Good news for gamers - Windows 11 feature to allow typing with your Xbox controller is imminent

Windows 11 is about to get a new Gamepad keyboard layout that'll facilitate typing on your PC using an Xbox controller.

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A streamlined, tailored virtual keyboard for your Xbox controller is about to be introduced to Windows 11 (Image Credit: Microsoft)

This is a feature which has been in testing for some time, but it has now arrived in the latest preview build of Windows 11 in the Release Preview channel (build 26100.3613).

That is, of course, the final testing stage before features hit the finished version of Windows 11, so we should be getting the new Gamepad keyboard soon enough.

It works just as you'd expect, by allowing you to type via an on-screen keyboard using the controller stick (or D-pad).

In terms of making the typing experience easier - let's face it, using a controller is a bit clunky for stringing together much in the way of text - there are also what Microsoft calls 'button accelerators' which is a fancy name for shortcuts. So, for example, tapping the X button is backspace, or the Y button is the spacebar.

Microsoft also explains that:

"The keyboard keys have been vertically aligned for better controller navigation patterns."

The Gamepad keyboard layout should be a useful part of the puzzle for a Windows 11 handheld mode, which is what'll happen eventually, or that's the hope for those who are keen on portable gaming devices. Rumors of such a handheld mode have been around for quite some time, of course.

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