Are you struggling to activate or deactivate the floating keyboard on your smartphone? This simple guide will help you to do just that in just a few seconds.
The floating keyboard is a handy feature that allows you to move the keyboard around your screen and position it wherever you want. This makes it much easier to type with one hand, as you can place the keyboard near your thumb for comfortable typing. The floating keyboard also lets you position it over other apps, so you can continue chatting while referencing something else on your screen.
Using the floating keyboard on WhatsApp can be super convenient, especially when you’re quickly replying to messages on the go. Let me walk you through the simple steps to activate this neat feature!
Table of Contents
How to Activate the Floating Keyboard
The floating keyboard function comes with Google’s own developed keyboard called the “GBoard”> You’ll need to use this Gboard as your default keyboard app. Gboard comes pre-installed on many Android phones. If you have a different keyboard app installed, it may have a similar floating keyboard feature, but the steps could be slightly different.
If you don’t have it, you can download some from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store. It is available for both Android and iOS.
Make sure you have the latest version of Gboard installed before you proceed through this tutorial.
Activating the Floating Keyboard on WhatsApp
- Open any app where you can type, like WhatsApp.
- Tap on the Gboard icon at the bottom left of your screen to bring up the keyboard.
- Look for the menu icon in the top left corner of the keyboard and tap on it.
- From the menu options, select “Floating.”
That is it, you have successfully activated the floating function of the GBoard. Take a look at the screenshot example of the process below.
Using the Keyboard
The keyboard will now be in floating mode! You can move it around by tapping and holding the little circular icon and dragging it wherever you want on the screen.
To make the keyboard bigger or smaller, just drag the corners inwards or outwards. You should also note that it will float over your texts and will make some of your texts hidden so you will have to constantly move it around to see the content of the entire screen.
Can I Deactivate the Floating Keyboard?
Yes, you can. Turning off the floating function of the GBoard is as easy as turning it on. It is just the reverse of the activation process. Follow the steps below to deactivate the floating mode.
- Look for the menu icon in the top left corner of the keyboard and tap on it.
- From the menu options, select “Floating”. This time around, the icon should have a strike-through.
Immediately you tap that icon, the keyboard will snap back to normal. Check the screenshot presentation of the process below.
If you don’t want to go through this entire process, you can use this neat trick. If you want to go back to the normal keyboard, just drag the little circular resize icon all the way down to the very bottom of the screen. The keyboard will snap back into its regular position.
Floating Function on iPhone Users
Unfortunately, as of the time of this article, the floating function is not supported on iPhone version of the GBoard. However, you can still use the One-Hand function if that is the reason why you want to activate the floating.
The One-Hand function helps you to move the keys to the left or right of the screen but you can not move the keyboard up and down like you can easily do in floating mode.
While Gboard is a popular keyboard option for its floating function, some other keyboard apps for Android and iOS may also have a floating feature. The steps could be slightly different, but generally you’d want to look for an option like “Floating mode” or “Undocked keyboard” in the keyboard settings.
Do you know you can use 2 WhatsApp accounts on one phone? Check out this guide I wrote earlier about How to Use 2 WhatsApp Accounts on One Phone.
Conclusion
Using a floating keyboard can really come in handy, especially for one-handed typing on your phone. Being able to move and position the keyboard anywhere on the screen makes typing so much more comfortable and convenient. Give it a try next time you’re replying to messages on WhatsApp!
For Gboard users, here’s a neat trick – you can add the “Floating” option right to the top row of your keyboard for super quick access!
Just tap and hold on any icon in the top suggestion row, then drag and drop the “Floating” icon there. Now you can switch to floating mode with just a tap, instead of digging through the menu every time.
If this post has been helpful, share with your friends so they can also enjoy this amazing feature. If you have questions that you would like me to answer, kindly leave them in the comment section and I will reply as fast as possible.
