I've tried pressing enter on the OSK itself, but no rice
Lots of custom props that are lists of objects or datasets. (I'm really just flailing trying to convince you that Vision would be harder to implement because Perspective is just so much easier to place components in and style them, and it's a lot less clunky (old) )
No promises, and certainly no timeline, but we're actually considering elevating the new Swing OSK to use in the launchers and Workstation as well. A lot of the pain with Workstation's OSK is the weird blend of JavaFX, OS OSK, JxBrowser, and the interop between all those different layers. Swing, meanwhile, is pretty rock-solid, and JxBrowser's Swing support seems a bit better tested as well.
- it's also super old now and probably isn't even available anymore)
Otherwise these are perfect and I'm using these for the project itself.
I assume that I'd have to do this after the keyboard is closed. I've tried pressing enter on the OSK itself, but no rice 
)