[solved] send keyboard event / key to specific background window?

Hi!
So... is this possible / how? I'd like to send keyboard events to a window in the background - maybe even in regular intervals. While I'm dong something else, in another window (or nothing).
Thx!
Last edited by whoops (2011-07-21 11:05:44)

Actually I'm thinking, maybe there is a totally another (better?) way to do what you want. I usually find that automatizing tasks in linux differs very much from the windows experinece, most of the times scripting is the most powerful and easy way of doing things. So if you describe to us what you want to accomplish, maybe some experienced linux gurus would give you some advices that sets you off course from sending keys and mouse events. I used to do that in windows with autohotkey, but now in linux there was no need for that so far ever, except for using system wide abbreviations with autokey.

Similar Messages

Disablying keyboard events in a JFrame.

Hello,
How is it possible to disable keyboard events for a specific JFrame and then (after a while) enable events again ?
thank you,
Rami

Look at this program, events are send but you can't see the data in the fields.
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
public class Nok extends Frame
public Nok()
     super();
     setBounds(6,6,400,300);
     addWindowListener(new WindowAdapter()
    {     public void windowClosing(WindowEvent ev)
               dispose();
               System.exit(0);
     setLayout(new GridLayout(4,0));
     add(new TextField("this is a text field"));
     add(new TextArea("this is a text area"));
     add(new Button("this is a button"));
     setVisible(true);
     Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit().addAWTEventListener(new AWTEventListener()
     {     public void eventDispatched(AWTEvent e)
               System.out.println(""+e);
               ((KeyEvent)e).consume();
     }   ,AWTEvent.KEY_EVENT_MASK);
public static void main (String[] args)
     new Nok();
Noah
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
public class Nok extends Frame
public Nok()
     super();
     setBounds(6,6,400,300);
     addWindowListener(new WindowAdapter()
{     public void windowClosing(WindowEvent ev)
               dispose();
               System.exit(0);
     setLayout(new GridLayout(4,0));
     add(new TextField("this is a text field"));
     add(new TextArea("this is a text area"));
     add(new Button("this is a button"));
     setVisible(true);
     Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit().addAWTEventListener(new AWTEventListener()
     {     public void eventDispatched(AWTEvent e)
               System.out.println(""+e);
               ((KeyEvent)e).consume();
     } ,AWTEvent.KEY_EVENT_MASK);
public static void main (String[] args)
     new Nok();

How do I get the fn key on the aluminum keyboard to work like Insert under Windows?

How do I get the fn key on the aluminum keyboard to work like Insert under Windows without having to press fn + Enter?
This article explains the problem but has no real solution:
Boot Camp: About keyboards and key assignment for Microsoft Windows - Apple Support

I'm not sure if you even read the first couple of posts at all. On the old Apple Pro Keyboard (white keys and translucent body), pressing the Help key resulted in exactly the same key code as the Insert key on any standard (IBM) PC keyboard. This meant that regarding this key, that Mac keyboard will work just like a PC keyboard. (I don't care much about the other keys.)
The problem is that on the current Apple Keyboard with Numeric Keypad (white low-profile chicklet keys, ultra-slim aluminum body), the Help key is now called fn and produces a different key code than the old Help key, so that you have to press fn + Enter (on the numerical keypad) to get Insert.
This page explains the problem:
Boot Camp: About keyboards and key assignment for Microsoft Windows - Apple Support
Do you understand what I mean? It's not a software thing, it's a hardware issue in the Apple Keyboard with Numeric Keypad, because fn is a hard-coded, not software-controlled modifier key. I have no idea if there is even a way to get around that, and that is what I am trying to find out.

Sending an event from an external window

Hello everybody,
Does anybody knows how to send an event from an external window back to the iView that opened it?
thanks, Adi.

hi adi,
try this,create a action and event handler method in
component controller(cc).Call the method of the component controller from the method(onactionclick) in the external window and pass the parameter.
wdThis.wdGetcomponentController).eventmethodinccparameter);

Create a event handler method in main view and set the event source and subscribed event(cc method name) in
method tab.
Fire this method from cc
wdThis.wdFireEventnameinmainview(parameter);
And finally handle the parameter in a definedmethod of the view(that called external window )
u can also use contextmapping between component controller and bothview ( external window view and main view)
regards,
arun

Getting the keyboard modifiers key state before injecting event.

I'm using the Robot to inject keyboard events into a host computer from multiple clients.
Since each client can have different modifiers keys (i.e. Shift, Alt, Ctrl, ...) set at a time and
clients can interrupt each other, I need to be able to read from the host computer what
modifier keys are set at that moment to get things back into synch.
The KeyEvent class has a way to get the modifier keys through:
KeyEvent.isShiftDown();
KeyEvent.isControlDown():
But this doesn't help (apparently) because that information is only available to a
Keyboard listener when a key is pressed.
What I need is a way to "get" the current keyboard modifier keys state before injecting
an event through the Robot.
Would anyone know how to do this?

So... the clients send input events to the host and the host in turn simulates those events with the use of a Robot. Is that correct?
If so then the program needs to save the last injected keyboard input that had a modifier mask in a field somewhere. Whenever you need to ask if any modifier keys are being pressed, you need only to look at this field and see if it is a pressed event. However, this method won't be able to detect a person physically at the host computer typing stuff.
The central problem is that you can query keyboard input from OS (such as asking if shift is currently pressed) without a focused window using the standard api. But a focused window kind of defeats the purpose of what you are trying to do.

Send a keyboard event from labview to C#

Hi,
We currently have a program in c# that takes keyboard inputs from a user and will fly a quadrotor. We aim to have a LabView .vi generate keyboard commands based on our experiment and send the commands to the c# code creating a feedback loop where the .vi will keep track of sensor and experimental data.
Our problem is that we have tried many different methods to send the keyboard commands in LabView.
1) http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/epd/p/id/3711
2) http://forums.ni.com/t5/LabVIEW/Send-keyboard-commands-to-another-windows-program/td-p/330670/page/2
as well as other variations and similar .vi's that do the same thing. Here is an example of a .vi used to press the letter "t" once.
http://i.imgur.com/hwmjZ.png
All of them can write the string to a text (open notepad put cursor in blank window) file but none can do it in such a way that it is detected by the c# code. On my own I can open and run the c# code and press keyboard buttons myself and the commands are recognized, so I think it could be an issue with how LabView sends the keyboard events and how c# reads them. Here is the c# code segment that we are using to read the input commands:
public override List<String> GetPressedButtons()
KeyboardState state = device.GetCurrentKeyboardState();
 List<String> buttonsPressed = new List<String>();
 foreach (Key key in Enum.GetValues(typeof(Key)))
 if (state[key])
 if (!buttonsPressed.Contains(key.ToString()))
 buttonsPressed.Add(key.ToString());
 return buttonsPressed;
Can anyone help trying to figure out why using the keybd_event function in LabView can not interface correctly with the above detection code in c#? I can provide any code and clarification if you think it can be helpful.
Thanks,
Andy

Hi,
I can't say with certainty where the problem is or even how many there are. I do know that the KeyboardListener.cs class should work according to what I have read online. I also know that if I press the keyboard myself then the state is changed and the correct action is taken. If I try to issue an event from Labview then the event is not captured. Here is the code, it is rather large ~20 MB.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vsvcje1ro364otu/ARDrone.zip
https://www.dropbox.com/s/p3h3tj8bcqc29gk/Forward_backward0924.vi
The key listener is in ARDroneInput>Utils>KeyboardListener.cs and the polling takes place in ARDroneInput>KeyboardInput.cs
The reason I wanted to use keyboard inputs is because the quadrotor we are using takes keyboard commands W,A,S,D,T and L. Initially I thought having Labview issue these commands would be the simplest method. That may not be the case.
I was just thinking that it is not necessary that key events are sent from Labview. Instead, one could send an array representing the frequency of each button press rather than the button press directly. In that case an array that is updated continuously from Labview will just have to be kept track of in the C# code. The C# can then convert that to whatever control input we want. Can it be easier to send a vector of numbers in real time to C#?
If you think it is better to establish a connection between Labview and C# using .NET to send keyboard commands (rather than the vector idea above) can you explain that a little more? How does one go about doing that? If you think the vector idea is simpler how should the interface be set-up?
I just talked with my collegue and we think that maintaing a .txt file in Labview and having C# read it is the best option. We will begin working on that and will update you tomorrow.
Thanks,
Andy

Flex 4 does not dispatch keyboard events for ENTER key.

Hello everyone. I think I have a strange problem with Flex 4 Beta (4.0.0.8909). My application has had event listener for keyUp event for a month now and suddenly (two days ago) I've noticed that keyUp event is not dispatched for ENTER (ALT also) key. Anyone know why? By the way, I've tried this with keyDown event, also 4.0.0.8847 version of SDK - still the same: no keyboard events for ENTER (and ALT) key.
Here is the sample application that has got this issue:
<s:Application
 xmlns:fx="http://ns.adobe.com/mxml/2009"
 xmlns:s="library://ns.adobe.com/flex/spark"
 xmlns:mx="library://ns.adobe.com/flex/halo"
 minWidth="640" minHeight="480"
 keyUp="application1_keyUpHandler (event)">
 <fx:Script>
 <![CDATA[
 import mx.controls.Alert;
 protected function application1_keyUpHandler (event: KeyboardEvent):void
 Alert.show ("Key up: " + event.keyCode);
 ]]>
 </fx:Script>
 <s:layout>
 <s:BasicLayout/>
 </s:layout>
 <s:TextArea verticalCenter="0" horizontalCenter="0" width="200"/>
</s:Application>
If you run this application and try typing anything in a TextArea you will get alerts with key codes. However, if you press ENTER (or ALT), you will get no alert.
I'm pretty sure the code above is right so that means there is a bug in latest nightly builds of SDK (i would swhitch to an older build if i knew which one does not have this bug).
Any ideas?

Flex harUI wrote:
That's true, but in this case, I think the text editing code is eating ENTER key in order to prevent parents from seeing it and acting on it (like a submit button). We'll see if we can find a way around that.
You can get the ENTER key now by listening in capture phase.
Alex Harui
Flex SDK Developer
Adobe Systems Inc.
Blog: http://blogs.adobe.com/aharui
The enter key isn't being disposed of by textedit, the attached example code works without error if you a- remove the alert box and b-set the focus to your text area on initialisation. I agree that pressing the enter key then calling a dialog box will result in the enter key being "gobbled up" as the enter key is overridden by the dialog box code.
I think the first suggestion should be to anyone don't use dialogboxes for testing code. If for some reason debugging isn't desirable instead of a trace statement a simple label can be used as a 'fake' trace.
David
Message was edited by: David_F57: I worded this wrong, imho there is no need for a work around, the textarea component works as it should. When intercepting 'system' keycodes there is a need to consider the effect of the intercept and code appropriately to that end.

Horizontal scroll on MX1000 sends click event as well. [SOLVED]

As in the topic, I'm having problems with the horizontal scroll sending regular click events to apps as well as the scrolling, making the function pretty unusable. All my other keys work exactly as they should.
As for my configuration, I'm running evdev, and I have "pointer = 1 2 3 4 5 7 6 8 9 10 11 12" in xmodmap.
Ive tried changing the input with both imwheel and xbindkeys, but none of them would intercept the horizontal scroll. (Strange though, since it works fine with the other buttons)
I don't know what else I can do. Is it just a lost cause?
P.S: I know it's not app dependent, because I have tried it with every application I have.
Last edited by Aziere (2007-03-25 16:05:48)

I prefer evdev because I can't seem to get the thumb buttons to work without it.
As for xev:
ButtonPress event, serial 31, synthetic NO, window 0x1e00001,
root 0x155, subw 0x1e00002, time 1058103, (48,34), root:(471,325),
state 0x10, button 13, same_screen YES
EnterNotify event, serial 31, synthetic NO, window 0x1e00001,
root 0x155, subw 0x0, time 1058103, (48,34), root:(471,325),
mode NotifyGrab, detail NotifyInferior, same_screen YES,
focus YES, state 16
KeymapNotify event, serial 31, synthetic NO, window 0x0,
keys: 85 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
ButtonPress event, serial 31, synthetic NO, window 0x1e00001,
root 0x155, subw 0x1e00002, time 1058127, (48,34), root:(471,325),
state 0x10, button 6, same_screen YES
ButtonRelease event, serial 31, synthetic NO, window 0x1e00001,
root 0x155, subw 0x1e00002, time 1058127, (48,34), root:(471,325),
state 0x10, button 6, same_screen YES
LeaveNotify event, serial 31, synthetic NO, window 0x1e00001,
root 0x155, subw 0x0, time 1058127, (48,34), root:(471,325),
mode NotifyUngrab, detail NotifyInferior, same_screen YES,
focus YES, state 16
ButtonRelease event, serial 31, synthetic NO, window 0x1e00001,
root 0x155, subw 0x1e00002, time 1058263, (48,34), root:(471,325),
state 0x10, button 13, same_screen YES
ButtonPress event, serial 31, synthetic NO, window 0x1e00001,
root 0x155, subw 0x1e00002, time 1127089, (43,37), root:(466,328),
state 0x10, button 14, same_screen YES
EnterNotify event, serial 31, synthetic NO, window 0x1e00001,
root 0x155, subw 0x0, time 1127089, (43,37), root:(466,328),
mode NotifyGrab, detail NotifyInferior, same_screen YES,
focus YES, state 16
KeymapNotify event, serial 31, synthetic NO, window 0x0,
keys: 38 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
ButtonPress event, serial 31, synthetic NO, window 0x1e00001,
root 0x155, subw 0x1e00002, time 1127105, (43,37), root:(466,328),
state 0x10, button 7, same_screen YES
ButtonRelease event, serial 31, synthetic NO, window 0x1e00001,
root 0x155, subw 0x1e00002, time 1127105, (43,37), root:(466,328),
state 0x10, button 7, same_screen YES
LeaveNotify event, serial 31, synthetic NO, window 0x1e00001,
root 0x155, subw 0x0, time 1127105, (43,37), root:(466,328),
mode NotifyUngrab, detail NotifyInferior, same_screen YES,
focus YES, state 16
ButtonRelease event, serial 31, synthetic NO, window 0x1e00001,
root 0x155, subw 0x1e00002, time 1127489, (43,37), root:(466,328),
state 0x10, button 14, same_screen YES
Seems pretty obvious what the problem is. It sends button 13/14 as input first, the continues with 6/7 which is the scroll. So what do I do to fix that?

[SOLVED] PgUp/PgDown Improperly Spawn Two Keyboard Events

After doing an upgrade (pacman -Syu), I can no longer use the following keys on my keyboard without unappreciated consequences:
- PgUp
- PgDown
- now, apparently, the Left arrow
When I use xev, I get two separate events for every one real keyboard event, with two keycodes.
For example, this is what happens when I press PgUp:
KeyPress event, serial 24, synthetic NO, window 0x1800001,
root 0xae, subw 0x0, time 1850204, (679,556), root:(680,571),
state 0x0, keycode 112 (keysym 0xffaf, KP_Divide), same_screen YES,
XLookupString gives 1 bytes: (2f) "/"
XmbLookupString gives 1 bytes: (2f) "/"
XFilterEvent returns: False
KeyPress event, serial 24, synthetic NO, window 0x1800001,
root 0xae, subw 0x0, time 1850204, (679,556), root:(680,571),
state 0x0, keycode 99 (keysym 0xff55, Prior), same_screen YES,
XLookupString gives 0 bytes:
XmbLookupString gives 0 bytes:
XFilterEvent returns: False
MappingNotify event, serial 27, synthetic NO, window 0x0,
request MappingKeyboard, first_keycode 8, count 248
KeyRelease event, serial 27, synthetic NO, window 0x1800001,
root 0xae, subw 0x0, time 1850306, (679,556), root:(680,571),
state 0x0, keycode 112 (keysym 0xffaf, KP_Divide), same_screen YES,
XLookupString gives 1 bytes: (2f) "/"
XFilterEvent returns: False
MappingNotify event, serial 27, synthetic NO, window 0x0,
request MappingKeyboard, first_keycode 8, count 248
KeyRelease event, serial 27, synthetic NO, window 0x1800001,
root 0xae, subw 0x0, time 1850306, (679,556), root:(680,571),
state 0x0, keycode 99 (keysym 0xff55, Prior), same_screen YES,
XLookupString gives 0 bytes:
XFilterEvent returns: False
I've checked xmodmap -pke, but I have no idea what it means:
keycode 99 = Prior NoSymbol Prior
keycode 112 = KP_Divide XF86_Ungrab KP_Divide XF86_Ungrab
Any help would be appreciated. Needless to say, this is pretty annoying when I'm trying to edit code and it searches my document instead of scrolling up, or capitalizes words (some vim feature I had previously never known about, and will most likely never use).
Last edited by secretrobotron (2010-06-24 15:09:05)

I'm pretty sure I'm using the latest xorg. I installed a fresh version of arch a couple months ago.
My xorg.conf has about six lines concerning keyboards, most of which are
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Keyboard0"
Driver "keyboard"
Option "XkbLayout" "us"
EndSection
and the other being
InputDevice "Keyboard0"
in the ServerLayout section.
Is there a newer way to do this? Perhaps omitting it altogether?
I'm using xmonad, and I checked my keybindings in xmonad.hs to see if I had anything hilarious. Alas, I found nothing.

Capture keyboard events using c# in SBO

How do I capture keyboard events(especially those with Control like CTRL-R) in SBO using C#??

Payal,
You will want to look at the UI API Help in the SDK Help Center and specifically look at the "SendKeys" method. This will allow you to send keyboard key strokes to the UI.
Your post is related to the Business One SDK. That forum for questions and answers for the Business One SDK is located on the SAP Business One page on SDN and then under the SAP Business One Discussion Forum. This forum is for the SAP Business One Integration Technology.
HTH,
Eddy

How to identify what are all the events are created in background jobs?

Hi all,
how to identify what are all the events are created for background jobs. And what events gets triggered for a particular job.
thanxs
haritha

Hi Haritha,
JOB is a program which starts to a determined point of time and executes some standard programs in the system. JOBs can be planed to a determined point of time on the regular basis (every night, for example) or to some discret time moments. So, the JOB can be planed and then will be started automatically without the manual start.
Realtime programs are understood in the most cases as actual program execution which is started by somebody to the actual moment of time.
Typically per JOBs some special processes will be started that should be executed automatically and regularly: for example, IDOC application, some correction reports, statistic updates etc.
Standard jobs are those background jobs that should be run regularly in a production SAP System These jobs are usually jobs that clean up parts of the system, such as by deleting old spool requests.
Use
As of Release 4.6C, the Job Definition transaction ( sm36 ) provides a list of important standard jobs, which you can schedule, monitor, and edit.
Standard jobs are those background jobs that should be run regularly in a production SAP System. These jobs are usually jobs that clean up parts of the system, such as by deleting old spool requests.
for more information you can go thru the following thread:
http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw70/helpdata/en/24/b884388b81ea55e10000009b38f842/frameset.htm
About Events:
Events have meaning only in the background processing system. You can use events only to start background jobs.
Triggering an event notifies the background processing system that a named condition has been reached. The background processing system reacts by starting any jobs that were waiting for the event.
Types of Events:
There are two types of events:
1.)System events are defined by SAP. These events are triggered automatically when such system changes as the activation of a new operation mode take place.
2.)User events are events that you define yourself. You must trigger these events yourself from ABAP or from external programs. You could, for example, signal the arrival of external data to be read into the SAP system by using an external program to trigger a background processing event.The event scheduler processes an event if the event is defined in the system.
For example, if a system (System 1) receives an event from another system (System 2), the event scheduler of System 1 processes the event only if it is defined in System 1. That event does not need to be defined in System 2 (the sending system).
You define an event by assigning a name (EVENTID) to it. When defining an event, you do not define the event arguments.
for more information you can go thru the following thread:
http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw04s/helpdata/en/fa/096e2a543b11d1898e0000e8322d00/frameset.htm
When you schedule the process chain or infopackages the jobs associated with it run in the background mode. In case you want to create a job for a specific activity you can do so in SM36. You would be creating jobs that would get executed in any one of the options:
1. Immediate
2. Date & Time
3. After event.
4. After job.
5. At Operation mode.
In case you want to view the job logs go to sm37.
Also Pls check DB02 for database performance and ST03 for workload .
Analyse u will have an idea ,
*pls assign points,if info is useful**
Regards
CSM reddy
null

Handling keyboard events in applets?! Possible?!

Hello,
I wrote a little game that uses keyboard handling events. It is an applet that can also standalone as an application. When i run the program as a standalone application, it handles keyboard inputs fine. ie...i can press the left and right arrow keys and something happens.
But when i run my program as an applet in a web browser, the applet starts up correctly but does not handle any keyboard events. It only handles mouse events. For instance, if i press the up and down arrow keys, the browser window scrolls up and down!!! And the up and down arrow keys have a specific purpose in my applet.
QUESTION: how do i get my applet to accept keyboard inputs such as UP,DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT?

Hmm something went wrong w/ my post so i hope this doesnt show up twice.
Hey thanks a lot for helping me out. The applet/application is large so here is the main() method and the keyboard event handling class code. My question is how come the keyboard events get properly handled when i run it as a standalone application, but keyboard events go to the browser when i run it as an applet? I would post my entire code but it's over 1000 lines and spread out over 8 files. hehehe.
Here is main():
public static void main(String[] args)
      MyProgram applet = new MyProgram();
      applet.isStandalone = true;
      JFrame frame = new JFrame();
      frame.setTitle("Physics: Kinematics");
      frame.getContentPane().add(applet, BorderLayout.CENTER);
      applet.init();                        // initialize the applet inside frame
      applet.addKeyListener(kbHandler);     // kbHandler is a keyboard handling object
      applet.start();
      frame.setSize(APPLETWIDTH,APPLETHEIGHT);
      Dimension d = Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit().getScreenSize();
      frame.setLocation((d.width - frame.getSize().width) / 2, (d.height - frame.getSize().height) / 2);
      frame.setVisible(true);
      // private inner class to terminate the Application when frame closes
      frame.addWindowListener(
        new WindowAdapter()
            public void windowClosing(WindowEvent e)
                System.exit(0);
      frame.show();
   }"kbHandler" is the keyboard event handling object. It gets initialized in the applet.init() method.
kbHandler = new BMkeyboardHandler();And here is the keyboard event handling code:
// ===== keyboard event handler ===========
   private class BMkeyboardHandler implements KeyListener
        public void keyPressed(KeyEvent e)
            pushedKey = e.getKeyCode();
            // General administrative key actions
            if(pushedKey == KE.VK_H)
                actionArea.toggleHelpMenu();
                actionArea.repaint();
            else if(pushedKey == KE.VK_C)
                actionArea.toggleCtrlMenu();
                actionArea.repaint();
     }So there it is. Again, the program handles events fine as a standalone application. But running it as an applet in a browser (and even the appletviewer) doesnt let me handle keystrokes.

How Do You Send the END KEY via Serial?

Hello All,
I'm trying to do something that would seem simple, but is not because almost no information about the END KEY on keyboards is posted online. Essentially, I'm trying to activate a device that comes out of sleep when someone presses the END KEY through hyperterminal or some ascii based command window. I'm trying to send that END KEY automatically using Labview, but I'm stuck. So here are my questions.
Does the END KEY have a specific ASCII number? I'm getting 2 different answers in my search for this one.
If it doesn't, how do I send that command over the serial communications line?
If it does, then what's the best way to convert it to something that labview understands as the END KEY, and not some combo of characters?
Thanks a bunch.
Matt

You would have to find out the character that is mapped to the END key and simply send that out the serial port. You may want to try sending 0x4f". At least this is what I found for the mapping of the END key.
Mark Yedinak
"Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours?"
Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald - Gordon Lightfoot

The Keyboard Home Key Enigma

Why is it when I hit my keyboard "Home" key the fader in my mixer shoots to the top? I am in the multitrack mode and have to channels in solo mode. My Mike fader doesn't move only the one with the music track for my voiceover??? Very strange....hitting the Home key is only supposed return me to the beginning of the project and not effect my mixer fader setting??? Even turning the automation to OFF instead of read has no affect!
Does anyone have this issue??

So... the clients send input events to the host and the host in turn simulates those events with the use of a Robot. Is that correct?
If so then the program needs to save the last injected keyboard input that had a modifier mask in a field somewhere. Whenever you need to ask if any modifier keys are being pressed, you need only to look at this field and see if it is a pressed event. However, this method won't be able to detect a person physically at the host computer typing stuff.
The central problem is that you can query keyboard input from OS (such as asking if shift is currently pressed) without a focused window using the standard api. But a focused window kind of defeats the purpose of what you are trying to do.

Changing keyboard modifier keys

I use an editor (EMACS) which makes major use of the 'ctrl' key so I swap it with the 'caps lock' key so my little finger can hit it without getting a cramp. It works just fine about 90% of the time but the other 10%, when I hit the 'caps lock' key instead of getting the 'ctrl' function I get the 'caps lock' function and my editing screws up terribly. It is really frustrating because if I don't notice, and if I hit what I think is <ctrl>k to kill a line I get a 'K' in the text instead.
PowerBook G4

I solved this problem by finding and altering an applescript that will change the keyboard modifier keys. I wish I could still find the web page so I could post it, but here's the applescript I used to change to PC layout:
tell application "System Preferences"
activate
set current pane to pane "com.apple.preference.keyboard"
end tell
tell application "System Events"
tell process "System Preferences"
click radio button "Keyboard" of tab group 1 of window "Keyboard & Mouse"
click button "Modifier Keys…" of tab group 1 of window "Keyboard & Mouse"
click pop up button 3 of sheet 1 of window "Keyboard & Mouse"
click menu item 4 of menu 1 of pop up button 3 of sheet 1 of window "Keyboard & Mouse"
delay 1
click pop up button 4 of sheet 1 of window "Keyboard & Mouse"
click menu item 3 of menu 1 of pop up button 4 of sheet 1 of window "Keyboard & Mouse"
click button "OK" of sheet 1 of window "Keyboard & Mouse"
end tell
end tell
tell application "System Preferences"
quit
end tell
(end of script)
And here's the script I used to change it back to Mac layout:
tell application "System Preferences"
activate
set current pane to pane "com.apple.preference.keyboard"
end tell
tell application "System Events"
tell process "System Preferences"
click radio button "Keyboard" of tab group 1 of window "Keyboard & Mouse"
click button "Modifier Keys…" of tab group 1 of window "Keyboard & Mouse"
click button "Restore Defaults" of sheet 1 of window "Keyboard & Mouse"
click button "OK" of sheet 1 of window "Keyboard & Mouse"
end tell
end tell
tell application "System Preferences"
quit
end tell
(end of script)
I saved the scripts as executibles with neat Apple and XP custom icons and put them in the Dock. Pretty slick.

[solved] send keyboard event / key to specific background window?

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