Call On-Screen Keyboard(OSK) using vb.net

Question

I am using this code below to call On-Screen Keyboard(OSK)

Process.Start("C:\Windows\System32\OSK.EXE")

but as you can see below I got an error. But if I manually open it, it's working fine.

And it is possible to call the OSK but only numeric display (0 - 9)

@Neolisk can't load my OSK.. And if it will load. It is possible to load the numeric only?. — KiRa, Mar 06 '17 at 02:22
I don't think it's possible to control what users can input via built-in methods like this. You can write your own keyboard. If you described your need in a bit more detail, people could possibly suggest more options. — Victor Zakharov, Mar 06 '17 at 02:24
@Neolisk I was also thinking to create a 10 buttons for #'s (0-9). I just included the question on my problem when calling the OSK like the picture above — KiRa, Mar 06 '17 at 02:39
There's a mention [here](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/8800212/calling-the-on-screen-keyboard-using-a-button-in-c-sharp?rq=1) that this doesn't work on Win 10...wonder if it's now locked out for others as well? — MrGadget, Mar 06 '17 at 05:23
There might be an alternate solution [here](http://stackoverflow.com/a/34692931/3992902) that you could convert. — MrGadget, Mar 06 '17 at 05:42
@MrGadget I hope it will work on `W.7`. I'll try that later I got some works to do :D — KiRa, Mar 06 '17 at 06:11
Did you try to go to the debug folder and run the program as administrator? — Mousa Alfhaily, Mar 06 '17 at 08:05

score 5 · Answer 1 · edited Sep 11 '17 at 11:55

Public Class Form1

    Declare Function Wow64DisableWow64FsRedirection Lib "kernel32" (ByRef oldvalue As Long) As Boolean
    Declare Function Wow64EnableWow64FsRedirection Lib "kernel32" (ByRef oldvalue As Long) As Boolean
    Private osk As String = "C:\Windows\System32\osk.exe"
    Private Sub Form1_Load(sender As System.Object, e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
        Dim old As Long
        If Environment.Is64BitOperatingSystem Then
            If Wow64DisableWow64FsRedirection(old) Then
                Process.Start(osk)
                Wow64EnableWow64FsRedirection(old)
            End If
        Else
            Process.Start(osk)
        End If
    End Sub
End Class

If you put an explanatory text along with your code, it will be more helpful for other users. — Leonardo Alves Machado, Sep 11 '17 at 11:18

score 3 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 05 '18 at 12:12

Declare Function Wow64DisableWow64FsRedirection Lib "kernel32" (ByRef oldvalue As Long) As Boolean
Declare Function Wow64EnableWow64FsRedirection Lib "kernel32" (ByRef oldvalue As Long) As Boolean
Private osk As String = "C:\Windows\System32\osk.exe"
Private pOSK As Process = Nothing

Public Sub Keyboard_Show()
    'An instance is running => Dan wordt pOSK het bestaande proces
    For Each pkiller As Process In Process.GetProcesses
        If String.Compare(pkiller.ProcessName, "osk", True) = 0 Then pOSK = pkiller
    Next

    'If no instance of OSK is running than create one depending on 32/64 bit
    For Each pkiller As Process In Process.GetProcesses
        If Not (String.Compare(pkiller.ProcessName, "osk", True) = 0) And (pOSK Is Nothing) Then

            Dim old As Long
            If Environment.Is64BitOperatingSystem Then
                '64 Bit
                If Wow64DisableWow64FsRedirection(old) Then
                    pOSK = Process.Start(osk)
                    Wow64EnableWow64FsRedirection(old)
                End If
            Else
                '32 Bit
                pOSK = Process.Start(osk)
            End If
            Exit For
        End If
    Next
End Sub

'-------------------------------------------------
'--- Hide On Screen Keypad mbv process threads ---
'--- 05-07-2018                                ---
'-------------------------------------------------
Public Sub Keyboard_Hide()
    For Each pkiller As Process In Process.GetProcesses
        If String.Compare(pkiller.ProcessName, "osk", True) = 0 And Not (pOSK Is Nothing) Then

            ' Terminate process
            pOSK.Kill()
            Exit For
        End If
    Next

    'Wait untill proces is really terminated
    For intStap As Integer = 1 To 10
        For Each pkiller As Process In Process.GetProcesses
            If String.Compare(pkiller.ProcessName, "osk", True) = 0 Then
                Thread.Sleep(1000)
            Else
                pOSK = Nothing
                Exit For
            End If
        Next
    Next intStap
End Sub

While this code may answer the question, providing information on how and why it solves the problem improves its long-term value. — L_J, Jul 05 '18 at 12:37

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered May 09 '18 at 07:11

Private oskProcess As Process

Private Sub openButton_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As 
                            System.EventArgs) Handles openButton.Click
 If Me.oskProcess Is Nothing Then
   If Me.oskProcess IsNot Nothing AndAlso Me.oskProcess.HasExited Then
            Me.oskProcess.Close()
   End If
        Me.oskProcess = Process.Start("osk")
 End If
End Sub

Call On-Screen Keyboard(OSK) using vb.net

3 Answers3