The KEY_EVENT_RECORD structure is used to report keyboard input events in a console INPUT_RECORD structure.
typedef struct _KEY_EVENT_RECORD { // ker
BOOL bKeyDown;
WORD wRepeatCount;
WORD wVirtualKeyCode;
WORD wVirtualScanCode;
union {
WCHAR UnicodeChar;
CHAR AsciiChar;
} uChar;
DWORD dwControlKeyState;
} KEY_EVENT_RECORD;
Members
bKeyDown
Specifies TRUE if the key is being pressed, FALSE if the key is being released.
wRepeatCount
Specifies a count indicating that a key is being held down. For example, when a key is held down, you might get five events with this member equal to 1, one event with this member equal to 5, or multiple events with this member greater than or equal to 1.
wVirtualKeyCode
Specifies the virtual-key code that identifies the given key in a device-independent manner.
wVirtualScanCode
Specifies the virtual scan code of the given key that represents the device-dependent value generated by the keyboard hardware.
uChar
Specifies the translated Unicode or ASCII character, depending on whether the wide-character (Unicode) or ANSI version of the ReadConsoleInput function was used.
dwControlKeyState
Indicates the state of the control keys. This member can be a combination of the following values:
Value | Meaning |
CAPSLOCK_ON | The CAPS LOCK light is on. |
ENHANCED_KEY | The key is enhanced. |
LEFT_ALT_PRESSED | The left ALT key is pressed. |
LEFT_CTRL_PRESSED | The left CTRL key is pressed. |
NUMLOCK_ON | The NUM LOCK light is on. |
RIGHT_ALT_PRESSED | The right ALT key is pressed. |
RIGHT_CTRL_PRESSED | The right CTRL key is pressed. |
SCROLLLOCK_ON | The SCROLL LOCK light is on. |
SHIFT_PRESSED | The SHIFT key is pressed. |
Remarks
Enhanced keys for the IBM® 101- and 102-key keyboards are the INS, DEL, HOME, END, PAGE UP, PAGE DOWN, and direction keys in the clusters to the left of the keypad; and the divide (/) and ENTER keys in the keypad.
Keyboard input events are generated when any key, including control keys, is pressed or released. However, the ALT key when pressed and released without combining with another character, has special meaning to Windows and is not passed through to the application. Also, the CTRL+C key combination is not passed through if the input handle is in processed mode (ENABLE_PROCESSED_INPUT).
See Also
PeekConsoleInput, ReadConsoleInput, WriteConsoleInput, INPUT_RECORD