Method, system, and apparatus for keystroke entry without a keyboard input device

1. A computer-implemented method for receiving alpha-numeric input in the absence of a keyboard input device, the computer-implemented method comprising:

displaying one or more alpha-numeric characters on a display screen, the one or more alpha-numeric characters being displayed by a setup utility provided by a basic input output system (BIOS) executing on a computer;

determining, by way of a processor, whether input was received selecting a location on the display screen;

determining, by way of the processor, whether the selected location contains one of the one or more alpha-numeric characters by examining a character located at the selected location and one or more adjacent characters; and

in response to determining that the selected location contains one of the one or more alpha-numeric characters, entering the selected alpha-numeric character into a keyboard buffer by way of the processor such that the alpha-numeric character appears to have been typed on a keyboard.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the alpha-numeric characters are displayed in a grid and wherein the alpha-numeric characters comprise each of the letters A-Z and the numbers 0-9.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein determining whether input was received selecting a location on the display screen comprises determining whether input was received selecting a location on the display screen in response to determining that a cursor is located within the grid.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein a distinguishing character is displayed adjacent to each alpha-numeric character in the grid, and wherein determining whether the selected location contains one of the one or more alpha-numeric characters by examining a character located at the selected location and one or more adjacent characters comprises determining whether a distinguishing character is present on two sides of the selected location.

5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:

in response to determining that the selected location does not contain one of the one or more alpha-numeric characters, determining whether the selected location contains a distinguishing character;

in response to determining that the selected location contains a distinguishing character, determining whether an alpha-numeric character exists adjacent to the selected location; and

in response to determining that an alpha-numeric character exists adjacent to the selected location, entering the alpha-numeric character adjacent to the selected location into a keyboard buffer such that the alpha-numeric character appears to have been typed on a keyboard.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the distinguishing character comprises a blank space.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:

in response to determining that a distinguishing character is not present immediately to the left and right of the selected location, determining whether the character located at the selected location is part of a recognizable string of characters; and

in response to determining that the character located at the selected location is part of a recognizable string, entering a character corresponding to the string into the keyboard buffer such that the entered character appears to have been typed on a keyboard.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein a selection is made using only a mouse or pen input device.

9. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:

display, by a setup utility provided by a basic input output system (BIOS) executing on a computer, a grid comprising one or more alpha-numeric characters, each of the alpha-numeric characters being displayed with a blank space on either side;

receive a selection at a location within the grid;

in response to receiving the selection, determining if the selected location within the grid contains an alpha-numeric character;

if the selected location within the grid contains an alpha-numeric character, determine whether a blank space is located on both sides of the selected location;

in response to determining that a space is located on both sides of the selected location, enter the character at the selected location into a keyboard buffer as if a keyboard had been utilized to type the character.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 9 , further comprising instructions for:

if the selected location within the grid does not contain an alpha-numeric character, determining whether the selected location contains a blank space;

in response to determining that the selected location contains a blank space, determining whether an alpha-numeric character is adjacent to the selected location; and

in response to determining that an alpha-numeric character is adjacent to the selected location, entering the alpha-numeric character that is adjacent to the selected location into a keyboard buffer as if a keyboard had been utilized to type the character.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10 , further comprising instructions for:

in response to determining that a space is not located on both sides of the selected location, determining whether the alpha-numeric character at the selected location is part of a recognizable string of characters; and

in response to determining that the alpha-numeric character at the selected location is part of a recognizable string, entering a character corresponding to the recognizable string into the keyboard buffer such that the entered character appears to have been typed on a keyboard.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 , wherein the selection is made using a non-keyboard input device.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 12 , wherein the recognizable strings represent non-alphanumeric keystrokes.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the non-alphanumeric keyboard characters comprise an enter key, a backspace key, an escape key, or a function key.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14 , wherein the grid is formed using characters available in a text display mode.

16. A method for receiving alpha-numeric data entry without the use of a keyboard input device, the method comprising:

displaying a grid using text mode characters wherein substantially all of the locations within the grid include an alpha-numeric character, each of the alpha-numeric characters being displayed with a blank space on either side;

receiving a selection from a non-keyboard input device at a location within the grid, by way of the processor;

in response to receiving the selection, determining by way of the processor if the selected location within the grid contains an alpha-numeric character;

if the selected location within the grid contains an alpha-numeric character, determining by way of the processor whether a blank space is located on both sides of the selected location;

in response to determining that a blank space is located on both sides of the selected location, entering the character at the selected location into a keyboard buffer by way of the processor as if a keyboard had been utilized to type the character;

in response to determining that a space is not located on both sides of the selected location, determining by way of the processor whether the alpha-numeric character at the selected location is part of a recognizable string of characters corresponding to a non-alphanumeric keystroke;

in response to determining that the alpha-numeric character at the selected location is part of a recognizable string, entering the non-alphanumeric keystroke into the keyboard buffer by way of the processor such that the keystroke appears to have been typed on a keyboard;

if the selected location within the grid does not contain an alpha-numeric character, determining by way of the processor whether the selected location contains a blank space;

in response to determining that the selected location contains a blank space, determining by way of the processor whether an alpha-numeric character is adjacent to the selected location; and

in response to determining that an alpha-numeric character is adjacent to the selected location, entering the alpha-numeric character that is adjacent to the selected location into a keyboard buffer by way of the processor as if a keyboard had been utilized to type the character.