InputPanel Component

The .NET Compact Framework includes the InputPanel component. This component makes programmatic control of the soft input panel (SIP) available on Pocket PCs and other devices running Windows CE. A typical need for programming the SIP is to reposition or resize controls on the form when the SIP is enabled and disabled.

No programming is required to use the SIP; users can toggle its display by tapping the icon. To program the SIP, drag the InputPanel component from the ToolBox to your form.

You can show the SIP programmatically using the Enabled property, get its size with the Bounds property, and determine the size of the form area not occupied by the SIP with the VisibleDesktop property. Note that the Bounds property always returns a width of 240 and a height of 80 pixels for Pocket PCs, regardless of whether the SIP is enabled. The EnabledChanged event occurs whenever the SIP is enabled or disabled, either by the user or programmatically.

Note

A few Pocket PC devices return a height greater than 80 pixels for the SIP. Use the Bounds property to determine the height.

You can use the InputPanel.InputMethodCollection to obtain a collection of the input methods installed on the Pocket PC. These methods include the keyboard, letter recognizer, block recognizer, and any other input methods installed on the device.

See Also

Tasks

How to: Use the InputPanel Component

Other Resources

Pocket PC Development and the .NET Compact Framework

Change History

Date	History	Reason
May 2009	Added note about SIP height.	Content bug fix.