The popular Gmail is adding an interesting improvement, new access to Google’s text input tools, which allow us to switch between languages, use a virtual keyboard on the screen or manual writing using a touch pen.
Improvements in the email platform have not stopped, it has been possible to edit Office documents in Gmail for a while, and now some users already have them available in the Gmail editor for desktop web browsers.
The icon appears in the upper right corner and will show the letters “Es” if we normally write in Spanish. When hovering over it, the text “Select the text input tool” appears as in this image:
By default, we have access to the standard physical keyboard of the computer, the virtual on-screen keyboard and handwriting, all three in Spanish (or our default language).
Also to the physical keyboard with an international English layout, although languages and text systems can be adjusted.
The on-screen keyboard can be used in a tactile way, but also with a mouse. Its size is fixed, instead, it can be dragged to place in the Gmail area that we prefer:
The handwriting keyboard can also be used with the mouse, although it really makes sense especially if we have a touch screen:
Not everyone still sees the text input tools in Gmail, although it is to be imagined that little by little they will be activated. If we want to test them, they can be added using a free Google Chrome extension, which we leave below for download.
Regarding Android phones, on the Gboard keyboard, we have basically the same functions. If they are called “Google text input tools” it is precisely because the company wants to bring them to all its services, and perhaps Gmail where they are best used.
At the moment they are supported in Google Drive YouTube, Google Translate and the web browser itself. They support more than 90 languages, and in some such, as Japanese, they offer great convenience to enter the complex ideograms (kanjis) of the language.
In general, the language input tools will be useful in Gmail, especially if we write emails in several languages or on touch devices. After the Gmail privacy redesign, it’s a small improvement that we hope will reach everyone soon.