How to Use Handwriting Input on Windows

Last Updated: November 24, 2023 Tested

This wikiHow teaches you how to write with your finger or mouse instead of typing when you’re using Windows. You'll need Windows 8 or later to use this feature.

Steps

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You can use the handwriting input in any app that accepts text. For example, your web browser, email app, Microsoft Word, or Notepad.
It’s in the taskbar at the bottom-right corner of the screen. This opens your device’s on-screen keyboard.

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It looks just like the last one you clicked, but it’s on the keyboard’s bottom row.
It’s the icon that looks like a pen and paper. This changes the on-screen keyboard to a handwriting panel.
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Draw the word(s) you want to write. Hold down the mouse button as you write on the gray panel along the bottom of the screen. Or, if you have a touch screen, you can use your finger. If Windows recognizes what you wrote, the text will appear in the app/document.
- Click the bracket (the first square on the right side of the handwriting input) to insert a space.
- Click the thick arrow with an X to delete the last character you wrote.
- Click the skinnier arrow to insert a line break (the equivalent to pressing Enter ).
- Click the rectangle with a smaller rectangle inside (near the top-right corner of the handwriting panel) to undock the panel. This allows you to move it around the screen.
- Click the X at the top-right corner of the panel to close it.