How to change android keyboard key font?

Question

How can I change the default font for keys of keyboard I am writing in android (Eclipse)?
Thank you

Solution 1

I found an answer : Implemented onDraw...

@Override
public void onDraw(Canvas canvas) {
    super.onDraw(canvas);
    try{
    onBufferDraw();
    }catch(Exception ex){

    }
    if (mBuffer!=null)
        canvas.drawBitmap(mBuffer, 0, 0, null);
}

Solution 2

if you are thinking to change the font style of android custom keyboard keys font style with an external .ttf font style then you can check my answer at a link answer to change the font style of key label of android custom keyboard and also to change the font style throughout the android application

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Solution 3

Well that's a very broad question. I can tell you how to set a different Typeface; how you work that into your keyboard application is up to you.

Place a font (.ttf or .otf) into your assets folder, and use the following code (assuming a font called "myfont.ttf" and a TextView with an id of "key"):

Typeface myFont = Typeface.createFromAsset(getAssets(), "myfont.ttf");
TextView key = (TextView)findViewById(R.id.key);
key.setTypeface(myFont);

Reminder: Don't forget to check the license for the font you are using. Most do not allow redistribution without compensation. One freely licensed font you can use is Bitstream Vera Sans.

Comments

[Heidar]

Thank you for the response, but I am changing SoftKeyboard sample and I don't have any TextView to set Typeface to it. I just have an InputMethodService, a Keyboard, a Key and a KeyboardView.

[Kevin Coppock]

Interesting. Yeah, looking into it more, I don't see a way to modify it. However, apps like SwiftKey have a different typeface for their keys, so it's possible. Unfortunately I don't have a better answer for you.

[Heidar]

One solution is to place an image for each key, but it's time consuming. Thank you anyway and please tell me if you found anything.

[pm_labs]

Could there be a better way? This approach looks like too much work and involves modifying a lot private vars/methods which could easily break in future Android versions. Might as well go through route of using images through "keyIcon" as it appears to be the cleaner way?

[Heidar]

@paul_sns I wished there was a better way but now I am used to it. I haven't seen too much change in newer versions.

[Raykud]

could you extend the answer please? I quite don't get how the onDraw would help change the font.

[Fay007]

@Heidar can u share a sample project where u have used this method to overcome the issue