Occurs when a key is pressed while the control has focus.
(in System.Windows.Forms.dll)
Visual Basic (Declaration)
Public Event KeyDown As KeyEventHandler
Dim instance As Control
Dim handler As KeyEventHandler
AddHandler instance.KeyDown, handler
public event KeyEventHandler KeyDown
public:
event KeyEventHandler^ KeyDown {
void add (KeyEventHandler^ value);
void remove (KeyEventHandler^ value);
}
JScript does not support events.
Key events occur in the following order:
KeyDown
KeyPress
KeyUp
To handle keyboard events only at the form level and not enable other controls to receive keyboard events, set the KeyPressEventArgs..::.Handled property in your form's KeyPress event-handling method to true. Certain keys, such as the TAB, RETURN, ESCAPE, and arrow keys are handled by controls automatically. To have these keys raise the KeyDown event, you must override the IsInputKey method in each control on your form. The code for the override of the IsInputKey would need to determine if one of the special keys is pressed and return a value of true.
For more information about handling events, see Consuming Events.
The following code example uses the KeyDown event to determine the type of character entered into the control.
' Boolean flag used to determine when a character other than a number is entered.
Private nonNumberEntered As Boolean = False
' Handle the KeyDown event to determine the type of character entered into the control.
Private Sub textBox1_KeyDown(sender As Object, e As System.Windows.Forms.KeyEventArgs) _
Handles textBox1.KeyDown
' Initialize the flag to false.
nonNumberEntered = False
' Determine whether the keystroke is a number from the top of the keyboard.
If e.KeyCode < Keys.D0 OrElse e.KeyCode > Keys.D9 Then
' Determine whether the keystroke is a number from the keypad.
If e.KeyCode < Keys.NumPad0 OrElse e.KeyCode > Keys.NumPad9 Then
' Determine whether the keystroke is a backspace.
If e.KeyCode <> Keys.Back Then
' A non-numerical keystroke was pressed.
' Set the flag to true and evaluate in KeyPress event.
nonNumberEntered = True
End If
End If
End If
'If shift key was pressed, it's not a number.
If Control.ModifierKeys = Keys.Shift Then
nonNumberEntered = true
End If
End Sub 'textBox1_KeyDown
' This event occurs after the KeyDown event and can be used
' to prevent characters from entering the control.
Private Sub textBox1_KeyPress(sender As Object, e As System.Windows.Forms.KeyPressEventArgs) _
Handles textBox1.KeyPress
' Check for the flag being set in the KeyDown event.
If nonNumberEntered = True Then
' Stop the character from being entered into the control since it is non-numerical.
e.Handled = True
End If
End Sub 'textBox1_KeyPress
// Boolean flag used to determine when a character other than a number is entered.
private bool nonNumberEntered = false;
// Handle the KeyDown event to determine the type of character entered into the control.
private void textBox1_KeyDown(object sender, System.Windows.Forms.KeyEventArgs e)
{
// Initialize the flag to false.
nonNumberEntered = false;
// Determine whether the keystroke is a number from the top of the keyboard.
if (e.KeyCode < Keys.D0 || e.KeyCode > Keys.D9)
{
// Determine whether the keystroke is a number from the keypad.
if (e.KeyCode < Keys.NumPad0 || e.KeyCode > Keys.NumPad9)
{
// Determine whether the keystroke is a backspace.
if(e.KeyCode != Keys.Back)
{
// A non-numerical keystroke was pressed.
// Set the flag to true and evaluate in KeyPress event.
nonNumberEntered = true;
}
}
}
//If shift key was pressed, it's not a number.
if (Control.ModifierKeys == Keys.Shift) {
nonNumberEntered = true;
}
}
// This event occurs after the KeyDown event and can be used to prevent
// characters from entering the control.
private void textBox1_KeyPress(object sender, System.Windows.Forms.KeyPressEventArgs e)
{
// Check for the flag being set in the KeyDown event.
if (nonNumberEntered == true)
{
// Stop the character from being entered into the control since it is non-numerical.
e.Handled = true;
}
}
// Boolean flag used to determine when a character other than a number is entered.
private:
bool nonNumberEntered;
// Handle the KeyDown event to determine the type of character entered into the control.
void textBox1_KeyDown( Object^ /*sender*/, System::Windows::Forms::KeyEventArgs^ e )
{
// Initialize the flag to false.
nonNumberEntered = false;
// Determine whether the keystroke is a number from the top of the keyboard.
if ( e->KeyCode < Keys::D0 || e->KeyCode > Keys::D9 )
{
// Determine whether the keystroke is a number from the keypad.
if ( e->KeyCode < Keys::NumPad0 || e->KeyCode > Keys::NumPad9 )
{
// Determine whether the keystroke is a backspace.
if ( e->KeyCode != Keys::Back )
{
// A non-numerical keystroke was pressed.
// Set the flag to true and evaluate in KeyPress event.
nonNumberEntered = true;
}
}
}
//If shift key was pressed, it's not a number.
if (Control::ModifierKeys == Keys::Shift) {
nonNumberEntered = true;
}
}
// This event occurs after the KeyDown event and can be used to prevent
// characters from entering the control.
void textBox1_KeyPress( Object^ /*sender*/, System::Windows::Forms::KeyPressEventArgs^ e )
{
// Check for the flag being set in the KeyDown event.
if ( nonNumberEntered == true )
{ // Stop the character from being entered into the control since it is non-numerical.
e->Handled = true;
}
}
Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP Starter Edition, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2000 SP4, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 98, Windows CE, Windows Mobile for Smartphone, Windows Mobile for Pocket PC
The .NET Framework and .NET Compact Framework do not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.
.NET Framework
Supported in: 3.5, 3.0, 2.0, 1.1, 1.0
.NET Compact Framework
Supported in: 3.5, 2.0, 1.0
Reference