_Application.SendKeys Method

  • Article

Sends keystrokes to the active application.

Namespace:  Microsoft.Office.Interop.Excel
Assembly:  Microsoft.Office.Interop.Excel (in Microsoft.Office.Interop.Excel.dll)

Syntax

'Declaration
Sub SendKeys ( _
    Keys As Object, _
    Wait As Object _
)
'Usage
Dim instance As _Application
Dim Keys As Object
Dim Wait As Object

instance.SendKeys(Keys, Wait)

void SendKeys(
    Object Keys,
    Object Wait
)

Parameters

  • Keys
    Type: System.Object

    Required Object. The key or key combination you want to send to the application as text.

  • Wait
    Type: System.Object

    Optional Object. True to have Microsoft Excel wait for the keys to be processed before returning control to the macro. False (or omitted) to continue running the macro without waiting for the keys to be processed.

Remarks

This method places keystrokes in a key buffer. In some cases, you must call this method before you call the method that will use the keystrokes. For example, to send a password to a dialog box, you must call the SendKeys method before you display the dialog box.

The Keys argument can specify any single key or any key combined with ALT, CTRL, or SHIFT (or any combination of those keys). Each key is represented by one or more characters, such as "a" for the character a, or "{ENTER}" for the ENTER key.

To specify characters that aren't displayed when you press the corresponding key (for example, ENTER or TAB), use the codes listed in the following table. Each code in the table represents one key on the keyboard.

Key

Code

BACKSPACE

{BACKSPACE} or {BS}

BREAK

{BREAK}

CAPS LOCK

{CAPSLOCK}

CLEAR

{CLEAR}

DELETE or DEL

{DELETE} or {DEL}

DOWN ARROW

{DOWN}

END

{END}

ENTER

~ (tilde)

ENTER (numeric keypad)

{ENTER}

ESC

{ESCAPE} or {ESC}

F1 through F15

{F1} through {F15}

HELP

{HELP}

HOME

{HOME}

INS

{INSERT}

LEFT ARROW

{LEFT}

NUM LOCK

{NUMLOCK}

PAGE DOWN

{PGDN}

PAGE UP

{PGUP}

RETURN

{RETURN}

RIGHT ARROW

{RIGHT}

SCROLL LOCK

{SCROLLLOCK}

TAB

{TAB}

UP ARROW

{UP}

You can also specify keys combined with SHIFT and/or CTRL and/or ALT. To specify a key combined with another key or keys, use the following table.

To combine a key with

Precede the key code with

SHIFT

+ (plus sign)

CTRL

^ (caret)

ALT

% (percent sign)

See Also

Reference

_Application Interface

_Application Members

Microsoft.Office.Interop.Excel Namespace