AhoyKeyboard (Built-in Keyboard Enable/Disable Tool)

🛠️ Overview

AhoyKeyboard is a lightweight WPF application that helps you easily enable or disable the built-in keyboard (especially on laptops) on Windows operating systems. It is useful when you want to prevent malfunction or unnecessary input from the built-in keyboard while using an external keyboard. This application is based on the .NET 9.0 framework and can be conveniently controlled from the system tray icon in the background.

🖼️ Screenshot

✨ Main Features

• Enable/Disable Built-in Keyboard: Instantly turn your laptop's built-in keyboard on or off with a single click.
• System Tray Icon: The application runs in the background and is accessible via a system tray icon for better accessibility.
• Easy Status Check: Intuitively check the current keyboard status (enabled/disabled) through the tray icon.
• Background Operation: Minimizes to the tray to use minimal system resources.
• Auto Start (Optional): Optionally set the application to run automatically at Windows startup. (To be implemented)

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Windows 10 or later
• .NET 9.0 Runtime (If not installed, the application will guide you to download and install it.)
• Administrator privileges (Required to control device drivers)

Installation (Release Version)

1. Download the latest AhoyKeyboard.zip file from the Releases page. (Coming soon)
2. Extract the downloaded ZIP file.
3. Run the AhoyKeyboard.exe file inside the extracted folder.
   • Note: You must run as Administrator to control device drivers. Right-click the AhoyKeyboard.exe file and select "Run as administrator".

Building (Development Environment)

To build from source, follow these steps:

1. Install Visual Studio 2022 or later: Include the .NET 9.0 development workload.
2. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/seobaeksol/AhoyKeyboard.git
   cd AhoyKeyboard

3. Open the project: Open the AhoyKeyboard.sln file in Visual Studio.
4. Build: Press Ctrl + Shift + B in Visual Studio, or select Build > Build Solution from the menu.
5. Run: The built executable will be generated in the bin/Debug/net9.0-windows/ or bin/Release/net9.0-windows/ folder. Run the KeyboardToggle.exe file as administrator.

💡 Usage

1. Run the application: Launch AhoyKeyboard.exe as administrator. The main window will appear or minimize directly to the system tray.
2. System Tray Icon: The Keyboard Toggle icon will appear in the system tray at the bottom right of the screen.
   • Icon Click: Toggles the built-in keyboard status. (e.g., green for enabled, gray for disabled)
   • Right-click Icon: Opens a context menu with the following options:
     • Enable/Disable: Toggle the keyboard status.
     • Settings: (To be implemented) Opens a window to change additional settings such as auto start.
     • Exit: Completely exits the application.
3. Main Window Control: You can also check and control the keyboard status from the main window.

⚙️ Tech Stack

• Framework: .NET 9.0
• UI: WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation)
• Tray Icon: H.NotifyIcon.Wpf (Used for system tray icon and context menu handling)
• Device Control: Direct device driver control via Windows API P/Invoke (setupapi.dll, cfgmgr32.dll, etc.)

🤝 Contributing

If you find bugs or want to suggest new features, please register them at GitHub Issues at any time. Pull requests are also welcome!

1. Fork the repository.
2. Create a new feature branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature).
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature').
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature).
5. Open a pull request.

📜 License

This project is distributed under the MIT License. For more details, see the LICENSE file.

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Seobaeksol © 2025

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