Custom Keyboard with Standard's Look & Feel?

[ArtOfWarfare]

I suspect the answer to this is "you can't (and expect Apple to approve it)" but I thought I'd ask anyways, just incase someone actually has an answer:

How do you make a custom keyboard with the look & feel of the standard keyboard?

It'd be nice if there was some easy way to have a custom keyboard automatically match:
- The background of the standard keyboard
- The background of the standard keys
- The press & hold behavior for standard keys (IE, tapping and holding on the "$" key will reveal "¢" and a few other currency symbols.)

I ask because I'm planning on making an app where it's going to swap back and forth between several custom keyboards and the standard keyboard based on context... I'd like to make my app future-proof, if possible, so that all my custom keyboards will automatically match the style of the standard keyboard if Apple ever changes it in a future update to iOS.

Edit: If no one has a good answer... Is there some way I could implement a solution and then sell it?

[PhoneyDeveloper]

Out of curiosity, were you planning on implementing all of the keyboards for all of the foreign languages that iOS supports?

IMO, no one will pay for code for a duplicate of the standard keyboard.

[ArtOfWarfare]

Originally Posted by PhoneyDeveloper

Out of curiosity, were you planning on implementing all of the keyboards for all of the foreign languages that iOS supports?

IMO, no one will pay for code for a duplicate of the standard keyboard.

I think you misunderstand. I want the ability to display a keyboard that looks and feels like the standard keyboard(s) but has keys specific for my app.

IE, my app requires users to enter numbers frequently, so I want to add a row of numbers above the standard keys that look like they belong there and not like they were hacked in. They should have the same gradient, font, and popup behavior when they're tapped as all the alphabet keys.

(There are also many context dependent keys, so I'm making my keyboard class able to add and remove/hide/doable keys easily... Or add in "subkey"s easily, IE, like the fact that if you tap and hold the 'A', options like 'À' will appear.)

[MattInOz]

Why not just use an AccessoryView to add an additional number row when relevant?

[ArtOfWarfare]

Originally Posted by MattInOz

Why not just use an AccessoryView to add an additional number row when relevant?

It's ugly + most of the alphabet is irrelevant most of the time in my app... So I want the entire keyboard to be easily customizable.

[Kashsystems]

Originally Posted by ArtOfWarfare

It'd be nice if there was some easy way to have a custom keyboard

You are just asking for a lot of work for yourself. You can do it, but you used the word easy. I do not know any easy on this.



http://developer.apple.com/library/i...09542-CH12-SW1

[ArtOfWarfare]

Originally Posted by Kashsystems

You are just asking for a lot of work for yourself. You can do it, but you used the word easy. I do not know any easy on this.



http://developer.apple.com/library/i...09542-CH12-SW1

Right. I know it's not easy right now. That's why I'm in the process of writing a library right now that makes it easy to create a custom keyboard that looks and feels like Apple included it as a standard keyboard in iOS.