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KeyEventArgs.KeyData Property

  • Reference

Definition

Namespace:
System.Windows.Forms
Assembly:
System.Windows.Forms.dll

Gets the key data for a KeyDown or KeyUp event.

public:
 property System::Windows::Forms::Keys KeyData { System::Windows::Forms::Keys get(); };
public System.Windows.Forms.Keys KeyData { get; }
member this.KeyData : System.Windows.Forms.Keys
Public ReadOnly Property KeyData As Keys

Property Value

Keys

A Keys representing the key code for the key that was pressed, combined with modifier flags that indicate which combination of CTRL, SHIFT, and ALT keys was pressed at the same time.

Examples

The following code example demonstrates the use of this member. In the example, an event handler reports on the occurrence of the Control.KeyDown event. This report helps you to learn when the event occurs and can assist you in debugging. To report on multiple events or on events that occur frequently, consider replacing MessageBox.Show with Console.WriteLine or appending the message to a multiline TextBox.

To run the example code, paste it into a project that contains an instance of a type that inherits from Control, such as a Button or ComboBox. Then name the instance Control1 and ensure that the event handler is associated with the Control.KeyDown event.

private void Control1_KeyDown(Object sender, KeyEventArgs e) {

System.Text.StringBuilder messageBoxCS = new System.Text.StringBuilder();
messageBoxCS.AppendFormat("{0} = {1}", "Alt", e.Alt );
messageBoxCS.AppendLine();
messageBoxCS.AppendFormat("{0} = {1}", "Control", e.Control );
messageBoxCS.AppendLine();
messageBoxCS.AppendFormat("{0} = {1}", "Handled", e.Handled );
messageBoxCS.AppendLine();
messageBoxCS.AppendFormat("{0} = {1}", "KeyCode", e.KeyCode );
messageBoxCS.AppendLine();
messageBoxCS.AppendFormat("{0} = {1}", "KeyValue", e.KeyValue );
messageBoxCS.AppendLine();
messageBoxCS.AppendFormat("{0} = {1}", "KeyData", e.KeyData );
messageBoxCS.AppendLine();
messageBoxCS.AppendFormat("{0} = {1}", "Modifiers", e.Modifiers );
messageBoxCS.AppendLine();
messageBoxCS.AppendFormat("{0} = {1}", "Shift", e.Shift );
messageBoxCS.AppendLine();
messageBoxCS.AppendFormat("{0} = {1}", "SuppressKeyPress", e.SuppressKeyPress );
messageBoxCS.AppendLine();
MessageBox.Show(messageBoxCS.ToString(), "KeyDown Event" );
}

Private Sub Control1_KeyDown(sender as Object, e as KeyEventArgs) _ 
     Handles Control1.KeyDown

    Dim messageBoxVB as New System.Text.StringBuilder()
    messageBoxVB.AppendFormat("{0} = {1}", "Alt", e.Alt)
    messageBoxVB.AppendLine()
    messageBoxVB.AppendFormat("{0} = {1}", "Control", e.Control)
    messageBoxVB.AppendLine()
    messageBoxVB.AppendFormat("{0} = {1}", "Handled", e.Handled)
    messageBoxVB.AppendLine()
    messageBoxVB.AppendFormat("{0} = {1}", "KeyCode", e.KeyCode)
    messageBoxVB.AppendLine()
    messageBoxVB.AppendFormat("{0} = {1}", "KeyValue", e.KeyValue)
    messageBoxVB.AppendLine()
    messageBoxVB.AppendFormat("{0} = {1}", "KeyData", e.KeyData)
    messageBoxVB.AppendLine()
    messageBoxVB.AppendFormat("{0} = {1}", "Modifiers", e.Modifiers)
    messageBoxVB.AppendLine()
    messageBoxVB.AppendFormat("{0} = {1}", "Shift", e.Shift)
    messageBoxVB.AppendLine()
    messageBoxVB.AppendFormat("{0} = {1}", "SuppressKeyPress", e.SuppressKeyPress)
    messageBoxVB.AppendLine()
    MessageBox.Show(messageBoxVB.ToString(),"KeyDown Event")

End Sub

Remarks

You can use constants from Keys to extract information from the KeyData property. Use the bitwise AND operator to compare data returned by KeyData with constants in Keys to obtain information about which keys the user pressed. To determine whether a specific modifier key was pressed, use the Control, Shift, and Alt properties.

Applies to

See also