Detecting key press on Windows

Hi! I want to do a program that can catch every key press in Windows, no matter in wich application the user is (nope... I'm not developing a virus for those of you who are thinking that)... does any one knows how to do this?
Thanks!

The technique is called "keyboard hooking" and you can search for the Windows API "SetHookWindowsEx". C and Windows API knowledge is mandatory.

Similar Messages

Detecting Key Press at App Startup

I would like to detect a press of the Shift key (ideally) when my application starts.
If the user is pressing the key, display a normally hidden dialog allowing the user to select the language to use. If the key is not pressed, continue starting the application in the default language.
From the Java Tutorial, it seems I can only detect a key press if the focus in on a GUI element is already visible. This defeats the purpose of having the special dialog be hidden.
Any suggestions?

From the Java Tutorial, it seems I can only detect a
key press if the focus in on a GUI element is already
visible. This defeats the purpose of having the
special dialog be hidden.I believe this is because you are 'listening' for a key press from your GUI class
Any suggestions?Sounds like you need to Listen for a key press in your running code
you could try to give the GUI focus while still having it hidden(don't know if that would work)AND Make sure that you have your GUI and main APP in seperate threads. This would, of course, require a pause in your main app to change the language, so if you can get a key listener in your main app i think that would solve all probs.
sorry if this sounds confusing

Detect Key Press and Mouse Motion in ONE event?

Hi
I am trying to create a functionality where a mouse motion from left to right performs one action, and the same motion while a given key is pressed performs another action.
How can i combine the two events? How do I unify the KeyEvent and MouseEvent, particulary when I need to capture the directional motion of the mouse together with the key press?
many thanks for any insight

you cannot actualy combine them into 1 event but there is an easy way around this:boolean mouseKeyPressed = false;
public void keyPressed (KeyEvent e)
if (e.getKeyCode () == ??) \\ or e.isCtrlDown(), e.isAltDown(), ...
    mouseKeyPressed = true;
public void keyReleased (KeyEvent e)
if (e.getKeyCode () == ??) \\ or !e.isCtrlDown(), !e.isAltDown(), ...
    mouseKeyPressed = false;
public void mouseMoved (MouseEvent e)
if (mouseKeyPressed)
    //processAction
}hope this helps,
greetz,
Stijn

Detect key status of '*', '#' & '0' of using getKeyStates() method

Any know the how to get key status if using getKeyStates() method of GameCanvas object in pressing keys "*", '0' & '#' (as I know, the method just can detect key pressing of number 1~9)? If no, is there any method able to do so (similar function of getKeyStates() but not keyPressed()) or how to modify the method able to function it ?

Hello,
Sorry for the confusion... let me try to be more clear...
So, my test campaign for a specific UUT is composed of about a dozen sequences, which can be run independently. But I created another sequence, to work as a "batch", calling all these dozen sequences.
Pretty much what it does is:
1) Call first sequence in new execution
2) Wait for execution to finish
3) Check results of execution
4) Add results to report
5) Wait 10 seconds
6) Call second sequence in new execution
7) So on...
So, for each new execution, I have a dedicated report, which is exaclty what I want. But for my "batch" sequence, I would like to be able to get a report saying which executions passed or failed, so I don't have to open the reports for each execution individually.
The way I'm doing this (in step 3 above) is with the following expression:
( Find( RunState.PreviousStep.ResultStatus, "Passed", 0, True, False ) >= 0 ) ) ? "Passed" : "Failed"
This way, anything different than "Passed" would give me a "Failed" result for that execution, and that's fine. The problem is that when one of the executions is terminated before it's finished, the PreviousStep.ResultStatus is giving me "Passed".
I didn't know about the GetStates() method... Looks promissing! I'll give it a try.

How to detect any key pressed for program running in the background?

Hi All,
is it possible to detect when any key is pressed if a java program is not in the focus? For example, when I have a console based program I can write something like:
System.in.read();
and wait until any key is pressed. However, if I move the mouse away from the console and make any other window active, the console program "doesn't hear" anything. Ok, it's clear, of course, but how is it possible to make the program detect any keys pressed even if it's running in the background?
Thanks a lot for any hints!

qnx wrote:
1) Stop trying to make spyware. -> I don't do anything like this!
2) Stop re-posting the same questions. -> didn't know they are the same, sorry.
3) Stop taking us for fools. -> what? Honestly, I don't think that I realy deserved this :)With a limited posting history and the type of questions you are asking they are unusual.
There are very few legitimate problem domains that would require what you are asking about. There are illegitimate ones though. And the legitimate ones would generally require someone with quite a bit of programming experience and would also be required (the fact that java can't do it would not get rid of the requirement.)
Thus one might make assumptions about your intentions.

Closing windows in Expose using key press (or why does apple-W not work?)

I often end up with lots of Safari windows open & need to prune them down. (Yes I use tabbed browsing too .
So I thought I'd use Expose, see the windows I needed to close, select the one I wanted to close and hit apple-W which works fine to close a window when not in Expose. However for me it doesn't work in expose (though its fine when not in expose).
This leads to a rather slow process of going into expose, selecting the window you want to close, coming out of expose, then hitting apple-W to close that window, then going back to expose.
I'd much rather just go into expose, hover over the window I want to close (or use cursor keys to pick the right one) and hit apple-W; then I can close a few windows without having to leave expose.
Has anyone ever figured out a way to get apple-W - or any key press at all - to close the currently selected window in expose?
BTW I know you can quit an application in Expose; which is great. However in this case I want to close just a selected window in expose (e.g. a particular safari window), not the whole application.

You have a great idea. But it isn't supported. Yet.
Send your idea to Apple (they read all submissions) http://www.apple.com/macosx/feedback

Key press detection when application is running in the background

Is it possible to detect any key presses when the application is in the background?

The key-related, pointer-related, and paint() methods will only be called while the Canvas is actually visible on the output device. These methods will therefore only be called on this Canvas object only after a call to showNotify() and before a call to hideNotify(). After hideNotify() has been called, none of the key, pointer, and paint methods will be called until after a subsequent call to showNotify() has returned. A call to a run() method resulting from callSerially() may occur irrespective of calls to showNotify() and hideNotify().
The showNotify() method is called prior to the Canvas actually being made visible on the display, and the hideNotify() method is called after the Canvas has been removed from the display. The visibility state of a Canvas (or any other Displayable object) may be queried through the use of the Displayable.isShown() method. The change in visibility state of a Canvas may be caused by the application management software moving MIDlets between foreground and background states, or by the system obscuring the Canvas with system screens. Thus, the calls to showNotify() and hideNotify() are not under the control of the MIDlet and may occur fairly frequently. Application developers are encouraged to perform expensive setup and teardown tasks outside the showNotify() and hideNotify() methods in order to make them as lightweight as possible.
The above answer you might have found in the JAVADOC, if you would have gone through the description of the Canvas class.
Don't forget your DUKES as I had to search the JAVADOC for giving you the exact answer, which you should have done that yourself only!!!
Shan!!!

What, if anyting, does pressing the windows flag key and the "r" key do?

Last night some one with a very strong accent called, addressing me by name, saying he had been contracted to contact people and warn them of a serious problem that affecting many computers. He wanted me to press my windows flag key and the "r" key at the same time. Stupid me did, but then became suspicious and hung up on him. He never called back, and I turned my computer off. Did I give him access to something? What do I need to do?
This question was solved.
View Solution.

I'm sure that was a scam call, but you hung up before they could do anything malicious to your computer. Pressing the Windows key + R just brings up the "Run" screen. It is completely harmless to bring up "Run," but if you had continued to follow all the steps this guy was about to give you, he probably would have tried to gain remote access to your computer or load a virus or some other awfulness. I'm glad you hung up on him!
Please click the thumbs up button to say "Thanks!"
Clicking "Accept as Solution" on a reply that solves your problem makes it easier for other people to find solutions.
I am an HP employee.

I want to detect a key press

To detect a key press, i know i have to use the keylistener class
public class key implements KeyListener{
     public static void main (String args[]){
          addKeyListener(this);
          keyReleased(KeyEvent e) {}
          keyTyped(KeyEvent e) {}
          keyPressed(KeyEvent e) {
I built a simple program but it doesn't compile, it has an error.
All i want is to detect a key press and do something for key presses...
What am i doing wrong?

I once got the following demo file somewhere in the Sun/Java site, probably in one of the link cited above..
* Swing version
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Dimension;
public class KeyEventDemo extends JApplet
                          implements KeyListener,
                                     ActionListener {
    JTextArea displayArea;
    JTextField typingArea;
    static final String newline = System.getProperty("line.separator");
    public void init() {
        JButton button = new JButton("Clear");
        button.addActionListener(this);
        typingArea = new JTextField(20);
        typingArea.addKeyListener(this);
        displayArea = new JTextArea();
        displayArea.setEditable(false);
        JScrollPane scrollPane = new JScrollPane(displayArea);
        scrollPane.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(375, 125));
        JPanel contentPane = new JPanel();
        contentPane.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
        contentPane.add(typingArea, BorderLayout.NORTH);
        contentPane.add(scrollPane, BorderLayout.CENTER);
        contentPane.add(button, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
        setContentPane(contentPane);
    /** Handle the key typed event from the text field. */
    public void keyTyped(KeyEvent e) {
        displayInfo(e, "KEY TYPED: ");
    /** Handle the key pressed event from the text field. */
    public void keyPressed(KeyEvent e) {
        displayInfo(e, "KEY PRESSED: ");
    /** Handle the key released event from the text field. */
    public void keyReleased(KeyEvent e) {
        displayInfo(e, "KEY RELEASED: ");
    /** Handle the button click. */
    public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
        //Clear the text components.
        displayArea.setText("");
        typingArea.setText("");
        //Return the focus to the typing area.
        typingArea.requestFocus();
     * We have to jump through some hoops to avoid
     * trying to print non-printing characters
     * such as Shift. (Not only do they not print,
     * but if you put them in a String, the characters
     * afterward won't show up in the text area.)
    protected void displayInfo(KeyEvent e, String s){
        String charString, keyCodeString, modString, tmpString;
        char c = e.getKeyChar();
        int keyCode = e.getKeyCode();
        int modifiers = e.getModifiers();
        if (Character.isISOControl(c)) {
            charString = "key character = "
                       + "(an unprintable control character)";
        } else {
            charString = "key character = '"
                       + c + "'";
        keyCodeString = "key code = " + keyCode
                        + " ("
                        + KeyEvent.getKeyText(keyCode)
                        + ")";
        modString = "modifiers = " + modifiers;
        tmpString = KeyEvent.getKeyModifiersText(modifiers);
        if (tmpString.length() > 0) {
            modString += " (" + tmpString + ")";
        } else {
            modString += " (no modifiers)";
        displayArea.append(s + newline
                           + "    " + charString + newline
                           + "    " + keyCodeString + newline
                           + "    " + modString + newline);
}

Detecting two keys press at one time

i need to do a event handler, say when user press shift + enter, it will do something, else enter would do another thing
i tried but i can't get the event handler to detect two key press, how do I go about it?

VK_ENTER vs (VK_ENTER + SHIFT_DOWN_MASK)

Backlight key presses not detected, OPTIMUS, wiki didn't help

I am using a Razer Blade 14" with linux-ck kernel (although I have tested in the main kernel and the issue remains).
The keyboard brightness settings keys are not detected by X at all (using xev reports no keycodes when I press them).
However, the driver is getting that information. And in the same type as other function keys (such as sound up/down - which are detected correctly).
I know this because, while investigating the workings of the touchpad, I ran the razer-test script found in:
http://fxchip.net/RazerBlade/
(slightly modified because the device ID is 0x011D in the 14").
It distinguishes normal key presses from Macro Keys. Function keys in this laptop are macro keys. When pressing volume down, I get the following report:
Macro keys: Razer Extra Buttons:
Extra key: FN
04 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Macro keys: 02 ea 00 00
Macro keys: 02 00 00 00
Macro keys: Razer Extra Buttons:
04 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
When pressing brightness up/down, I get the following report:
04 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Macro keys: 02 70 00 00
Macro keys: 02 00 00 00
Macro keys: 02 6f 00 00
Macro keys: 02 00 00 00
Macro keys: Razer Extra Buttons:
04 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
(note that the last part just signals that I let go of the FN key)
My idea was to try to find the keycodes through xev and then map them manually. However, this was unsuccessful since xev reports no input when I press brightness up/down (while volume up/down works).
This is where I'm lost - the keyboard drivers seems to just be ignoring them.
Any help appreciated . Let me know what I can post if it's of any help!
Cheers,
Rodrigo
EDIT:
My laptop uses optimus hardware, and I'm using the integrated Intel Graphics card.
I have tried all the methods in the wiki but none of them worked:
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/backlight#Overview
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/In … ter_resume.
It's also worth noting that I do have control over the backlight with software - the FN+F8/F9 key bindings are the ones that are just completely ignored by the driver.
Last edited by rgomes (2013-11-22 18:47:57)

maxo wrote:
Hey. If you aren't using the nvidia graphics card then this works on mine.
Edit the /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/20-intel.conf by adding
Option "Backlight" "intel_backlight"
Xorg normally automatically selects the backlight device. On mine it ued acpi_video0 instead of intel_backlight.
Hope that helps!
Thanks, but the challenge is, to get nvidia prop. drivers working.
I think, I tracked the problem down to some backlight issue, probably a firmware issue with the laptop model.
On ubunutu, ideapad backlight modules gets loaded, on arch, it uses the intel-bl. As it stands to reason, backlight settings are too dim when starting X.
I am about to test nvidia-bl from AUR.

Detecting asyncronous key press

Hi all, I'm trying to figure out whether there is any way to detect an asynchronous key press for a simple and line-oriented java task.
I mean no GUI, AWT and alike.
All examples I could see refer to AWT events.
The goal is to break long and time consuming processes upon pressing (for example) ctrl-c like we used to to in C++.
Thanks.

Word is not a JVM mastered process.
I'm referring to what it seems the standard behavior of the JVM. I can be notified about ctrl-c, but I cannot change its standard action of terminating the JVM process.
I tried by catching SIGINT using sun.misc.* - it works fine, handler is called - however upon returning (even without calling the previous handler - if any) the process exits.
I don't see any way to change this - which was my primary goal.

Using InputMap and ActionMap to detect any key pressed...plz help

Hi,
I am quite new to Java. I have a tiny problem. I wanna put an actionlistener into a JTextField, so it printout something whenever a key is pressed (when the textField is selected).
I can only get it to print if I assign a specific key to pressed...example below (works):
JTextField searchBox = new JTextField();
InputMap imap = searchBox.getInputMap();
ActionMap amap = searchBox.getActionMap();
imap.put(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(KeyEvent.VK_A, 0), "pressed");
amap.put("pressed", new AbstractAction() {
          public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
               System.out.println("TYPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE");
HOWEVER, when i change keystroke to any key pressed, it doesn't work. Example below(doesn't work):
JTextField searchBox = new JTextField();
InputMap imap = searchBox.getInputMap();
ActionMap amap = searchBox.getActionMap();
imap.put(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(KeyEvent.KEY_PRESSED, 0), "pressed");
amap.put("pressed", new AbstractAction() {
          public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
               System.out.println("TYPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE");
Somebody plz helps me. I am really confused how to use KeyEvent.KEY_PRESSED. I thought it would work the same way as KeyEvent.VK_A...if i can't use KEY_PRESSED for that purpose, what KeyEvent do I use?
Thank you very much in advance.

Sounds like you want a KeyListener.
textField.addKeyListener(new KeyListener() {
    public void keyTyped(KeyEvent e) {
        System.out.println("Key typed.");
    public void keyPressed(KeyEvent e) {
        System.out.println("Key pressed.");
    public void keyReleased(KeyEvent e) {
        System.out.println("Key released.");
});See the API documentation for more information.

How to detect space key pressed event

I am working on a japplet where it is needed to pause the applet on the occurrence of a space bar key pressed event can anybody help
thanks in advance

Have a look at the tutorial:
http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/uiswing/events/keylistener.html
http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/uiswing/misc/keybinding.html
-Puce

Detecting a Key Press

I am using this code to set up a listener for a key press. I
noticed that it works fine when you use a LEFT, RIGHT etc. press,
but it will not work with a regular key press(i.e. ctrl+P). It says
that there is an undefined property as far as the Letter goes. If
anyone can help me with this, I would very much appreciate it.
stage.addEventListener(KeyboardEvent.KEY_DOWN, keyDown);
function keyDown(event:KeyboardEvent):void
if(event.ctrlKey)
var key = event.keyCode;
var P_key = Keyboard.P;
switch(key)
case P_key:
trace("this thing works");
break;
}

Ok, I've figured it out. Flash decided to take me for a fool
and pretended like it would take the P-key as a press, but in
actuality, it only works that way in AIR.

Detecting key press on Windows

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for