DragEventArgs.KeyState Property

Definition

Gets the current state of the SHIFT, CTRL, and ALT keys, as well as the state of the mouse buttons.

public:
 property int KeyState { int get(); };
public int KeyState { get; }
member this.KeyState : int
Public ReadOnly Property KeyState As Integer

Property Value

The current state of the SHIFT, CTRL, and ALT keys and of the mouse buttons.

Examples

The following example demonstrates a drag-and-drop operation between two ListBox controls. The example calls the DoDragDrop method when the drag action starts. The drag action starts if the mouse has moved more than SystemInformation.DragSize from the mouse location during the MouseDown event. The IndexFromPoint method is used to determine the index of the item to drag during the MouseDown event.

The example also demonstrates using custom cursors for the drag-and-drop operation. The example assumes that two cursor files, 3dwarro.cur and 3dwno.cur, exist in the application directory, for the custom drag and no-drop cursors, respectively. The custom cursors will be used if the UseCustomCursorsCheck CheckBox is checked. The custom cursors are set in the GiveFeedback event handler.

The keyboard state is evaluated in the DragOver event handler for the right ListBox, to determine what the drag operation will be based upon state of the SHIFT, CTRL, ALT, or CTRL+ALT keys. The location in the ListBox where the drop would occur is also determined during the DragOver event. If the data to drop is not a String, then the DragEventArgs.Effect is set to DragDropEffects.None. Finally, the status of the drop is displayed in the DropLocationLabel Label.

The data to drop for the right ListBox is determined in the DragDrop event handler and the String value is added at the appropriate place in the ListBox. If the drag operation moves outside the bounds of the form, then the drag-and-drop operation is canceled in the QueryContinueDrag event handler.

This code excerpt demonstrates using the DragEventArgs class. See the DoDragDrop method for the complete code example.

void ListDragTarget_DragOver( Object^ /*sender*/, System::Windows::Forms::DragEventArgs^ e )
{
   // Determine whether string data exists in the drop data. If not, then
   // the drop effect reflects that the drop cannot occur.
   if (  !e->Data->GetDataPresent( System::String::typeid ) )
   {
      e->Effect = DragDropEffects::None;
      DropLocationLabel->Text = "None - no string data.";
      return;
   }

   // Set the effect based upon the KeyState.
   if ( (e->KeyState & (8 + 32)) == (8 + 32) && ((e->AllowedEffect & DragDropEffects::Link) == DragDropEffects::Link) )
   {
      // KeyState 8 + 32 = CTRL + ALT
      // Link drag-and-drop effect.
      e->Effect = DragDropEffects::Link;
   }
   else
   if ( (e->KeyState & 32) == 32 && ((e->AllowedEffect & DragDropEffects::Link) == DragDropEffects::Link) )
   {
      // ALT KeyState for link.
      e->Effect = DragDropEffects::Link;
   }
   else
   if ( (e->KeyState & 4) == 4 && ((e->AllowedEffect & DragDropEffects::Move) == DragDropEffects::Move) )
   {
      // SHIFT KeyState for move.
      e->Effect = DragDropEffects::Move;
   }
   else
   if ( (e->KeyState & 8) == 8 && ((e->AllowedEffect & DragDropEffects::Copy) == DragDropEffects::Copy) )
   {
      // CTRL KeyState for copy.
      e->Effect = DragDropEffects::Copy;
   }
   else
   if ( (e->AllowedEffect & DragDropEffects::Move) == DragDropEffects::Move )
   {
      // By default, the drop action should be move, if allowed.
      e->Effect = DragDropEffects::Move;
   }
   else
            e->Effect = DragDropEffects::None;





   
   // Get the index of the item the mouse is below.
   // The mouse locations are relative to the screen, so they must be
   // converted to client coordinates.
   indexOfItemUnderMouseToDrop = ListDragTarget->IndexFromPoint( ListDragTarget->PointToClient( Point(e->X,e->Y) ) );
   
   // Updates the label text.
   if ( indexOfItemUnderMouseToDrop != ListBox::NoMatches )
   {
      DropLocationLabel->Text = String::Concat( "Drops before item # ", (indexOfItemUnderMouseToDrop + 1) );
   }
   else
            DropLocationLabel->Text = "Drops at the end.";
}
private void ListDragTarget_DragOver(object sender, DragEventArgs e)
{
    // Determine whether string data exists in the drop data. If not, then
    // the drop effect reflects that the drop cannot occur.
    if (!e.Data.GetDataPresent(typeof(System.String)))
    {
        e.Effect = DragDropEffects.None;
        DropLocationLabel.Text = "None - no string data.";
        return;
    }

    // Set the effect based upon the KeyState.
    if ((e.KeyState & (8 + 32)) == (8 + 32) &&
        (e.AllowedEffect & DragDropEffects.Link) == DragDropEffects.Link)
    {
        // KeyState 8 + 32 = CTRL + ALT

        // Link drag-and-drop effect.
        e.Effect = DragDropEffects.Link;
    }
    else if ((e.KeyState & 32) == 32 &&
        (e.AllowedEffect & DragDropEffects.Link) == DragDropEffects.Link)
    {
        // ALT KeyState for link.
        e.Effect = DragDropEffects.Link;
    }
    else if ((e.KeyState & 4) == 4 &&
        (e.AllowedEffect & DragDropEffects.Move) == DragDropEffects.Move)
    {
        // SHIFT KeyState for move.
        e.Effect = DragDropEffects.Move;
    }
    else if ((e.KeyState & 8) == 8 &&
        (e.AllowedEffect & DragDropEffects.Copy) == DragDropEffects.Copy)
    {
        // CTRL KeyState for copy.
        e.Effect = DragDropEffects.Copy;
    }
    else if ((e.AllowedEffect & DragDropEffects.Move) == DragDropEffects.Move)
    {
        // By default, the drop action should be move, if allowed.
        e.Effect = DragDropEffects.Move;
    }
    else
    {
        e.Effect = DragDropEffects.None;
    }

    // Get the index of the item the mouse is below. 

    // The mouse locations are relative to the screen, so they must be 
    // converted to client coordinates.

    indexOfItemUnderMouseToDrop =
        ListDragTarget.IndexFromPoint(ListDragTarget.PointToClient(new Point(e.X, e.Y)));

    // Updates the label text.
    if (indexOfItemUnderMouseToDrop != ListBox.NoMatches)
    {
        DropLocationLabel.Text = "Drops before item #" + (indexOfItemUnderMouseToDrop + 1);
    }
    else
    {
        DropLocationLabel.Text = "Drops at the end.";
    }
}
Private Sub ListDragTarget_DragOver(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As DragEventArgs) Handles ListDragTarget.DragOver
    ' Determine whether string data exists in the drop data. If not, then
    ' the drop effect reflects that the drop cannot occur.
    If Not (e.Data.GetDataPresent(GetType(System.String))) Then

        e.Effect = DragDropEffects.None
        DropLocationLabel.Text = "None - no string data."
        Return
    End If

    ' Set the effect based upon the KeyState.
    If ((e.KeyState And (8 + 32)) = (8 + 32) And
        (e.AllowedEffect And DragDropEffects.Link) = DragDropEffects.Link) Then
        ' KeyState 8 + 32 = CTRL + ALT

        ' Link drag-and-drop effect.
        e.Effect = DragDropEffects.Link

    ElseIf ((e.KeyState And 32) = 32 And
        (e.AllowedEffect And DragDropEffects.Link) = DragDropEffects.Link) Then

        ' ALT KeyState for link.
        e.Effect = DragDropEffects.Link

    ElseIf ((e.KeyState And 4) = 4 And
        (e.AllowedEffect And DragDropEffects.Move) = DragDropEffects.Move) Then

        ' SHIFT KeyState for move.
        e.Effect = DragDropEffects.Move

    ElseIf ((e.KeyState And 8) = 8 And
        (e.AllowedEffect And DragDropEffects.Copy) = DragDropEffects.Copy) Then

        ' CTRL KeyState for copy.
        e.Effect = DragDropEffects.Copy

    ElseIf ((e.AllowedEffect And DragDropEffects.Move) = DragDropEffects.Move) Then

        ' By default, the drop action should be move, if allowed.
        e.Effect = DragDropEffects.Move

    Else
        e.Effect = DragDropEffects.None
    End If

    ' Gets the index of the item the mouse is below. 

    ' The mouse locations are relative to the screen, so they must be 
    ' converted to client coordinates.

    indexOfItemUnderMouseToDrop =
        ListDragTarget.IndexFromPoint(ListDragTarget.PointToClient(New Point(e.X, e.Y)))

    ' Updates the label text.
    If (indexOfItemUnderMouseToDrop <> ListBox.NoMatches) Then
        DropLocationLabel.Text = "Drops before item #" & (indexOfItemUnderMouseToDrop + 1)
    Else
        DropLocationLabel.Text = "Drops at the end."
    End If

End Sub

Remarks

You can make the effect of a drag-and-drop operation to depend on the state of a particular key. For example, you may decide to copy or move data depending on whether the CTRL or SHIFT keys are pressed during the drag-and-drop operation.

The bits that are set in the KeyState property identify the keys or mouse buttons that were pressed during the operation. For example, if the left mouse button is pressed, the first bit in the KeyState property is set. You can use the bitwise AND operator to test for a given key state.

The following table lists the values that are used for a specified event.

Value Key
1 (bit 0) The left mouse button.
2 (bit 1) The right mouse button.
4 (bit 2) The SHIFT key.
8 (bit 3) The CTRL key.
16 (bit 4) The middle mouse button.
32 (bit 5) The ALT key.

Applies to