Console.KeyAvailable Property

Reference

Definition

Namespace:: System

Assemblies:: netstandard.dll, System.Console.dll

Assembly:: System.Console.dll

Assembly:: mscorlib.dll

Assembly:: netstandard.dll

Source:: Console.cs

Source:: Console.cs

Source:: Console.cs

Important

Some information relates to prerelease product that may be substantially modified before it’s released. Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, with respect to the information provided here.

Gets a value indicating whether a key press is available in the input stream.

public:
 static property bool KeyAvailable { bool get(); };

public static bool KeyAvailable { get; }

static member KeyAvailable : bool

Public Shared ReadOnly Property KeyAvailable As Boolean

Property Value

Boolean

true if a key press is available; otherwise, false.

Exceptions

IOException

An I/O error occurred.

InvalidOperationException

Standard input is redirected to a file instead of the keyboard.

Examples

The following example demonstrates how to use the KeyAvailable property to create a loop that runs until a key is pressed.

using namespace System;
using namespace System::Threading;
int main()
{
   ConsoleKeyInfo cki;
   do
   {
      Console::WriteLine( "\nPress a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit." );
      
      // Your code could perform some useful task in the following loop. However, 
      // for the sake of this example we'll merely pause for a quarter second.
      while ( !Console::KeyAvailable )
            Thread::Sleep( 250 );
      cki = Console::ReadKey( true );
      Console::WriteLine( "You pressed the '{0}' key.", cki.Key );
   }
   while ( cki.Key != ConsoleKey::X );
}

/*
This example produces results similar to the following:

Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.
You pressed the 'H' key.

Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.
You pressed the 'E' key.

Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.
You pressed the 'PageUp' key.

Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.
You pressed the 'DownArrow' key.

Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.
You pressed the 'X' key.
*/

using System;
using System.Threading;

class Sample
{
    public static void Main()
    {
       ConsoleKeyInfo cki;

       do {
           Console.WriteLine("\nPress a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.");

           // Your code could perform some useful task in the following loop. However,
           // for the sake of this example we'll merely pause for a quarter second.

           while (!Console.KeyAvailable)
               Thread.Sleep(250); // Loop until input is entered.

           cki = Console.ReadKey(true);
           Console.WriteLine("You pressed the '{0}' key.", cki.Key);
        } while(cki.Key != ConsoleKey.X);
    }
}
/*
This example produces results similar to the following:

Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.
You pressed the 'H' key.

Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.
You pressed the 'E' key.

Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.
You pressed the 'PageUp' key.

Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.
You pressed the 'DownArrow' key.

Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.
You pressed the 'X' key.
*/

open System
open System.Threading

let mutable cki = Unchecked.defaultof<ConsoleKeyInfo>

while cki.Key <> ConsoleKey.X do
    printfn "\nPress a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit."

    // Your code could perform some useful task in the following loop. However,
    // for the sake of this example we'll merely pause for a quarter second.

    while not Console.KeyAvailable do
        Thread.Sleep 250 // Loop until input is entered.

    cki <- Console.ReadKey true
    printfn $"You pressed the '{cki.Key}' key."


// This example produces results similar to the following:
//
// Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.
// You pressed the 'H' key.
//
// Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.
// You pressed the 'E' key.
//
// Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.
// You pressed the 'PageUp' key.
//
// Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.
// You pressed the 'DownArrow' key.
//
// Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.
// You pressed the 'X' key.

Imports System.Threading

Class Sample
   Public Shared Sub Main()
      Dim cki As ConsoleKeyInfo
      
      Do
         Console.WriteLine(vbCrLf & "Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.")

         ' Your code could perform some useful task in the following loop. However, 
         ' for the sake of this example we'll merely pause for a quarter second.
         
         While Console.KeyAvailable = False
            Thread.Sleep(250) ' Loop until input is entered.
         End While
         cki = Console.ReadKey(True)
         Console.WriteLine("You pressed the '{0}' key.", cki.Key)
      Loop While cki.Key <> ConsoleKey.X
   End Sub 
End Class 
'This example produces results similar to the following:
'
'Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.
'You pressed the 'H' key.
'
'Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.
'You pressed the 'E' key.
'
'Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.
'You pressed the 'PageUp' key.
'
'Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.
'You pressed the 'DownArrow' key.
'
'Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.
'You pressed the 'X' key.
'

Remarks

The property value is returned immediately; that is, the KeyAvailable property does not block input until a key press is available.

Use the KeyAvailable property in conjunction with only the ReadKey method, not the Read or ReadLine methods.

Applies to

Product	Versions
.NET	Core 1.0, Core 1.1, Core 2.0, Core 2.1, Core 2.2, Core 3.0, Core 3.1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
.NET Framework	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
.NET Standard	1.3, 1.4, 1.6, 2.0, 2.1

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