The Jetpack
androidx.compose.material3
library enables users to write into any TextField
component in
any app using a stylus.
To enable stylus input by default, add the library dependency to your app's
build.gradle
file:
Kotlin
dependencies { implementation("androidx.compose.foundation:foundation:LATEST_COMPOSE_VERSION") } android { buildFeatures { compose = true } composeOptions { kotlinCompilerExtensionVersion = "LATEST_EXTENSION_VERSION" } kotlinOptions { jvmTarget = "LATEST_JVM_VERSION" } }
Groovy
dependencies { implementation 'androidx.compose.foundation:foundation:LATEST_COMPOSE_VERSION' } android { buildFeatures { compose true } composeOptions { kotlinCompilerExtensionVersion = 'LATEST_EXTENSION_VERSION' } kotlinOptions { jvmTarget = 'LATEST_JVM_VERSION' } }
TextField
Stylus handwriting is enabled for all TextField
components by default on
Android 14 and higher and the
androidx.compose.foundation:foundation:1.7.0
dependency. Handwriting mode is started for a TextField
when a stylus motion
event is detected within the handwriting bounds of the component.
The handwriting bounds include 40 dp of vertical padding and 10 dp of horizontal padding around the input field.
Stylus handwriting is not supported for TextField
fields when the input method
editor is requested with KeyboardType.Password
.
Input delegation
Apps can display placeholder UI elements that appear to be text input fields but are actually just static UI elements with no text input capability. Search fields are a common example. Tapping the static UI element triggers a transition to a new UI that contains a functional text input field focused for input.
Stylus input delegation
Use the handwriting delegation APIs to support stylus handwriting input for
placeholder input fields (see handwritingDetector
and
handwritingHandler
). The placeholder UI element is
configured to delegate handwriting to a functional input field. For an example
implementation, see
HandwritingDetectorSample.kt
.
Stylus handwriting mode starts when the functional input field gains focus and
creates an
InputConnection
.
Testing
Stylus handwriting is supported on Android 14 and higher devices with a compatible stylus input device and an input method editor (IME) that supports the Android 14 stylus handwriting APIs.
If you don't have a stylus input device, simulate stylus input on any device with root access (including emulators) using the following Android Debug Bridge (adb) commands:
// Android 14
adb shell setprop persist.debug.input.simulate_stylus_with_touch true && adb shell stop && adb shell start
// Android 15 and higher
// Property takes effect after screen reconfiguration such as orientation change.
adb shell setprop debug.input.simulate_stylus_with_touch true
Use the Gboard beta for testing if you are using a device that doesn't support stylus.
Additional resources
- Material Design — Text fields
- Handle user input