DownloadBook a demo

How to Show the Soft Keyboard When EditText is Focused in Android

Updated 5/22/2024

Automatically displaying the soft keyboard when an EditText is focused can enhance user experience significantly. This guide will walk you through the steps to achieve this in your Android application.

Displaying the Soft Keyboard

To force the soft keyboard to appear when an EditText is focused, you can use the following approach:

EditText yourEditText = findViewById(R.id.yourEditText);
yourEditText.requestFocus();
InputMethodManager imm = (InputMethodManager) getSystemService(Context.INPUT_METHOD_SERVICE);
imm.showSoftInput(yourEditText, InputMethodManager.SHOW_IMPLICIT);

Hiding the Soft Keyboard

To hide the keyboard when the focus is no longer needed, you can use:

InputMethodManager imm = (InputMethodManager) getSystemService(Context.INPUT_METHOD_SERVICE);
imm.hideSoftInputFromWindow(yourEditText.getWindowToken(), 0);

Handling Focus Changes

In some cases, you might want to handle focus changes dynamically. The following code snippet shows how to display or hide the keyboard based on the EditText focus state:

yourEditText.setOnFocusChangeListener(new View.OnFocusChangeListener() {
    @Override
    public void onFocusChange(View v, boolean hasFocus) {
        InputMethodManager imm = (InputMethodManager) getSystemService(Context.INPUT_METHOD_SERVICE);
        if (hasFocus) {
            imm.showSoftInput(v, InputMethodManager.SHOW_IMPLICIT);
        } else {
            imm.hideSoftInputFromWindow(v.getWindowToken(), 0);
        }
    }
});

Using Window Soft Input Mode

Another reliable method for controlling the keyboard visibility is to set the soft input mode for the window:

getWindow().setSoftInputMode(WindowManager.LayoutParams.SOFT_INPUT_STATE_VISIBLE);

To hide the keyboard:

getWindow().setSoftInputMode(WindowManager.LayoutParams.SOFT_INPUT_STATE_HIDDEN);

Practical Example

Here is a complete example demonstrating how to show and hide the soft keyboard with the EditText focus state:

public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity {
    private EditText yourEditText;

@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
    setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);


    yourEditText = findViewById(R.id.yourEditText);
    yourEditText.requestFocus();


    InputMethodManager imm = (InputMethodManager) getSystemService(Context.INPUT_METHOD_SERVICE);
    imm.showSoftInput(yourEditText, InputMethodManager.SHOW_IMPLICIT);


    yourEditText.setOnFocusChangeListener(new View.OnFocusChangeListener() {
        @Override
        public void onFocusChange(View v, boolean hasFocus) {
            if (!hasFocus) {
                imm.hideSoftInputFromWindow(v.getWindowToken(), 0);
            }
        }
    });
}


}

Enhance Your Testing with Repeato

Automating the testing of such UI interactions can be time-consuming and challenging. This is where Repeato comes in. As a no-code test automation tool for iOS and Android, Repeato enables you to create, run, and maintain automated tests for your apps effortlessly. Leveraging computer vision and AI, Repeato ensures that your focus remains on developing a great product while delegating test automation to non-technical colleagues or QAs.

Discover more about how Repeato can streamline your testing process by visiting our documentation and blog.

EN