VirtualKeyboard 3.5 Adds Automatic Layout Switching, Compatibility with Spaces

VirtualKeyboard, a CoralloSoftware-developed utility for Mac OS X, has reached version 3.5, which now offers support for languages with a non-Roman alphabet including Cyrillic and Eastern European languages, compatibility with Spaces, a Zoom button in the toolbar and more. A free trial version of the software is available.

Basically, VirtualKeyboard is aimed at disabled individuals. Nevertheless, the tool is used to teach small children to write (in a more dynamic way). VirtualKeyboard is also used to prepare folks for kiosk environments, developer CoralloSoftware notes. The software works with US and international keyboard layouts, it offers four, fully resizable, keyboard models (extended, standard, reduced and small) and provides an option that makes the keyboard transparent (0-90%) when you move the cursor away. The keyboard is also self-minimizing. This feature automatically reduces the keyboard size if it is not used for a pre-determined period of time.

To get uppercase characters, just like you would do with a real keyboard, you click Shift first. To type in all uppercase, you click Lock. The other qualifier keys work as expected, even outside of VirtualKeyboard, CoralloSoftware says.

A full list of VirtualKeyboard 3.5 new additions is available below.

- Adds support for languages with a non-Roman alphabet including Cyrillic and Eastern European languages.
- Adds automatic layout switching when the user changes the keyboard layout in the Mac OS X Input menu.
- Adds compatibility with Spaces.
- Adds Zoom button in the toolbar. This button can turn on and off the feature of screen magnification that is included in the "Universal Access" Preference Pane of Mac OS X.
- Improves the appearance and functions of the iconized keyboard.
- Adds the option to show Collapsebox.
- Adds the option to choose whether to keep the keyboard inside the screen'.
- Adds many GUI improvements and bug fixes.

To try out VirtualKeyboard for free, download the trial version from this page. The full version of the application costs $19.95 to buy. VirtualKeyboard 3.5 is a Universal Binary which natively supports Intel-based Macs. It runs on Mac OS X 10.3 or higher (PPC-based Macs), and on Mac OS X 10.4 or higher (Intel-based Macs). The app is Leopard compatible.