ShowOff highlights keys you press in realtime
ShowOff is a free portable program for Microsoft Windows devices that highlights any key you press on the computer keyboard in realtime.
The application may be useful in certain situations, for instance when you need to test the functionality of the computer keyboard, or when you need to show keyboard and mouse input for demonstration purposes.
The latter may be helpful if you record a video of activity on the desktop and want to make sure that viewers see all keyboard and mouse input as well in the stream or recorded video.
ShowOff
ShowOff is a simple program. It displays a small field on the desktop when you run it that echoes the keyboard keys and the mouse buttons that you activate while it is running.
Depending on how fast you type or click, you may not see all of them displayed as the program displays a single key or mouse button at a time. When you activate a new keyboard key or button, the last key is replaced by it automatically in the field.
ShowOff echoes keys and buttons that it is configured to show. Configuration is a bit difficult as you need to edit an .ini file for that.
The file lists program related settings at the top, and the actual keyboard keys and mouse button it echoes afterwards.
You can make changes to the interface if you want, for instance by changing the background and foreground color, the width and height of the interface, and related settings.
The AppsKey part lists all supported keyboard keys and mouse buttons that ShowOff echoes when they are activated. You may remove some from the listing, useful if you require only certain keys to be echoed by the program.
Alternatives that show keyboard keys on the screen:
- QiPress Lite -- Free for personal use version of the software program. It displays key presses and mouse clicks on the desktop when it is run, gives you control over the keys and mouse buttons that are displayed, and more.
- KeyCastOW -- Another free program with a small footprint of around 100 Kilobytes. Updated regularly. The portable program displays keystrokes when it is started, and supports a hotkey for easy toggling of the functionality.
- Keyboard Jedi -- Free open source program for Windows that highlights keys that you activate while it is running.
We need your help
Advertising revenue is falling fast across the Internet, and independently-run sites like Ghacks are hit hardest by it. The advertising model in its current form is coming to an end, and we have to find other ways to continue operating this site.
We are committed to keeping our content free and independent, which means no paywalls, no sponsored posts, no annoying ad formats (video ads) or subscription fees.
If you like our content, and would like to help, please consider making a contribution:
also, https://superuser.com/a/681854/131936