Ionic iOS Keyboard Show Issue

Introduction

When building hybrid mobile applications using Ionic and Angular, it’s not uncommon to encounter issues with keyboard functionality. In this article, we’ll delve into the intricacies of showing the keyboard on an iOS device using Ionic 2 and explore potential solutions for the ionic-plugin-keyboard plugin.

Understanding Keyboard Display Requirements

Before we dive into the issue at hand, let’s briefly discuss how keyboard display works in Ionic apps. The KeyboardDisplayRequiresUserAction preference is a boolean value that determines whether the keyboard should be shown automatically when an element receives focus or not. By default, this preference is set to false, meaning the keyboard will only be displayed after the user has taken some action (e.g., pressing a key).

Debugging the Issue

To better understand the problem, let’s analyze the provided code:

<ion-view ng-controller="EntryController" class="bg-grey">
  <ion-content scroll="true" overflow-scroll="true" class="start-page has-footer" has-bouncing="false">
    <div>
      <input id="txtEntryInput" type="number" inputmode="decimal" pattern="[0-9]*" ng-model="entryInput" ng-enter="someActionOnEnter()" />
    </div>
  </ion-content>
</ion-view>

app.controller("EntryController", function($scope, $timeout, $http) {
  // This binds the event when *Done* is pressed on keyboard mobile iOS browser
  $timeout(function() {
    var entryElement = document.getElementById('txtEntryInput');
    if (entryElement) {
      entryElement.addEventListener('focusout', function(e) {
        $scope.someActionOnEnter();
      });
    }
  });

  $scope.someActionOnEnter = function() {
    // Some AJAX call dummy
    $http({}).then(function() {
      // This is not focusing on element and not showing keyboard on mobile safari, on android it is working
      $timeout(function() { 
        $('#txtEntryInput').focus()
      });     
    });
  };
});

As shown in the provided code, the someActionOnEnter function attempts to focus on the input element using $timeout and then trigger a keyboard event. However, the issue persists: the keyboard is not displayed when the user types.

Investigating Cordova Plugins

To resolve this issue, we need to investigate how the ionic-plugin-keyboard plugin handles keyboard display on iOS devices. The provided code snippet uses the following configuration:

$timeout(function() {
  if (window.cordova && window.cordova.plugins && window.cordova.plugins.Keyboard) {
    cordova.plugins.Keyboard.show();
  }
}, 100);

This code attempts to show the keyboard using the cordova.plugins.Keyboard plugin. However, this approach may not work on all iOS devices due to various factors such as hardware restrictions or Safari’s keyboard handling behavior.

Using the Keyboard Show API

To overcome these issues, we can use the KeyboardShowAPI provided by Ionic 2. This API allows us to programmatically show and hide the keyboard.

import { Keyboard } from '@ionic-native/keyboard';

app.controller("EntryController", function($scope, $timeout) {
  var keyboard = new Keyboard(this.platform);
  
  // Show the keyboard when the user types
  this.inputElement.addEventListener('input', () => {
    keyboard.show();
  });
});

In this example, we’ve created an instance of the Keyboard class and passed the platform object. We then use the show() method to display the keyboard when the user types in the input element.

Best Practices for Keyboard Display

To ensure smooth keyboard behavior in your Ionic app, follow these best practices:

• Set the KeyboardDisplayRequiresUserAction preference to false using the ionic.config.json file.
• Use the KeyboardShowAPI to programmatically show and hide the keyboard.
• Handle keyboard events using event listeners to ensure smooth user experience.

Conclusion

In conclusion, showing the keyboard on an iOS device using Ionic 2 requires careful consideration of various factors such as hardware restrictions and Safari’s keyboard handling behavior. By utilizing the KeyboardShowAPI and following best practices for keyboard display, you can create a seamless user experience in your hybrid mobile application.

Last modified on 2025-04-30