Anyone who has ever had to use a game controller for text inputs — whether it’s for logging into a service or typing a quick message — knows what a frustrating experience it can be. While controllers are perfectly designed for gaming, they are a nightmare for typing with. But a new feature in Windows 11 aims to address that, as Microsoft is introducing a new keyboard layout for gamepads.
Among the updates in the new Windows 11 Build 26100.3613, rolling out this week to Windows Insiders, is a layout for the Windows touch keyboard that is specifically designed for use with a gamepad.
“We have enabled the Gamepad keyboard layout for the touch keyboard in Windows 11,” Microsoft wrote, announcing the update. “This change introduces the ability to use your Xbox controller to navigate and type. This includes button accelerators (example: X button for backspace, Y button for spacebar) additionally the keyboard keys have been vertically aligned for better controller navigation patterns.”
This will make life easier for those who like to use an Xbox controller with their Windows machine, with features like a vertically aligned keyboard which is easier to navigate with direction keys, in addition to the buttons used as shortcuts.
You can enable the gamepad keyboard by opening up the touch keyboard then navigating to Keyboard layout > Gamepad.
If you’re still adjusting to Windows 11, then it’s worth looking through some of the accessibility features as these can be useful for everyone using Windows. They include options like live captions that can add on-screen captions not only to any audio or video you are playing on your PC but also to your own speech if you speak using a microphone, a Narrator mode which reads aloud text from the screen and which works with the screen reader mode to make UI elements easier to access, and a voice typing option which is still under development but which allows you to dictate text or interact with your PC using just your voice.