KEYHIT

The _KEYHIT function returns ASCII one and two byte, OpenGL Virtual Key and Unicode keyboard key press codes.

Syntax

keycode& = _KEYHIT

Description

• Return values range up to &H40000000 so use a LONG or _INTEGER64 variable type. See the _KEYDOWN code list:

• 0-255: ASCII values (Refer to CP437).
• 256-65535: 2-byte character codes : code = CVI(CHR$(0) + CHR$(scancode)) (unaffected by SHIFT/ALT/CTRL modifiers).
• 65536-&H40000000: QB64-specific Virtual Key codes (designated with + for 100000 on keyboard below)
• Negative LONG values returned indicate that a key was released or a lock function key has been turned off.

• Note: _KEYHIT can only return one value at a time so use the _KEYDOWN keyhit value to find key combinations.
• To receive input from a $CONSOLE window, use _CINP.

Template:WhiteStart' _KEYHIT Keyboard Codes ' 'Esc F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 F8 F9 F10 F11 F12 Sys ScL Pause ' 27 15104 15360 15616 15872 16128 16384 16640 16896 17152 17408 34048 34304 +316 +302 +019 '`~ 1! 2@ 3# 4$ 5% 6^ 7& 8* 9( 0) -_ =+ BkSp Ins Hme PUp NumL / * - '126 33 64 35 36 37 94 38 42 40 41 95 43 8 20992 18176 18688 +300 47 42 45 ' 96 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 48 45 61 'Tab Q W E R T Y U I O P [{ ]} \| Del End PDn 7Hme 8/▲ 9PU + ' 9 81 87 69 82 84 89 85 73 79 80 123 125 124 21248 20224 20736 18176 18432 18688 43 ' 113 119 101 114 116 121 117 105 111 112 91 93 92 55 56 57 'CapL A S D F G H J K L  ;: '" Enter 4/◄- 5 6/-► '+301 65 83 68 70 71 72 74 75 76 58 34 13 19200 19456 19712 E ' 97 115 100 102 103 104 106 107 108 59 39 52 53 54 n 'Shift Z X C V B N M ,< .> /? Shift ▲ 1End 2/▼ 3PD t '+304 90 88 67 86 66 78 77 60 62 63 +303 18432 20224 20480 20736 e ' 122 120 99 118 98 110 109 44 46 47 49 50 51 r 'Ctrl Win Alt Spacebar Alt Win Menu Ctrl ◄- ▼ -► 0Ins .Del '+306 +311 +308 32 +307 +312 +319 +305 19200 20480 19712 20992 21248 13 ' 48 46 ' ' Lower value = LCase/NumLock On __________________ + = add 100000 Template:WhiteEnd

NOTE: The above commented table can be copied and pasted directly into the QB64 IDE

• >= &H40000000: Unicode.

• Font cyberbit.ttf, included with QB64 (version 0.92 and up), is required to facilitate the IME(in Chinese settings) only. The 12.7 MB font is free for non-commercial use and is not loaded unless the user switches to the Input Mode Editor. Set to "UNICODE".

Setting up the Unicode Input Method Editor in Windows If you need help with IME support in Vista see the following article: Setting up IME in Vista

• QB64 can use several Windows fonts when cyberbit is not present so it is not necessary to include with program packages.
• An important difference between INKEY$ and _KEYHIT is how they work when CTRL, ALT or SHIFT are used. INKEY$ returns a different code if you hold down CTRL, ALT or SHIFT before pressing F1 (for example). _KEYHIT will return the same code regardless of which modifiers were used but you can check _KEYDOWN to see which modifying keys are being used.
• Keyboards with an Alt Gr key note: _KEYHIT may return both Alt (100307) and Ctrl (100306) codes when AltGr key is pressed or released.

Examples

Example: This routine will return the codes for any keyboard presses.

DEFLNG A-Z SCREEN _NEWIMAGE(800, 600, 8) CLS , 1 font = _LOADFONT("cyberbit.ttf", 24) unifont = _LOADFONT("cyberbit.ttf", 24, "UNICODE") _FONT font DO x = _KEYHIT IF x THEN IF x < 0 THEN 'negative value means key released COLOR 2 PRINT "Released "; x = -x ELSE COLOR 10 PRINT "Pressed "; 'positive value means key pressed END IF IF x < 256 THEN 'ASCII code values PRINT "ASCII "; x; IF x >= 32 AND x <= 255 THEN PRINT "[" + CHR$(x) + "]" ELSE PRINT END IF IF x >= 256 AND x < 65536 THEN '2 byte key codes PRINT "2-BYTE-COMBO "; x AND 255; x \ 256; x2 = x \ 256 IF x2 >= 32 AND x2 <= 255 THEN PRINT "[" + CHR$(x2) + "]" ELSE PRINT END IF IF x >= 100000 AND x < 200000 THEN 'QB84 Virtual Key codes PRINT "SDL VK"; x - 100000 END IF IF x >= 200000 AND x < &H40000000 THEN PRINT "QB64 VK"; x - 200000 END IF IF x >= &H40000000 THEN 'Unicode values (IME Input mode) PRINT "UNICODE "; x - &H40000000; "0x" + HEX$(x - &H40000000) + " ..."; cx = POS(1): cy = CSRLIN _FONT unifont LOCATE cy, cx COLOR 15 z$ = MKL$(x - &H40000000) + MKL$(0) PRINT z$ + z$ + z$; _FONT font LOCATE cy, 1: PRINT END IF END IF LOOP

Code by Galleon

See also

• _KEYDOWN, _CINP
• _MAPUNICODE, _MAPUNICODE (function)
• INKEY$, ASCII (code table),
• Unicode, Code Pages (by region)
• INP(&H60), Scancodes
• ON KEY(n), KEY(n), KEY n
• Windows hot keys

---

Navigation: Main Page with Articles and Tutorials Keyword Reference - Alphabetical Keyword Reference - By usage Report a broken link