Touchscreen Support

(only for terminals with touchscreen, see feature matrix)

Contents

  1. Virtual Keyboard
    1. Interpreter- and Script Commands to control the virtual keyboard
    2. Connecting the virtual keyboard to an edit field on a display page
    3. Opening and controlling the virtual keyboard via script
  2. Shutdown Screen
  3. Touchscreen Gestures (external Link)

More info about touchscreen-related functions can be found here:

1. Virtual Keyboard (to replace a 'real' keyboard by the touchscreen)

The virtual keyboard can have different appearances ("views"), for example :

           

Some "keys" (fields) in the virtual keyboard window are used for special functions:

close window
toggle upper/lower case (like 'caps lock')
move window
switch to the next view
invoke the Setup menu
invoke the Shutdown menu to turn the device off
backspace (delete character, rest scrolls up)
enter (finish input)

Certain virtual keys (cursor keys and backspace) have an auto-repeat function:
Press and hold the key for a second or more to 'fire' the same keyboard event gain. The longer the key is pressed, the higher the repetition frequency. The virtual key flashes up for a few milliseconds whenever a 'repeated' key is sent into the keyboard buffer.

The virtual keyboard can alternatively be opened with the ENTER gesture.
This gesture (which looks a bit like the 'enter' key on a PC keyboard can replace the double-click with a rotary button, which may be missing in certain devices (since there are devices which don't have any 'real' key at all).

1.1 Interpreter- and Script Commands to control the Virtual Keyboard

Usually, the virtual keyboard can be opened by the operator with a double click of the rotary encoder button, or via gesture on the touchscreen.

But in certain cases it may be necessary to control the virtual keyboard from your display application, using these commands (since 03/2020, also available in the script language) :

See also: Overview of interpreter commands .

1.2 Connecting the virtual keyboard to an edit field on a display page

In some cases (especially for alphanumeric input), it helps to open the virtual keyboard automatically when the operator taps on an edit field in a programmable display page.
Here is an example from the demo application 'MV2_DEMO.CVT' (for MKT-View 2):


Alphanumeric edit field on a UPT display page before switching into 'edit'-mode

When the operator switches the field into 'edit' mode (for example, by tapping on it, or by selecting it with the rotary encoder button), the virtual keyboard opens (because of the option 'edit on Virtual Keyboard', details later) and the text from the normal edit field is transferred into the virtual keyboard's single-line editor:


Alphanumeric edit field on a UPT display page in 'edit'-mode,
with virtual keyboard's editor connected to that field.
Marked in red: Virtual "Enter" key to finish the input.

By connecting the edit field (in the programmed page) with the virtual keyboard, the editable text (or number) will always remain visible, even if the virtual keyboard completely obscures the edit field as in the screenshot shown above. The text in the headline of the virtual keyboard is copied from the UPT display definition; it indicates 'what' is currently being edited (especially helpful if there are more than one edit fields on the UPT display page). Placeholders like '*****' are not copied from the format string into the virtual keyboard; and only a few backslash sequences like \v (placeholder for the name of the edited variable) are supported here.
By default, the virtual keyboard will not pop up by itself. To achieve the effect described above, set the option 'Edit on Virtual Keyboard' in the display line properties of the programming tool:


Option in the display page definition to connect the field with the virtual keyboard automatically.
Note that a text display field becomes an 'edit field' by setting the 'Access' to Read/Write.

When opening the virtual keyboard this way, the system automatically selects the numeric or alphanumeric keyboard, depending on the data type of the edited variable.

1.3 Opening and controlling the virtual keyboard via script

In devices with firmware compiled 2020-03-16 or later, the virtual keyboard can also be controlled via script commands as explained in the documentation for the script language (e.g. command vkey.connect()). This requires the extended script functions to be unlocked.



Shutdown Screen

The shutdown screen is implemented in most devices with touchscreen (see feature matrix).
It can be used for the following functions:

The shutdown screen can be opened by pressing the power key (usually the same as F1) for a few seconds, or (for devices without a real keaboard) by painting the gesture "U" on the touchpanel. Friends of wireless telegraphy open the shutdown-window by entering "SK" (silent key, ...-.-) in Morse code, tapped via Touchscreen in the upper left corner of the active display area.