How to make a desktop app ready for tablet

Question

I have a flash drawing tool on desktop, and just tried to use it on a windows 7 tablet pc.
The system comes with two virtual keyboards, a bigger one that the user has to actively open, and a smaller one that offers itself near many text entry fields (such as system file dialogs)
Now with flash only the bigger one is available, and when I type into it, flash player seems to lose focus.
What would be the best way to handle this situation?
Another part of the story: would it be possible to have 3 checkboxes inside the flash app that reflect the state of shift, ctrl, and alt keys and send keypress / keyrelease events such that mouse events report correct keyboard state?

Answer 1

Hi,
thanks a lot - but that is one part. The other one is this:
shift and ctrl are checkbox-type elements
I have two listeners, one for the keyboard and one for mouse events:
private function key(event:KeyboardEvent):void
{   trace(event);
    if(event.keyCode == Keyboard.SHIFT)
         if(event.type == KeyboardEvent.KEY_DOWN)
             shift.checked = true;
         else
             shift.checked = false;
    else if(event.keyCode == Keyboard.CONTROL)
         if(event.type == KeyboardEvent.KEY_DOWN)
              ctrl.checked = true;
         else
              ctrl.checked = false;
When I operate the shift key, the indicator lights up, and I see
[KeyboardEvent type="keyDown" bubbles=true cancelable=false eventPhase=2 charCode=0 keyCode=16 keyLocation=0 ctrlKey=false altKey=false shiftKey=true]
Subsequent mouse events show shiftKey true
Now there is also a listener on these indicators
private function toggle(event:MouseEvent):void
{   var ck:Ckbox = event.target as Ckbox;
    ck.checked = !ck.checked;
    var kc:int;
    if(ck == shift)
        kc = Keyboard.SHIFT;
    else if(ck == ctrl)
        kc = Keyboard.CONTROL;
    stage.dispatchEvent(new KeyboardEvent(ck.checked ? KeyboardEvent.KEY_DOWN : KeyboardEvent.KEY_UP,  true, false, 0, kc, 0, ctrl.checked, false, shift.checked));
So when I click the shift indicator, it generates an event
[KeyboardEvent type="keyDown" bubbles=false cancelable=false eventPhase=2 charCode=0 keyCode=16 keyLocation=0 ctrlKey=false altKey=false shiftKey=true]
However, the next mouse event says that shiftKey is false