MODIFYING KEY FUNCTIONALITY BASED ON CONTEXT AND INPUT ASSOCIATED WITH A USER INTERFACE

1 . A method comprising:

rendering a graphical user interface for an application on a display, the graphical user interface including a user interface element for data entry;

analyzing a user interaction via the user interface element and a context of the user interaction within the user interface element;

based on the user interaction and the context, activating a non-default mode for a key having a default mode, the context indicating a low likelihood of user intent to activate a default mode for the key;

receiving, via the key, input directed to the user interface element; and

performing an action associated with the non-default mode in response to the input.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the key is one of a physical key or a virtual on-screen key.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the default mode comprises inserting a punctuation mark, and the non-default mode comprises receiving voice input.

4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

toggling the key between the default mode and the non-default mode based on the context and the user interaction.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein activating the non-default mode for the key is further based on a context rule.

6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

updating an appearance of the key based on which of the default mode or the non-default mode is active for the key.

7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving a key press via the key at a first time; and

processing the key press based on which mode was active at the first time.

8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

rendering an image representing the first function and the second function that indicates which of the first function or the second function is currently active for the key.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the user interaction is one of a click or a tap and the context of the user interaction is selecting a text entry field in the graphical user interface.

10 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

based on user interaction, toggling the key between the default mode and the non-default mode.

11 . A tangible computer-readable storage medium having stored therein instructions which, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform a method comprising:

rendering a graphical user interface for an application on a display, the graphical user interface including a user interface element for data entry;

analyzing a user interaction via the user interface element and a context of the user interaction within the user interface element;

based on the user interaction and the context, activating a non-default mode for a key having a default mode, the context indicating a low likelihood of user intent to activate a default mode for the key;

receiving, via the key, input directed to the user interface element; and

performing an action associated with the non-default mode in response to the input.

12 . The tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 , wherein the key is one of a physical key or a virtual on-screen key.

13 . The tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 , wherein the default mode comprises inserting a punctuation mark, and the non-default mode comprises receiving voice input.

14 . The tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the computing device, cause the computing device to perform a method further comprising:

toggling the key between the default mode and the non-default mode based on the context and the user interaction.

15 . The tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 , wherein activating the non-default mode for the key is further based on a context rule.

16 . A system comprising:

a processing device;

a memory having stored therein instructions which, when executed by the processing device, cause the processing device to perform steps comprising:

rendering a graphical user interface for an application on a display, the graphical user interface including a user interface element for data entry;

analyzing a user interaction via the user interface element and a context of the user interaction within the user interface element;

based on the user interaction and the context, activating a non-default mode for a key having a default mode, the context indicating a low likelihood of user intent to activate a default mode for the key;

receiving, via the key, input directed to the user interface element; and

performing an action associated with the non-default mode in response to the input.

17 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the processing device, cause the processing device to perform steps further comprising:

receiving a key press via the key at a first time; and

processing the key press based on which mode was active at the first time.

18 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the processing device, cause the processing device to perform steps further comprising:

rendering an image representing the first function and the second function that indicates which of the first function or the second function is currently active for the key.

19 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the user interaction is one of a click or a tap and the context of the user interaction is selecting a text entry field in the graphical user interface.

20 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the processing device, cause the processing device to perform steps further comprising:

based on user interaction, toggling the key between the default mode and the non-default mode.