Build Software Keyboard with Jetpack Compose - IME Input Method with Jetpack Compose

Question

Building a simple keyboard is fairly simple and straightforward in Jetpack Compose.

EDIT: Working example: https://github.com/THEAccess/compose-keyboard-ime

I built a really simple KeyRow by using this:

Key.kt

@Composable
fun Key(modifier: Modifier = Modifier, label: String, onClick: () -> Unit) {
    val shape = RoundedCornerShape(4.dp)
    //TODO: make clickable outside but don't show ripple
    Box(modifier = modifier
            .padding(2.dp)
            .clip(shape)
            .clickable(onClick = onClick)
            .background(Color.White)
            .padding(vertical = 12.dp, horizontal = 4.dp), contentAlignment = Alignment.Center) {
        Text(text = label, fontSize = 20.sp)
    }
}

KeyRow.kt

@Composable
fun KeyRow(keys: List<String>) {
    Row(modifier = Modifier.fillMaxWidth().background(color = grey200)) {
        keys.forEach {
            Key(modifier = Modifier.weight(1f), label = it, onClick = {  })
        }
    }
}

That's what it looks like:

I want to achieve this animation:

However, I'm currently stuck with this

![4]

Hierachy

-Keyboard
--KeyRow
---KeyLayout
----Key
----KeyPressedOverlay (only visible when pressed)

My main problem is that I don't know how to show the KeyPressedOverlay Composale (which is larger than the Key Composable) without making the parent Layout larger. As a result, I need to overflow the parent layout in some way.

Could you post the source code for this? I can't find a single example of building a keyboard using compose. — dessalines
– dessalines, Commented Mar 7, 2023 at 15:12
There's a PR over to get it working on current versions of compose. — dessalines
– dessalines, Commented Mar 20, 2023 at 23:13

nglauber · Accepted Answer · 2022-04-26 15:16:35Z

6

+50

Not sure if it's the best way (probably not), but I found a solution using ConstraintLayout...

val keys = listOf("A", "B", "C", "D")
ConstraintLayout(
    modifier = Modifier.graphicsLayer(clip = false)
) {
    val refs = keys.map { createRef() }
    refs.forEachIndexed { index, ref ->
        val modifier = when (index) {
            0 -> Modifier.constrainAs(ref) {
                start.linkTo(parent.start)
            }
            refs.lastIndex -> Modifier.constrainAs(ref) {
                start.linkTo(refs[index - 1].end)
                end.linkTo(parent.end)
            }
            else -> Modifier.constrainAs(ref) {
                start.linkTo(refs[index - 1].end)
                end.linkTo(refs[index + 1].start)
            }
        }
        val modifierPressed = Modifier.constrainAs(createRef()) {
            start.linkTo(ref.start)
            end.linkTo(ref.end)
            bottom.linkTo(ref.bottom)
        }
        KeyboardKey(
            keyboardKey = keys[index],
            modifier = modifier,
            modifierPressed = modifierPressed,
            pressed = { s -> /* Do something with the key */}
        )
    }
}

One important detail here is graphicLayer(clip = false) (which is similar to the clipChildren in View Toolkit). Then, I'm creating a modifier to each key and to the pressed key. Noticed that the modifierPressed is aligned to the center/bottom of the other modifier. Finally the KeyboardKey is described below.

@Composable
fun KeyboardKey(
    keyboardKey: String,
    modifier: Modifier,
    modifierPressed: Modifier,
    pressed: (String) -> Unit
) {
    var isKeyPressed by remember { mutableStateOf(false) }
    Text(keyboardKey, Modifier
        .then(modifier)
        .pointerInput(Unit) {
            detectTapGestures(onPress = {
                isKeyPressed = true
                val success = tryAwaitRelease()
                if (success) {
                    isKeyPressed = false
                    pressed(keyboardKey)
                } else {
                    isKeyPressed = false
                }
            })
        }
        .background(Color.White)
        .padding(
            start = 12.dp,
            end = 12.dp,
            top = 16.dp,
            bottom = 16.dp
        ),
        color = Color.Black
    )
    if (isKeyPressed) {
        Text(
            keyboardKey, Modifier
                .then(modifierPressed)
                .background(Color.White)
                .padding(
                    start = 16.dp,
                    end = 16.dp,
                    top = 16.dp,
                    bottom = 48.dp
                ),
            color = Color.Black
        )
    }
}

This is the result I got:

Edit: Adding some more logic, I was able to get this...

I hope it helps this time ;) Here's the gist just in case... https://gist.github.com/nglauber/4cb1573efba9024c008ea71f3320b4d8

edited Apr 26, 2022 at 15:16

answered Jan 8, 2021 at 18:48

nglauber

24.6k7 gold badges86 silver badges82 bronze badges

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5 Comments

Yannick Over a year ago

Thank you for your anwser! Great idea to use a flat layout hierachy. Little hacky but it works :)

Yannick Over a year ago

Is there a way to achieve this with custom layouts? ConstraintLayout can get very slow in complex situations

Yannick Over a year ago

I was able to achieve the "overlapping" behavior without needing to use complex constraints (In my case it was getting so slow so I couldn't use it) using a simple custom layout that has a fixed height gist.github.com/THEAccess/b71e17d58d830ed6deaed7066a929576

Yannick Over a year ago

The only problem is that is expands below and not above

Yannick Over a year ago

I have a complete app so you can see what I mean here github.com/THEAccess/compose-keyboard-ime/blob/master/app/src/… and a gif imgur.com/a/GGL2ziI maybe you know how to solve this little problem

nglauber · Accepted Answer · 2021-01-08 13:32:22Z

3

I guess you're looking for the pressIndicatorGestureFilter modifier... I tried this and worked for me...

var pressed by remember { mutableStateOf(false) }
val padding = if (pressed) 32.dp else 16.dp
Text("A", Modifier
    .pressIndicatorGestureFilter(
        onStart = {
            pressed = true
        },
        onStop = {
            pressed = false
        },
        onCancel = {
            pressed = false
        }
    )
    .background(Color.White)
    .padding(start = 16.dp, end = 16.dp, top = padding, bottom = padding)
)

answered Jan 8, 2021 at 13:32

nglauber

24.6k7 gold badges86 silver badges82 bronze badges

1 Comment

Yannick Over a year ago

Thank you for your answer. I have archieved the clicking behavior with interactionState. I have updated my question to be more clear about my particular problem

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