KeyEventArgs Class

Definition

Provides data for the KeyDown or KeyUp event.

[System.Runtime.InteropServices.ComVisible(true)]
public class KeyEventArgs : EventArgs
public class KeyEventArgs : EventArgs
Inheritance
KeyEventArgs
Attributes

Examples

The following code examples demonstrate how to detect the state of a key press.

Example 1

The following code example demonstrates how to use the KeyDown event with the Help class to display pop-up style Help to the user of the application. The example uses the KeyEventArgs properties passed to the event handler method to filter for all variations of pressing the F1 key with a modifier key. When the user presses any variation of F1 that includes any keyboard modifier, the Help class displays a pop-up window, similar to a ToolTip, near the control. If the user presses ALT+F2, a different Help pop-up is displayed with additional information.

private void textBox1_KeyDown(object sender, System.Windows.Forms.KeyEventArgs e)
{
    // Determine whether the key entered is the F1 key. If it is, display Help.
    if(e.KeyCode == Keys.F1 && (e.Alt || e.Control || e.Shift))
    {
        // Display a pop-up Help topic to assist the user.
        Help.ShowPopup(textBox1, "Enter your name.", new Point(textBox1.Bottom, textBox1.Right));
    }
    else if(e.KeyCode == Keys.F2 && e.Modifiers == Keys.Alt)
    {
        // Display a pop-up Help topic to provide additional assistance to the user.
        Help.ShowPopup(textBox1, "Enter your first name followed by your last name. Middle name is optional.",
            new Point(textBox1.Top, this.textBox1.Left));
    }
}

Example 2

The following example determines whether the user pressed ALT+E, and if the mouse pointer is over a TreeNode, allows the user to edit that TreeNode.

private void treeView1_KeyDown(object sender, KeyEventArgs e)
{
   /* If the 'Alt' and 'E' keys are pressed,
      * allow the user to edit the TreeNode label. */
   if(e.Alt && e.KeyCode == Keys.E)
         
   {
      treeView1.LabelEdit = true;
      // If there is a TreeNode under the mouse cursor, begin editing. 
      TreeNode editNode = treeView1.GetNodeAt(
         treeView1.PointToClient(System.Windows.Forms.Control.MousePosition));
      if(editNode != null)
      { 
         editNode.BeginEdit();
      }
   }
}

private void treeView1_AfterLabelEdit(object sender, NodeLabelEditEventArgs e)
{
   // Disable the ability to edit the TreeNode labels.
   treeView1.LabelEdit = false;
}

Example 3

The following example determines whether the user pressed a non-numeric key, and if so, cancels the KeyPress event by using the Handled property.

// Boolean flag used to determine when a character other than a number is entered.
private bool nonNumberEntered = false;

// Handle the KeyDown event to determine the type of character entered into the control.
private void textBox1_KeyDown(object sender, System.Windows.Forms.KeyEventArgs e)
{
    // Initialize the flag to false.
    nonNumberEntered = false;

    // Determine whether the keystroke is a number from the top of the keyboard.
    if (e.KeyCode < Keys.D0 || e.KeyCode > Keys.D9)
    {
        // Determine whether the keystroke is a number from the keypad.
        if (e.KeyCode < Keys.NumPad0 || e.KeyCode > Keys.NumPad9)
        {
            // Determine whether the keystroke is a backspace.
            if(e.KeyCode != Keys.Back)
            {
                // A non-numerical keystroke was pressed.
                // Set the flag to true and evaluate in KeyPress event.
                nonNumberEntered = true;
            }
        }
    }
    //If shift key was pressed, it's not a number.
    if (Control.ModifierKeys == Keys.Shift) {
        nonNumberEntered = true;
    }
}

// This event occurs after the KeyDown event and can be used to prevent
// characters from entering the control.
private void textBox1_KeyPress(object sender, System.Windows.Forms.KeyPressEventArgs e)
{
    // Check for the flag being set in the KeyDown event.
    if (nonNumberEntered)
    {
        // Stop the character from being entered into the control since it is non-numerical.
        e.Handled = true;
    }
}

Remarks

A KeyEventArgs, which specifies the key the user pressed and whether any modifier keys (CTRL, ALT, and SHIFT) were pressed at the same time, is passed with each KeyDown or KeyUp event.

The KeyDown event occurs when the user presses any key. The KeyUp event occurs when the user releases the key. Duplicate KeyDown events occur each time the key repeats, if the key is held down, but only one KeyUp event is generated when the user releases the key.

The KeyPress event also occurs when a key is pressed. A KeyPressEventArgs is passed with each KeyPress event, and specifies the character that was composed as a result of each key press.

For information about the event model, see Handling and Raising Events.

Constructors

KeyEventArgs(Keys)

Initializes a new instance of the KeyEventArgs class.

Properties

Alt

Gets a value indicating whether the ALT key was pressed.

Control

Gets a value indicating whether the CTRL key was pressed.

Handled

Gets or sets a value indicating whether the event was handled.

KeyCode

Gets the keyboard code for a KeyDown or KeyUp event.

KeyData

Gets the key data for a KeyDown or KeyUp event.

KeyValue

Gets the keyboard value for a KeyDown or KeyUp event.

Modifiers

Gets the modifier flags for a KeyDown or KeyUp event. The flags indicate which combination of CTRL, SHIFT, and ALT keys was pressed.

Shift

Gets a value indicating whether the SHIFT key was pressed.

SuppressKeyPress

Gets or sets a value indicating whether the key event should be passed on to the underlying control.

Methods

Equals(Object)

Determines whether the specified object is equal to the current object.

(Inherited from Object)
GetHashCode()

Serves as the default hash function.

(Inherited from Object)
GetType()

Gets the Type of the current instance.

(Inherited from Object)
MemberwiseClone()

Creates a shallow copy of the current Object.

(Inherited from Object)
ToString()

Returns a string that represents the current object.

(Inherited from Object)

Applies to

Product Versions
.NET Framework 1.1, 2.0, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 4.5.1, 4.5.2, 4.6, 4.6.1, 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1, 4.7.2, 4.8, 4.8.1
Windows Desktop 3.0, 3.1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

See also