Use your Pixel Tablet's on-screen keyboard to type and insert emoji. You can also change your keyboard preferences to change how the keyboard looks and works.
Note: Some features aren’t available in all countries or languages.
Important: Some of these steps work only on Android 14 and up. Learn how to update your Android version.
Open and change on-screen keyboard settings
Open or close the on-screen keyboard
- To open the on-screen keyboard, tap any text box on the screen.
- To hide the on-screen keyboard, tap the down arrow near the space bar.
To open the keyboard automatically when you swipe up on your home screen:
- Open your device's Settings app .
- Tap Hub Mode At a glance Search your tablet.
- Turn on Always show keyboard.
Use the split on-screen keyboard
You can use a split on-screen keyboard to make it easier to type when holding your tablet.
- Open your device's on-screen keyboard.
- To turn on the split keyboard, tap the Split keyboard icon. It looks like a keyboard with an empty space in the middle.
- To turn off the split keyboard, tap the Default keyboard icon. It looks like a keyboard.
Use a smaller on-screen keyboard
You can make your keyboard size smaller so that it resembles your phone's keyboard.
- Open your device's on-screen keyboard.
- To make your on-screen keyboard smaller, tap the Floating keyboard icon. It looks like a keyboard with a line under it.
- To restore the keyboard to its default size, tap the Floating keyboard icon again.
Change the on-screen keyboard theme
- At the top of the keyboard, in the suggestions bar, tap Settings .
- Tap Theme select a theme.
- Tap Apply.
Add or remove an input language
- At the top of the keyboard, in the suggestions bar, tap Settings .
- To add a language, tap Languages Add keyboard.
- To remove a language, tap Edit select a language tap Delete .
Type with capital letters, emoji, symbols, or accents
When your on-screen keyboard is open, you can change how words appear when you tap the keys.
Turn Caps Lock on or off
Insert emoji or other images
If your on-screen keyboard doesn't have an emoji button:
- At the top of the keyboard, in the suggestions bar, tap Settings .
- Tap Emojis, Stickers & GIFs.
- Tap a setting to turn it on or off:
- To turn the emoji button on or off, tap Emojis in symbols keyboard.
- To add a fast access emoji row, tap Emoji fast-access row.
- Tap other settings to turn them on or off.
To add emojis to your documents, emails, or chat sessions:
- Open your device's on-screen keyboard.
- Tap Emoji the emoji or graphic you want to insert.
Tip: If the emoji button doesn't appear on the on-screen keyboard after you enable it, restart your tablet and try again.
Insert a symbol
- Open your device's on-screen keyboard.
- Tap ?123 =\< the symbol you want to insert.
Note: Not all keyboards support accented letters. To switch to or add a keyboard in a different language, find the settings row above your keyboard tap Settings Languages .
Open and change physical keyboard settings
If you have a compatible physical keyboard, you can connect it to your Pixel Tablet and change its settings.
- Open your device's Settings app .
- Tap System Keyboard Physical keyboard.
- Under "Physical keyboard":
- Change the physical keyboard layout: Choose your current physical keyboard choose the language for which you want to change the layout choose a layout.
- Under "Options":
- Use on-screen keyboard: Turn this on if you want to keep your virtual keyboard on the tablet's screen when the physical keyboard is active.
- Keyboard shortcuts: Tap to display a list of useful keyboard shortcuts.
- Modifier keys: Tap this setting to change the behavior of physical keyboard keys like Caps lock, Ctrl, and Alt.
Note: When you connect a keyboard to your Pixel Tablet for the first time, your physical keyboard settings are updated to include the languages enabled for your on-screen keyboard. If your physical keyboard has a specific layout, it's detected when the keyboard is connected to your Pixel Tablet.
Troubleshoot issues
- If the on-screen keyboard won't appear, make sure you select a valid text entry field. You can test fields on different menus, apps, or websites.
- If you use voice typing but no words show up, check that your microphone isn't being used by other open programs.
- If you have an external microphone, make sure it's plugged in securely, isn't muted, and has up-to-date software.