How to use a keyboard while wearing a VR headset

How to use your keyboard while wearing a VR headset

Putting on a PC-based VR headset, whether information technology's Windows Mixed Reality (WMR), an HTC Vive, or an Oculus Rift, means you lot're losing sight of what's physically around yous. While a majority of VR experiences can be enjoyed with specialized motion controllers, there are others — like those that let you utilize your desktop in VR — that are best used in tandem with a classic keyboard and mouse. The mouse is a no-brainer, but what most typing on your keyboard? There are a few tricks you tin try to become comfortable typing without being able to come across your easily.

Get into a routine

Not only should you exist using a keyboard that you're familiar with — dimensions, key sizes, and layout — you should endeavour to always go along information technology in the same spot or at a like distance in relation to something else. One time you get into the flow of things, information technology will become natural to simply reach out and offset typing.

If the VR experience you lot're enjoying isn't complicated, you lot'll probably be able to become past using the WASD keys with Shift and Spacebar tossed into the mix. Information technology'southward not too tough to reach out and detect these, but if you're sitting downwards to write a lengthy piece while using a VR desktop app, impact typing will come up into play.

Learn how to touch type

Touch typing

Being able to type quickly is ane thing, merely can yous do it without looking downwards at your keyboard? To be considered a touch on typist, one must be able to type at a certain speed without taking optics off of the screen. Sounds like it's perfectly suited for VR, doesn't it?

If you're going to exist spending a lot of time in VR while using a keyboard and mouse, it will be worth the time to put yourself through some affect typing lessons. A quick search in your favorite engine will bring up plenty of free options to get started.

Meet touch typing lessons

Add minor bump stickers to your keys

Small bump stickers

If the keyboard you're using doesn't have well-defined breaks between areas — number pad, pointer keys, locks, and main QWERTY — y'all could add together some cues to your keys in the form of modest bump stickers.

They might make your keyboard await a chip strange, but placing stickers on three or 4 keys will tell your fingers where to get even when you tin can't see. A 106-count pack of small, clear crash-land stickers costs about $10 and comes in a diversity of shapes to further assist with laying things out.

Run across at Amazon

Check out Keybodo

Keybodo mockup Q Mockup epitome of the letter Q.

Keybodo understands how difficult it is to learn touch typing or to blazon without whatever sight at all, which is why the company makes these grapheme-recognition stickers that are removable and reusable.

A set of stickers comes with all the keys you'll need, and they fit pretty much whatever standard keyboard key, no affair the make or model. It costs most $ten.

Encounter at Keybodo

Expect patiently for Logitech'southward VR keyboard

Logitech's VR keyboard

Introduced on the Vive blog in November 2022, Logitech's Bridge keyboard aims to bring a physical keyboard into the virtual world. At first glance, it looks like it could exist any other gaming keyboard, only the magic lies in a link with the Vive Tracker.

Every bit long as the Tracker is working with a Vive lighthouse, it will be able to pull a virtual representation of the BRIDGE keyboard into VR. The coolest function is that at that place should be a bunch of different skins based on the VR experience y'all're enjoying. The keyboard is notwithstanding in testing with no concrete release date, and merely a few lucky developers have received them so far.

See the Logitech BRIDGE blog post at Vive