Text entry interface

A text entry interface or text entry device is an interface that is used to enter text information into an electronic device. A commonly used device is a mechanical computer keyboard. Most laptop computers have an integrated mechanical keyboard, and desktop computers are usually operated primarily using a keyboard and mouse. Devices such as smartphones and tablets mean that interfaces such as virtual keyboards and voice recognition are becoming more popular as text entry systems.

Background

With the increasing popularity of mobile electronic information management, there variety in text entry interfaces has developed considerably. Such interfaces are primarily used to communicate and record information and data.

Computer keyboard text entry

A computer keyboard is a series of electronic switches used to input data into a computer. Each button typically represents one character, but some symbols may only be accessible via a combination of buttons. The layout of the keyboard is like that of a traditional typewriter, although there are some additional keys provided for performing further functions. There are a number of different keyboard layouts available, QWERTY being the standard English-language keyboard layout. The standard English keyboard map is referred to as QWERTY, as the first six keys on the top row of letters are Q, W, E, R, T and Y. Other keyboards layouts include AZERTY and Dvorak. The AZERTY keyboard is a variation of the standard QWERTY keyboard adapted for French-language input. The AZERTY layout modifies the QWERTY layout to add functionality for inputting accented characters. The Dvorak keyboard is designed so that the middle row of keys includes the most common letters, with the goal of allowing greater efficiency and comfort while typing. The keyboard usually contains letters, numbers, punctuation, function and control keys, arrow keys, a keypad, and may include a wristpad.

Text box

A text box, text field or text entry box is a graphical control element intended to enable the user to input text information to be used by the program. Human Interface Guidelines recommend a single-line text box when only one line of input is required, and a multi-line text box only if more than one line of input may be required. Non-editable text boxes can serve the purpose of simply displaying text.

A typical text box is a rectangle of any size, possibly with a border that separates the text box from the rest of the interface. Text boxes may contain zero, one, or two scrollbars. Text boxes usually display a text cursor (commonly a blinking vertical line), indicating the current region of text being edited. It is common for the mouse cursor to change its shape when it hovers over a text box.