I want to add a keyboard to an activity in my app. I don't want the default Android keyboard, that pops up once the user clicks a text field and hides when the user clicks somewhere else. I want to make the keyboard static (it is accessible at any time and doesn't disappear) and identical on any device.
Essentially I would like the keyboard to function similarly as in this crossword puzzle app (Image) that I found.
The first solution that came to my head was to make the keyboard entirely by myself. Basically to add and hardcode every single button manually.
Is there a way to do this easier? Is there an available template?
(I am a total beginner in Android, so I might have missed even the most obvious solution)
Thanks.
EDIT: What I would like to achieve is not only that the keyboard stays open all the time, but also that I can easily control the size and position of the keyboard. I want it to cover a specific area of the screen.
You're going to need to make your own keyboard layout, but unless it needs to be a fully-featured keyboard, it won't be too difficult. Put it in its own layout XML, with corresponding IDs for each key.
You can then use <include> in the layouts where it needs to be included. In Java (or Kotlin), you can then make a "helper" class, which takes the root View of the current Activity/Fragment, finds the keys and sets up a listener framework for when a key is pressed.
As for keeping the device's keyboard hidden, check out the answers here.
