SDL3: Android shows on-screen keyboard instead of Textinput on first SDL_StartTextInput

[DominusExult]

With SDL3 on starting the TextInput via SDL_StartTextInput the keyboard is shown. And you cannot dismiss that keyboard (unless you set SDL_HINT_RETURN_KEY_HIDES_IME and hit RETURN). If you trigger the textinput again, the TextInput gets shown correctly.

On SDL2 the TextInput was shown first and then when you click in it the keyboard will show.

Keyboard (yes, you can remedy that behavior in the keyboard settings somewhat)

TextInput

In our case you cannot trigger the TextInput again, while the keyboard is open, as the trigger point is hidden by the keyboard.

I have not yet experience in running the SDL tests on Android, so I don't know whether the tests misbehave as well. How do I build the test apk?

[slouken]

What is this TextInput dialog that's showing? Is that a native Android dialog or something that the game is rendering? I'm not familiar with that, @AntTheAlchemist, do you know what might be going on here?

[slouken]

Also, what device and version of Android are you running?

[DominusExult]

That TextInput Dialog is the native Android dialog on the plain image via the Android Studio Emulator (generic Medium Phone API 34, Android 14.0). But I also get this dialog on my real test device (Realme C11 2011, Android 11).
Depending on whether you take the Google branded Android or plain, the dialog appearance changes but the issue is the same (via the emulator I've tested down to a Pixel 4 on Android 10 and up to Pixel 9 Pro XL on Android 16).

We build Exult against sdk=34, ndk=27.2.12479018 and minSdkVersion=28

[slouken]

Interesting, I'm not familiar with that dialog. Do you have more information about it and what causes it to show up?

[DominusExult]

We do that here for Android:
https://github.com/exult/exult/blob/master/android/app/src/main/java/info/exult/ExultActivity.java#L143

and for iOS:
https://github.com/exult/exult/blob/master/ios/ios_utils.mm#L166

[slouken]

Ahhh, I see, you're building your own text input dialog. Is there any reason you don't just build a textbox in-engine?

[DominusExult]

Mostly because iOS and Android ports came after the desktop version and we don't need it for that.

[DominusExult]

hmm, but I have to look more closely if we haven't changed something with the order of calling the prompt.

[slouken]

Have you tried not enabling text input while these dialogs are up? I'm pretty sure that's not necessary for native dialogs.

[DominusExult]

Yes, I'm going to try that. It just used to work and I thought I tested correctly but looking at it now I need to confirm more.

[DominusExult]

I'm sorry, I was sloppy and was going down a completely wrong path. At some point in our porting of Exult to SDL3 during the long SDL3 development, we snuck in an extra SDL_StartTextInput(window); that wasn't there before. Perhaps something wasn't working at some point and that kickstarted it. Regardless, once I remove this and we rely on the creation of the textfield it works again.
(The reason for the floating textfield on iOS and Android is that on Desktop you just click there and you can enter the text. This works on mobiles as well, just the onscreen keyboard obscures the usual textfield)

So again, sorry for the noise, I should have realized the problem right away.

[slouken]

Great, I'm glad you figured it out.