Change Keyboard Input Language Programmatically

Question

I am developing an application in which i need to allow the user to change the input keys shown in the default keyboard, upon request or by default, for example, i may promp

Answer 1

You can change keyboard without user notification only and only if your app is running as a System app for security reasons.

You need to give Android permission first in your app's AndroidManifest.xml

"android.permission.WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS"

Then you need to determine id of your keyboard.

-> To know id, you need to keep your keyboard default from setting menu manually then put this print somewhere,

System.out.println(Settings.Secure.getString(getContentResolver(),Settings.Secure.DEFAULT_INPUT_METHOD));

Once you print id and you know your keyboard id you can do as per below ( I have changed my default keyboard to Japanese )

InputMethodManager imeManager = (InputMethodManager) getApplicationContext().getSystemService(INPUT_METHOD_SERVICE);

//imeManager.showInputMethodPicker(); //This is to see available keyboards.
imeManager.setInputMethod(null,"jp.co.omronsoft.openwnn/.OpenWnnJAJP");

Enjoy !!

Answer 2

After doing some research here and there found the answer, first of all you have to create a custom keyboard View which extends keyboardView and in it create static key value variable like

static final int KEYCODE_LANGUAGE_SWITCH_ENG = -102;
static final int KEYCODE_LANGUAGE_SWITCH_URDU = -103;

after that in your IME class where you have implemented the inputMethodService, create the keyboards inside the onInitializeInterface override function. like

mSymbolsKeyboard = new Keyboard(this, R.xml.qwerty2);
mEngQwertyKeyboard = new Keyboard(this, R.xml.eng_qwerty);

after this add these final static keys in the onKey override function as switch cases, and in the cases set the keyboards accordingly:

setKeyboard(mEngQwertyKeyboard);