Control.IsInputKey(Keys) Method

Reference

Definition

Namespace:: System.Windows.Forms

Assembly:: System.Windows.Forms.dll

Important

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Determines whether the specified key is a regular input key or a special key that requires preprocessing.

protected:
 virtual bool IsInputKey(System::Windows::Forms::Keys keyData);

protected virtual bool IsInputKey (System.Windows.Forms.Keys keyData);

abstract member IsInputKey : System.Windows.Forms.Keys -> bool
override this.IsInputKey : System.Windows.Forms.Keys -> bool

Protected Overridable Function IsInputKey (keyData As Keys) As Boolean

Parameters

keyData: Keys

One of the Keys values.

Returns

Boolean

true if the specified key is a regular input key; otherwise, false.

Examples

The following code example shows you how to override the IsInputKey method for a TextBox control. In this example, the TabTextBox class handles the TAB key. When the TabTextBox has the focus and the user presses the TAB key four spaces are added at the text insertion point, replacing any selected text. By default, the TextBox control handles the TAB key by moving the input focus to the next control. In this case, the keypress never reaches the OnKeyDown method override. To prevent this default behavior, the IsInputKey method override returns true when the user presses the TAB key. For all other keypresses, the IsInputKey method override returns the result of calling the base-class version of the method.

using System.Windows.Forms;

public class Form1 : Form
{
    public Form1()
    {
        FlowLayoutPanel panel = new FlowLayoutPanel();

        TabTextBox tabTextBox1 = new TabTextBox();
        tabTextBox1.Text = "TabTextBox";
        panel.Controls.Add(tabTextBox1);

        TextBox textBox1 = new TextBox();
        textBox1.Text = "Normal TextBox";
        panel.Controls.Add(textBox1);

        this.Controls.Add(panel);
    }
}

class TabTextBox : TextBox
{
    protected override bool IsInputKey(Keys keyData)
    {
        if (keyData == Keys.Tab)
        {
            return true;
        }
        else
        {
            return base.IsInputKey(keyData);
        }
    }

    protected override void OnKeyDown(KeyEventArgs e)
    {
        if (e.KeyData == Keys.Tab)
        {
            this.SelectedText = "    ";                
        }
        else
        {
            base.OnKeyDown(e);
        }
    }
}

Imports System.Windows.Forms

Public Class Form1
    Inherits Form

    Public Sub New()

        Dim panel As New FlowLayoutPanel()

        Dim tabTextBox1 As New TabTextBox()
        tabTextBox1.Text = "TabTextBox"
        panel.Controls.Add(tabTextBox1)

        Dim textBox1 As New TextBox()
        textBox1.Text = "Normal TextBox"
        panel.Controls.Add(textBox1)

        Me.Controls.Add(panel)

    End Sub

End Class

Class TabTextBox
    Inherits TextBox

    Protected Overrides Function IsInputKey( _
        ByVal keyData As System.Windows.Forms.Keys) As Boolean

        If keyData = Keys.Tab Then
            Return True
        Else
            Return MyBase.IsInputKey(keyData)
        End If

    End Function

    Protected Overrides Sub OnKeyDown( _
        ByVal e As System.Windows.Forms.KeyEventArgs)

        If e.KeyData = Keys.Tab Then
            Me.SelectedText = "    "
        Else
            MyBase.OnKeyDown(e)
        End If

    End Sub

End Class

Remarks

Call the IsInputKey method to determine whether the key specified by the keyData parameter is an input key that the control wants. This method is called during window message preprocessing to determine whether the specified input key should be preprocessed or sent directly to the control. If IsInputKey returns true, the specified key is sent directly to the control. If IsInputKey returns false, the specified key is preprocessed and only sent to the control if it is not consumed by the preprocessing phase. Keys that are preprocessed include the TAB, RETURN, ESC, and the UP ARROW, DOWN ARROW, LEFT ARROW, and RIGHT ARROW keys.

Applies to

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