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OnBoard keyboard Auto-Show NOT Happening

2026-01-11
2026-01-13
  • Thomas Ranz

    Thomas Ranz - 2026-01-11

    Hi:
    I just installed the latest Peppermint OS version that was labeled "PeppermintOS-Debian-64_loaded". The install went well, but I wanted an on-screen keyboard that would start when putting focus into a text field. Now I am using "OnBoard" and so far even though it works well overall it does not auto-show when needing to type into a text field. In OnBoard-Settings I selected "Auto-show when editing text" on both the General and Auto-Show tab. I am hoping for suggestions to remedy this problem.
    Thanks!
    Tom

     
  • Peppermint OS

    Peppermint OS - 2026-01-12

    Since you are using XFCE the issue could be that the "accessibility bridge" (AT-SPI) isn't communicating between your applications and Onboard. XFCE doesn't always enable these "smart" features by default like GNOME or KDE would.
    You could try

    Open your Terminal.

    1. Run this command to make sure the necessary bridge is installed:
      sudo apt update && sudo apt install at-spi2-core
    2. Go to Settings > Accessibility (or run xfce4-accessibility-settings).
    3. Look for a tab labeled "Assistive Technologies".
    4. Check the box for "Enable assistive technologies".
    5. Important: You must Log Out and Log Back In for this to take effect.

    This is a link to the package info
    https://packages.debian.org/stable/at-spi2-core

     
  • Thomas Ranz

    Thomas Ranz - 2026-01-13

    Thanks for the reply--- tried all that at-spi2-core stuff, never worked.
    I did find a solution... I installed the gdm3: (GNOME Window Manager)
    sudo apt-get install gdm3
    sudo dpkg-reconfigure gdm3

    gdm3 seems to work great with Peppermint and the gdm3 window manager has its own on-screen keyboard at login eliminating all the issues with the at-spi2-core functionality needed there.
    My System is the updated PeppermintOS-Debian-64_loaded ISO.

     
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