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androidandroid-softkeyboardkeystroke

Android: How to record keystroke?

I want to make a smart keyboard that can learn and save new words from user. I already made note and keyboard separately, the problem is :

  1. how to read all keystrokes and write it to my note in background?

  2. how to save my note automatically?

thanks for your help

Solution

  • Keep a String or StringBuilder that stores all the text that the user types. All text sent through your soft keyboard will have to pass through the onKey method.

    So, I'd do something like this: 1) In onKey, check to make sure primaryCode (the keycode that was pressed) is a letter/number/apostrophe using the corresponding functions. So, something like

    Character.isDefined(primaryCode)

    2) Concatenate primaryCode onto the end of your StringBuilder/String.

    You'll also have to deal with the user moving the cursor/backspacing. In my keyboard, I only store the most recent two words (resetting this whenever the user moves the cursor). That way, the keyboard can learn what the most likely word is given the last word.

    You can save your "note" using an ObjectOutputStream or (if it's fairly small) using sharedPreferences.

    Send me an email if you run into an more issues: I've been writing a soft keyboard for a while so I'm pretty familiar with it.