Using Keyboard Input
A window receives keyboard input in the form of keystroke messages and character messages. The message loop attached to the window must include code to translate keystroke messages into the corresponding character messages. If the window displays keyboard input in its client area, it should create and display a caret to indicate the position where the next character will be entered. The following sections describe the code involved in receiving, processing, and displaying keyboard input:
- Processing Keystroke Messages
- Translating Character Messages
- Processing Character Messages
- Using the Caret
- Displaying Keyboard Input
Processing Keystroke Messages
The window procedure of the window that has the keyboard focus receives keystroke messages when the user types at the keyboard. The keystroke messages are WM_KEYDOWN, WM_KEYUP, WM_SYSKEYDOWN, and WM_SYSKEYUP. A typical window procedure ignores all keystroke messages except WM_KEYDOWN. The system posts the WM_KEYDOWN message when the user presses a key.
When the window procedure receives the WM_KEYDOWN message, it should examine the virtual-key code that accompanies the message to determine how to process the keystroke. The virtual-key code is in the message's wParam parameter. Typically, an application processes only keystrokes generated by noncharacter keys, including the function keys, the cursor movement keys, and the special purpose keys such as INS, DEL, HOME, and END.
The following example shows the window procedure framework that a typical application uses to receive and process keystroke messages.
case WM_KEYDOWN:
switch (wParam)
{
case VK_LEFT:
// Process the LEFT ARROW key.
break;
case VK_RIGHT:
// Process the RIGHT ARROW key.
break;
case VK_UP:
// Process the UP ARROW key.
break;
case VK_DOWN:
// Process the DOWN ARROW key.
break;
case VK_HOME:
// Process the HOME key.
break;
case VK_END:
// Process the END key.
break;
case VK_INSERT:
// Process the INS key.
break;
case VK_DELETE:
// Process the DEL key.
break;
case VK_F2:
// Process the F2 key.
break;
default:
// Process other non-character keystrokes.
break;
}
Translating Character Messages
Any thread that receives character input from the user must include the TranslateMessage function in its message loop. This function examines the virtual-key code of a keystroke message and, if the code corresponds to a character, places a character message into the message queue. The character message is removed and dispatched on the next iteration of the message loop; the wParam parameter of the message contains the character code.
In general, a thread's message loop should use the TranslateMessage function to translate every message, not just virtual-key messages. Although TranslateMessage has no effect on other types of messages, it guarantees that keyboard input is translated correctly. The following example shows how to include the TranslateMessage function in a typical thread message loop.
MSG msg;
BOOL bRet;
while ((bRet = GetMessage(&msg, (HWND) NULL, 0, 0)) != 0)
{
if (bRet == -1);
{
// handle the error and possibly exit
}
else
{
if (TranslateAccelerator(hwndMain, haccl, &msg) == 0)
{
TranslateMessage(&msg);
DispatchMessage(&msg);
}
}
}
Processing Character Messages
A window procedure receives a character message when the TranslateMessage function translates a virtual-key code corresponding to a character key. The character messages are WM_CHAR, WM_DEADCHAR, WM_SYSCHAR, and WM_SYSDEADCHAR. A typical window procedure ignores all character messages except WM_CHAR. The TranslateMessage function generates a WM_CHAR message when the user presses any of the following keys:
- Any character key
- BACKSPACE
- ENTER (carriage return)
- ESC
- SHIFT+ENTER (linefeed)
- TAB
When a window procedure receives the WM_CHAR message, it should examine the character code that accompanies the message to determine how to process the character. The character code is in the message's wParam parameter.
The following example shows the window procedure framework that a typical application uses to receive and process character messages.
case WM_CHAR:
switch (wParam)
{
case 0x08: // or '\b'
// Process a backspace.
break;
case 0x09: // or '\t'
// Process a tab.
break;
case 0x0A: // or '\n'
// Process a linefeed.
break;
case 0x0D:
// Process a carriage return.
break;
case 0x1B:
// Process an escape.
break;
default:
// Process displayable characters.
break;
}
Using the Caret
A window that receives keyboard input typically displays the characters the user types in the window's client area. A window should use a caret to indicate the position in the client area where the next character will appear. The window should also create and display the caret when it receives the keyboard focus, and hide and destroy the caret when it loses the focus. A window can perform these operations in the processing of the WM_SETFOCUS and WM_KILLFOCUS messages. For more information about carets, see Carets.
Displaying Keyboard Input
The example in this section shows how an application can receive characters from the keyboard, display them in the client area of a window, and update the position of the caret with each character typed. It also demonstrates how to move the caret in response to the LEFT ARROW, RIGHT ARROW, HOME, and END keystrokes, and shows how to highlight selected text in response to the SHIFT+RIGHT ARROW key combination.
During processing of the WM_CREATE message, the window procedure shown in the example allocates a 64K buffer for storing keyboard input. It also retrieves the metrics of the currently loaded font, saving the height and average width of characters in the font. The height and width are used in processing the WM_SIZE message to calculate the line length and maximum number of lines, based on the size of the client area.
The window procedure creates and displays the caret when processing the WM_SETFOCUS message. It hides and deletes the caret when processing the WM_KILLFOCUS message.
When processing the WM_CHAR message, the window procedure displays characters, stores them in the input buffer, and updates the caret position. The window procedure also converts tab characters to four consecutive space characters. Backspace, linefeed, and escape characters generate a beep, but are not otherwise processed.
The window procedure performs the left, right, end, and home caret movements when processing the WM_KEYDOWN message. While processing the action of the RIGHT ARROW key, the window procedure checks the state of the SHIFT key and, if it is down, selects the character to the right of the caret as the caret is moved.
Note that the following code is written so that it can be compiled either as Unicode or as ANSI. If the source code defines UNICODE, strings are handled as Unicode characters; otherwise, they are handled as ANSI characters.
#define BUFSIZE 65535
#define SHIFTED 0x8000
LONG APIENTRY MainWndProc(HWND hwndMain, UINT uMsg, WPARAM wParam, LPARAM lParam)
{
HDC hdc; // handle to device context
TEXTMETRIC tm; // structure for text metrics
static DWORD dwCharX; // average width of characters
static DWORD dwCharY; // height of characters
static DWORD dwClientX; // width of client area
static DWORD dwClientY; // height of client area
static DWORD dwLineLen; // line length
static DWORD dwLines; // text lines in client area
static int nCaretPosX = 0; // horizontal position of caret
static int nCaretPosY = 0; // vertical position of caret
static int nCharWidth = 0; // width of a character
static int cch = 0; // characters in buffer
static int nCurChar = 0; // index of current character
static PTCHAR pchInputBuf; // input buffer
int i, j; // loop counters
int cCR = 0; // count of carriage returns
int nCRIndex = 0; // index of last carriage return
int nVirtKey; // virtual-key code
TCHAR szBuf[128]; // temporary buffer
TCHAR ch; // current character
PAINTSTRUCT ps; // required by BeginPaint
RECT rc; // output rectangle for DrawText
SIZE sz; // string dimensions
COLORREF crPrevText; // previous text color
COLORREF crPrevBk; // previous background color
size_t * pcch;
HRESULT hResult;
switch (uMsg)
{
case WM_CREATE:
// Get the metrics of the current font.
hdc = GetDC(hwndMain);
GetTextMetrics(hdc, &tm);
ReleaseDC(hwndMain, hdc);
// Save the average character width and height.
dwCharX = tm.tmAveCharWidth;
dwCharY = tm.tmHeight;
// Allocate a buffer to store keyboard input.
pchInputBuf = (LPTSTR) GlobalAlloc(GPTR,
BUFSIZE * sizeof(TCHAR));
return 0;
case WM_SIZE:
// Save the new width and height of the client area.
dwClientX = LOWORD(lParam);
dwClientY = HIWORD(lParam);
// Calculate the maximum width of a line and the
// maximum number of lines in the client area.
dwLineLen = dwClientX - dwCharX;
dwLines = dwClientY / dwCharY;
break;
case WM_SETFOCUS:
// Create, position, and display the caret when the
// window receives the keyboard focus.
CreateCaret(hwndMain, (HBITMAP) 1, 0, dwCharY);
SetCaretPos(nCaretPosX, nCaretPosY * dwCharY);
ShowCaret(hwndMain);
break;
case WM_KILLFOCUS:
// Hide and destroy the caret when the window loses the
// keyboard focus.
HideCaret(hwndMain);
DestroyCaret();
break;
case WM_CHAR:
// check if current location is close enough to the
// end of the buffer that a buffer overflow may
// occur. If so, add null and display contents.
if (cch > BUFSIZE-5)
{
pchInputBuf[cch] = 0x00;
SendMessage(hwndMain, WM_PAINT, 0, 0);
}
switch (wParam)
{
case 0x08: // backspace
case 0x0A: // linefeed
case 0x1B: // escape
MessageBeep((UINT) -1);
return 0;
case 0x09: // tab
// Convert tabs to four consecutive spaces.
for (i = 0; i < 4; i++)
SendMessage(hwndMain, WM_CHAR, 0x20, 0);
return 0;
case 0x0D: // carriage return
// Record the carriage return and position the
// caret at the beginning of the new line.
pchInputBuf[cch++] = 0x0D;
nCaretPosX = 0;
nCaretPosY += 1;
break;
default: // displayable character
ch = (TCHAR) wParam;
HideCaret(hwndMain);
// Retrieve the character's width and output
// the character.
hdc = GetDC(hwndMain);
GetCharWidth32(hdc, (UINT) wParam, (UINT) wParam,
&nCharWidth);
TextOut(hdc, nCaretPosX, nCaretPosY * dwCharY,
&ch, 1);
ReleaseDC(hwndMain, hdc);
// Store the character in the buffer.
pchInputBuf[cch++] = ch;
// Calculate the new horizontal position of the
// caret. If the position exceeds the maximum,
// insert a carriage return and move the caret
// to the beginning of the next line.
nCaretPosX += nCharWidth;
if ((DWORD) nCaretPosX > dwLineLen)
{
nCaretPosX = 0;
pchInputBuf[cch++] = 0x0D;
++nCaretPosY;
}
nCurChar = cch;
ShowCaret(hwndMain);
break;
}
SetCaretPos(nCaretPosX, nCaretPosY * dwCharY);
break;
case WM_KEYDOWN:
switch (wParam)
{
case VK_LEFT: // LEFT ARROW
// The caret can move only to the beginning of
// the current line.
if (nCaretPosX > 0)
{
HideCaret(hwndMain);
// Retrieve the character to the left of
// the caret, calculate the character's
// width, then subtract the width from the
// current horizontal position of the caret
// to obtain the new position.
ch = pchInputBuf[--nCurChar];
hdc = GetDC(hwndMain);
GetCharWidth32(hdc, ch, ch, &nCharWidth);
ReleaseDC(hwndMain, hdc);
nCaretPosX = max(nCaretPosX - nCharWidth,
0);
ShowCaret(hwndMain);
}
break;
case VK_RIGHT: // RIGHT ARROW
// Caret moves to the right or, when a carriage
// return is encountered, to the beginning of
// the next line.
if (nCurChar < cch)
{
HideCaret(hwndMain);
// Retrieve the character to the right of
// the caret. If it's a carriage return,
// position the caret at the beginning of
// the next line.
ch = pchInputBuf[nCurChar];
if (ch == 0x0D)
{
nCaretPosX = 0;
nCaretPosY++;
}
// If the character isn't a carriage
// return, check to see whether the SHIFT
// key is down. If it is, invert the text
// colors and output the character.
else
{
hdc = GetDC(hwndMain);
nVirtKey = GetKeyState(VK_SHIFT);
if (nVirtKey & SHIFTED)
{
crPrevText = SetTextColor(hdc,
RGB(255, 255, 255));
crPrevBk = SetBkColor(hdc,
RGB(0,0,0));
TextOut(hdc, nCaretPosX,
nCaretPosY * dwCharY,
&ch, 1);
SetTextColor(hdc, crPrevText);
SetBkColor(hdc, crPrevBk);
}
// Get the width of the character and
// calculate the new horizontal
// position of the caret.
GetCharWidth32(hdc, ch, ch, &nCharWidth);
ReleaseDC(hwndMain, hdc);
nCaretPosX = nCaretPosX + nCharWidth;
}
nCurChar++;
ShowCaret(hwndMain);
break;
}
break;
case VK_UP: // UP ARROW
case VK_DOWN: // DOWN ARROW
MessageBeep((UINT) -1);
return 0;
case VK_HOME: // HOME
// Set the caret's position to the upper left
// corner of the client area.
nCaretPosX = nCaretPosY = 0;
nCurChar = 0;
break;
case VK_END: // END
// Move the caret to the end of the text.
for (i=0; i < cch; i++)
{
// Count the carriage returns and save the
// index of the last one.
if (pchInputBuf[i] == 0x0D)
{
cCR++;
nCRIndex = i + 1;
}
}
nCaretPosY = cCR;
// Copy all text between the last carriage
// return and the end of the keyboard input
// buffer to a temporary buffer.
for (i = nCRIndex, j = 0; i < cch; i++, j++)
szBuf[j] = pchInputBuf[i];
szBuf[j] = TEXT('\0');
// Retrieve the text extent and use it
// to set the horizontal position of the
// caret.
hdc = GetDC(hwndMain);
hResult = StringCchLength(szBuf, 128, pcch);
if (FAILED(hResult))
{
// TODO: write error handler
}
GetTextExtentPoint32(hdc, szBuf, *pcch,
&sz);
nCaretPosX = sz.cx;
ReleaseDC(hwndMain, hdc);
nCurChar = cch;
break;
default:
break;
}
SetCaretPos(nCaretPosX, nCaretPosY * dwCharY);
break;
case WM_PAINT:
if (cch == 0) // nothing in input buffer
break;
hdc = BeginPaint(hwndMain, &ps);
HideCaret(hwndMain);
// Set the clipping rectangle, and then draw the text
// into it.
SetRect(&rc, 0, 0, dwLineLen, dwClientY);
DrawText(hdc, pchInputBuf, -1, &rc, DT_LEFT);
ShowCaret(hwndMain);
EndPaint(hwndMain, &ps);
break;
// Process other messages.
case WM_DESTROY:
PostQuitMessage(0);
// Free the input buffer.
GlobalFree((HGLOBAL) pchInputBuf);
UnregisterHotKey(hwndMain, 0xAAAA);
break;
default:
return DefWindowProc(hwndMain, uMsg, wParam, lParam);
}
return NULL;
}
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