I dunno about other people but I play docked a lot, and typing with a controller is near unbearable sometimes. I specifically had this thought because I was playing webfishing from my couch and thought it would be nice if I could pull out my phone and open the steam app, or maybe they could make some kind of steam deck companion app for this and other features maybe, to quickly type a message or just make typing easier. I dunno if this would be difficult to implement or even possible but I think it would be neat.
If you’re looking for a companion app, you might want to try KDE Connect. You can pair the mobile app to your Steam Deck to allow for keyboard/mouse remote input and a bunch of other cool features. There’s also a Decky plugin for KDE Connect in Gamescope.
This is pretty much exactly what I was looking for I had no idea kde connect existed, you are a blessing
Does it work in game mode now? I thought it was only in desktop mode.
I haven’t tried it, but I’m pretty sure I remember seeing a decky loader plugin for it!
Yes, it works in gamemode. You might want to also get the Decky loader plugin that lets you control KDE Connect is enabled from gamemode though
It didn’t work for me last time I tried, but yeah, it could have been fixed by now. It’s definitely the right direction to try, it’s the perfect solution for OP.
Get yourself an HTPC keyboard with a built in trackpad. The Logitech K400 is a good choice.
great keyboard. i have it myself and the only few things i hate are the signal strength being…meh, the shape of it being not quite comfortable, as well as the mushiness of the keys.
I use a bluetooth keyboard for this, solves it quite handily.
There’s a dongle that behaves as a Bluetooth keyboard if you want to use a phone as input.
You can get ones that are pretty small, too.
I did this years ago when I first got my steam link. It’s still possible today, at least with an android device.
https://www.howtogeek.com/714170/how-to-use-your-android-phone-as-a-bluetooth-mouse-or-keyboard/
I play docked exclusively, unless I’m traveling. Never thought about this need because of what I play on my deck, but maybe KDEconnect can help there.
The built-in software keyboard of the Steam Deck is good enough for me for small amounts of text. If I know I’ll need to type a lot, I’ll just connect a real keyboard.
