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Keyboard Trigger for FullPageOS

Introduction

This project provides a solution for triggering the on-screen keyboard matchbox-keyboard on FullPageOS or other kiosk mode setups. Designed primarily for touch interfaces in a kiosk environment, it serves as a bridge between a Chrome extension and a local Node.js server. When an input element is interacted with in the Chrome browser, the Chrome extension communicates with the local server which, in turn, triggers the matchbox-keyboard.

Additionally, this solution has been designed to be compatible with Home Assistant. By adding a custom panel in Home Assistant, you can integrate the on-screen keyboard functionality seamlessly.

Installation

  1. Prerequisites:

    • Install the necessary software: 
      sudo apt install matchbox-keyboard nodejs npm

  2. Setup:

    • Clone this repository: 
      git clone https://github.com/Linkek/keyboardTriggerServer.git
    • Navigate into the repository directory: 
      cd keyboardTriggerServer
    • Install the required npm packages: 
      npm install

  3. Load the Chrome Extension:

    • In FullPageOS, press Ctrl + T to open a new tab.
    • Navigate to chrome://extensions/.
    • Enable "Developer mode" using the toggle at the top right.
    • Click on "Load unpacked" and navigate to the cloned repository folder, then select it.
    • After successfully loading the extension, restart FullPageOS.

  4. Home Assistant Integration (Optional):

    Adding a keyboard button item to the sidebar.

    • Add the following to your Home Assistant configuration.yaml:

      panel_custom:
  - name: onscreen_keyboard
    sidebar_title: Keyboard
    sidebar_icon: mdi:keyboard
    url_path: "onscreen-keyboard"
    module_url: "/local/keyboard.html"
    trust_external_script: true

    • Create a file named keyboard.html inside the www directory of your Home Assistant:

      <!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <title>Document</title>
</head>
<body>
    Nothing here... Onscreen Keyboard not working! 
</body>
</html>

  5. Testing:

    • For initial testing, run: 
      node server.js

  6. Setting Up as a Service (recommended): To ensure the server runs on boot, set it up as a system service:

    • Create a service file:

      sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/keyboardTriggerServer.service

    • Add the following content:

      [Unit]
Description=Keyboard Trigger Server for FullPageOS
After=network.target

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/bin/node /path/to/keyboardTriggerServer/server.js
Restart=always
User=pi
Group=pi
Environment=PATH=/usr/bin:/usr/local/bin
Environment=NODE_ENV=production
WorkingDirectory=/path/to/keyboardTriggerServer

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

      Ensure you replace /path/to/keyboardTriggerServer with the actual path to your repository.

    • Start the service and enable it to start on boot:

      sudo systemctl start keyboardTriggerServer
sudo systemctl enable keyboardTriggerServer

For more information on customizability and additional features, consider checking out the matchbox-keyboard repository. For more details on FullPageOS, visit their official site.