How To Access The Onscreen Keyboard In Windows XP

For performing a variety of tasks on the computer, people make use of hardware devices like keyboard and mouse. Due to the ease of use of keyboard shortcuts, people are more adaptable to the keyboard. A host of tasks that can be performed using a mouse can be done using the keyboard also. However, if your keyboard is not working or if your keyboard is broken, you are in for quite a trouble, as you may not be able to perform most of the tasks without the use of a keyboard. In the Windows XP operating system, there is a way in which you can access an onscreen keyboard, which would let you input keystrokes using the keyboard on the screen.

Instructions

• To get a hold of the On Screen keyboard, you need to click on the Start menu, choose All Programs, select Accessories, click on Accessibility, and choose the Onscreen Keyboard.
• The keyboard menu will be available and you can choose the type of keyboard that you want. You may choose the enhanced keyboard or the standard keyboard and then either the regular layout or block layout may be selected. You may also choose whether your onscreen keyboard should have 101, 102 or 106 keys.
• From the Settings menu, you can choose the preferences. The Always On Top is the application’s default setting. When each time a key is selected, you may choose to produce a click sound. Different choices like Hover to select, Click to select and Use joystick to select can be chosen. The amount of time for the hover or joystick options can be set. In the next menu, you can choose the font.
• Now you need to launch the program into which you would like to enter text. The text area of the program has to be selected. Now in order to familiarize with the on screen keyboard, you need to move over the keys in the on screen keyboard.
• In order to make all the letters in the keyboard in capitals, you need to click on the Shft key. If a mistake is made while you type, you can click the Bksp button or you can select the entire text and make use of the Del button to delete the selection. 

If you face any difficultly while using the on screen keyboard, you can contact Windows XP support team to resolve your problems. The Windows XP support team provides apt help for all issues concerning the operating system.

Tips For Checking Service Pack Version In Windows XP

The technology giant Microsoft has always made it a point to include user-friendly tools and interfaces whenever they launch newer versions of their Windows operating systems. Windows operating systems lets you download latest updates and different system utility files that ensure your computer’s long-term stability and performance. Windows accomplishes these updates through a special utility called Service Packs which is built-in to the operating system.
So what are service packs? It would suffice to know that these service packs are crucial for ensuring that your copy of Windows is up-to-date and can support the latest version of all software programs. If you don’t have the latest version of service pack installed, your system may not support many software programs and applications and also the system stability will be put to risk. Till date Microsoft has released three versions of service packs for Windows XP and so if you are using this operating system on your computer, you need to make sure that you have Service Pack 3.
Windows XP support can help with any issues with any of these three versions but first you will have to figure out which version you are using. So how can you know this? Here is how!
Checking Service Pack Version in Windows XP computer
Shortcut method through “Run” command
• Go to Start menu
• Click on Run. This will open the Run dialogue box.
• Type in “winver” in the type field box and hit Enter key or press “OK”.
• The “About Windows” window will appear showing the details of your Windows version. Here you can see the version of Service Pack clearly mentioned.
• Press “OK” to close this window.
Checking through Control Panel
• Go to Start menu and click on Control Panel.
• If the Control Panel is in “Category View”, click on "Performance and Maintenance". If it is “Classic View”, double-click on “System” icon.
• This will open the “System Properties” window.
• Click on “General” tab. Most probably, the General tab will be selected by default.
• Here you can see complete details regarding your Windows and the Service Pack version. If you are using Windows XP and Service Pack 3, it will be clearly mentioned there.
• To exit from System Properties windows, press “OK”.
To know more about service pack, visit Windows XP Support center online. The knowledge of the service pack version will be required for any service that you may seek from Microsoft on their products.