SendKeys on the WinKeys button

Question

I have looked at MS's list of available send keys on their site, but they don't seem to have one listed for the actual Windows Key.

The only solution I found was....

SendKey.Send("^{ESC}")

However, the key strokes to show the desktop is Winkey+D

But, I can't seem to make using the ^{ESC} work with the letter "D"

SendKey.Send("^{ESC}(d)")

All I get is the Start menu popping up.

So, exactly how do I simulate "Winkey+D" with SendKeys???

Any input will be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

Hi @Pixel-ink ，Welcome to Microsoft Q&A.

You can use the functions in the user32.dll library to simulate keyboard presses.

keybd_event function

The sample code is:

using System;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;

namespace _6_21_x
{
    internal class Program
    {
        [DllImport("user32.dll")]
        public static extern void keybd_event(byte virtualKey, byte scanCode, uint flags, IntPtr extraInfo);

        const int KEYEVENTF_EXTENDEDKEY = 0x0001;
        const int KEYEVENTF_KEYUP = 0x0002;
        const byte VK_LWIN = 0x5B;
        const byte VK_D = 0x44;
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            SendWinKeyD();
            Console.ReadLine();
        }
        static void SendWinKeyD()
        {
            keybd_event(VK_LWIN, 0, KEYEVENTF_EXTENDEDKEY, IntPtr.Zero); // Press Win key
            keybd_event(VK_D, 0, KEYEVENTF_EXTENDEDKEY, IntPtr.Zero); // Press D key
            keybd_event(VK_D, 0, KEYEVENTF_EXTENDEDKEY | KEYEVENTF_KEYUP, IntPtr.Zero); // Release D key                                                                                       
            keybd_event(VK_LWIN, 0, KEYEVENTF_EXTENDEDKEY | KEYEVENTF_KEYUP, IntPtr.Zero); // Release Win key
        }
    }
}

If there is a problem with computer performance, you can try to add Thread.Sleep(100); between keybd_event.

Best Regards,

Jiale

---

If the answer is the right solution, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment". 

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.