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MSDN
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.NET Development
.NET Framework 3.5
System Namespace
Console Class
Console Events
 CancelKeyPress Event
This page is specific to
Microsoft Visual Studio 2008/.NET Framework 3.5

Other versions are also available for the following:
.NET Framework Class Library
Console..::.CancelKeyPress Event

Updated: November 2007

Occurs when the Control modifier key (CTRL) and C console key (C) are pressed simultaneously (CTRL+C).

Namespace:  System
Assembly:  mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)

Visual Basic (Declaration)
Public Shared Event CancelKeyPress As ConsoleCancelEventHandler
Visual Basic (Usage)
Dim handler As ConsoleCancelEventHandler

AddHandler Console.CancelKeyPress, handler
C#
public static event ConsoleCancelEventHandler CancelKeyPress
Visual C++
public:
static  event ConsoleCancelEventHandler^ CancelKeyPress {
    void add (ConsoleCancelEventHandler^ value);
    void remove (ConsoleCancelEventHandler^ value);
}
J#
/** @event */
public static void add_CancelKeyPress (ConsoleCancelEventHandler value)
/** @event */
public static void remove_CancelKeyPress (ConsoleCancelEventHandler value)
JScript
JScript does not support events.

This event is used in conjunction with System..::.ConsoleCancelEventHandler and System..::.ConsoleCancelEventArgs. The CancelKeyPress event enables a console application to intercept the CTRL+C signal so the application can decide whether to continue executing or terminate. For more information about handling events, see Consuming Events.

Use this event to explicitly control how your application responds to the CTRL+C signal. If your application has simple requirements, you can use the TreatControlCAsInput property instead of this event.

The event handler for this event is executed on a thread pool thread.

The following code example demonstrates how the CancelKeyPress event is used.

Visual Basic
' This example demonstrates:
' the Console.CancelKeyPress event,
' the ConsoleCancelEventHandler delegate, 
' the ConsoleCancelEventArgs.SpecialKey property, and 
' the ConsoleCancelEventArgs.Cancel property.

Imports System

Class Sample
    Public Shared Sub Main() 
        Dim cki As ConsoleKeyInfo

        ' Clear the screen.
        Console.Clear()

        ' Turn off the default system behavior when CTRL+C is pressed. When 
        ' Console.TreatControlCAsInput is false, CTRL+C is treated as an
        ' interrupt instead of as input.
        Console.TreatControlCAsInput = False

        ' Establish an event handler to process key press events.
        AddHandler Console.CancelKeyPress, AddressOf myHandler

        While True
            ' Prompt the user.
            Console.Write("Press any key, or 'X' to quit, or ")
            Console.WriteLine("CTRL+C to interrupt the read operation:")

            ' Start a console read operation. Do not display the input.
            cki = Console.ReadKey(True)

            ' Announce the name of the key that was pressed .
            Console.WriteLine("  Key pressed: {0}" & vbCrLf, cki.Key)

            ' Exit if the user pressed the 'X' key.
            If cki.Key = ConsoleKey.X Then Exit While
        End While
    End Sub 'Main

'   When you press CTRL+C, the read operation is interrupted and the 
'   console cancel event handler, myHandler, is invoked. Upon entry 
'   to the event handler, the Cancel property is false, which means 
'   the current process will terminate when the event handler terminates. 
'   However, the event handler sets the Cancel property to true, which 
'   means the process will not terminate and the read operation will resume.

    Protected Shared Sub myHandler(ByVal sender As Object, _
                                   ByVal args As ConsoleCancelEventArgs) 
        ' Announce that the event handler has been invoked.
        Console.WriteLine(vbCrLf & "The read operation has been interrupted.")

        ' Announce which key combination was pressed.
        Console.WriteLine("  Key pressed: {0}", args.SpecialKey)

        ' Announce the initial value of the Cancel property.
        Console.WriteLine("  Cancel property: {0}", args.Cancel)

        ' Set the Cancel property to true to prevent the process from terminating.
        Console.WriteLine("Setting the Cancel property to true...")
        args.Cancel = True

        ' Announce the new value of the Cancel property.
        Console.WriteLine("  Cancel property: {0}", args.Cancel)
        Console.WriteLine("The read operation will resume..." & vbCrLf)

    End Sub 'myHandler
End Class 'Sample
'
'This code example produces results similar to the following text:
'
'Press any key, or 'X' to quit, or CTRL+C to interrupt the read operation:
'  Key pressed: J
'
'Press any key, or 'X' to quit, or CTRL+C to interrupt the read operation:
'  Key pressed: Enter
'
'Press any key, or 'X' to quit, or CTRL+C to interrupt the read operation:
'
'The read operation has been interrupted.
'  Key pressed: ControlC
'  Cancel property: False
'Setting the Cancel property to true...
'  Cancel property: True
'The read operation will resume...
'
'  Key pressed: Q
'
'Press any key, or 'X' to quit, or CTRL+C to interrupt the read operation:
'  Key pressed: X
'

C#
// This example demonstrates:
// the Console.CancelKeyPress event,
// the ConsoleCancelEventHandler delegate, 
// the ConsoleCancelEventArgs.SpecialKey property, and 
// the ConsoleCancelEventArgs.Cancel property.

using System;

class Sample 
{
    public static void Main()
    {
    ConsoleKeyInfo cki;

// Clear the screen.
    Console.Clear();

// Turn off the default system behavior when CTRL+C is pressed. When 
// Console.TreatControlCAsInput is false, CTRL+C is treated as an
// interrupt instead of as input.
    Console.TreatControlCAsInput = false;

// Establish an event handler to process key press events.
    Console.CancelKeyPress += new ConsoleCancelEventHandler(myHandler);
    while (true)
        {
// Prompt the user.
        Console.Write("Press any key, or 'X' to quit, or ");
        Console.WriteLine("CTRL+C to interrupt the read operation:");

// Start a console read operation. Do not display the input.
        cki = Console.ReadKey(true);

// Announce the name of the key that was pressed .
        Console.WriteLine("  Key pressed: {0}\n", cki.Key);

// Exit if the user pressed the 'X' key.
        if (cki.Key == ConsoleKey.X) break;
        }
    }

/*
   When you press CTRL+C, the read operation is interrupted and the 
   console cancel event handler, myHandler, is invoked. Upon entry 
   to the event handler, the Cancel property is false, which means 
   the current process will terminate when the event handler terminates. 
   However, the event handler sets the Cancel property to true, which 
   means the process will not terminate and the read operation will resume.
*/
    protected static void myHandler(object sender, ConsoleCancelEventArgs args)
    {
// Announce that the event handler has been invoked.
    Console.WriteLine("\nThe read operation has been interrupted.");

// Announce which key combination was pressed.
    Console.WriteLine("  Key pressed: {0}", args.SpecialKey);

// Announce the initial value of the Cancel property.
    Console.WriteLine("  Cancel property: {0}", args.Cancel);

// Set the Cancel property to true to prevent the process from terminating.
    Console.WriteLine("Setting the Cancel property to true...");
    args.Cancel = true;

// Announce the new value of the Cancel property.
    Console.WriteLine("  Cancel property: {0}", args.Cancel);
    Console.WriteLine("The read operation will resume...\n");
    }
}
/*
This code example produces results similar to the following text:

Press any key, or 'X' to quit, or CTRL+C to interrupt the read operation:
  Key pressed: J

Press any key, or 'X' to quit, or CTRL+C to interrupt the read operation:
  Key pressed: Enter

Press any key, or 'X' to quit, or CTRL+C to interrupt the read operation:

The read operation has been interrupted.
  Key pressed: ControlC
  Cancel property: False
Setting the Cancel property to true...
  Cancel property: True
The read operation will resume...

  Key pressed: Q

Press any key, or 'X' to quit, or CTRL+C to interrupt the read operation:
  Key pressed: X

*/

Visual C++
// This example demonstrates:
// the Console.CancelKeyPress event,
// the ConsoleCancelEventHandler delegate, 
// the ConsoleCancelEventArgs.SpecialKey property, and 
// the ConsoleCancelEventArgs.Cancel property.

using namespace System;

// When you press CTRL+C, the read operation is interrupted and the 
// console cancel event handler, myHandler, is invoked. Upon entry 
// to the event handler, the Cancel property is false, which means 
// the current process will terminate when the event handler terminates. 
// However, the event handler sets the Cancel property to true, which 
// means the process will not terminate and the read operation will resume.
void OnCancelKeyPressed(Object^ sender, 
    ConsoleCancelEventArgs^ args)
{
    // Announce that the event handler has been invoked.
    Console::WriteLine("{0}The read operation has been interrupted.",
        Environment::NewLine);

    // Announce which key combination was pressed.
    Console::WriteLine("  Key pressed: {0}", args->SpecialKey);

    // Announce the initial value of the Cancel property.
    Console::WriteLine("  Cancel property: {0}", args->Cancel);

    // Set the Cancel property to true to prevent the process from 
    // terminating.
    Console::WriteLine("Setting the Cancel property to true...");
    args->Cancel = true;

    // Announce the new value of the Cancel property.
    Console::WriteLine("  Cancel property: {0}", args->Cancel);
    Console::WriteLine("The read operation will resume...{0}",
        Environment::NewLine);
}

int main()
{       
    // Clear the screen.
    Console::Clear();

    // Turn off the default system behavior when CTRL+C is pressed. When 
    // Console.TreatControlCAsInput is false, CTRL+C is treated as an
    // interrupt instead of as input.
    Console::TreatControlCAsInput = false;

    // Establish an event handler to process key press events.
    Console::CancelKeyPress += 
        gcnew ConsoleCancelEventHandler(OnCancelKeyPressed);

    while (true)
    {
        // Prompt the user.
        Console::Write("Press any key, or 'X' to quit, or ");
        Console::WriteLine("CTRL+C to interrupt the read operation:");

        // Start a console read operation. Do not display the input.
        ConsoleKeyInfo^ keyInfo = Console::ReadKey(true);

        // Announce the name of the key that was pressed .
        Console::WriteLine("  Key pressed: {0}{1}", keyInfo->Key, 
            Environment::NewLine);

        // Exit if the user pressed the 'X' key.
        if (keyInfo->Key == ConsoleKey::X)
        {
            break;
        }
    }
}
/*
This code example produces results similar to the following text:

Press any key, or 'X' to quit, or CTRL+C to interrupt the read operation:
Key pressed: J

Press any key, or 'X' to quit, or CTRL+C to interrupt the read operation:
Key pressed: Enter

Press any key, or 'X' to quit, or CTRL+C to interrupt the read operation:

The read operation has been interrupted.
Key pressed: ControlC
Cancel property: False
Setting the Cancel property to true...
Cancel property: True
The read operation will resume...

Key pressed: Q

Press any key, or 'X' to quit, or CTRL+C to interrupt the read operation:
Key pressed: X

*/

Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP Starter Edition, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2000 SP4, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 98

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
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something wrong?      faen zhang   |   Edit   |  
  When you press CTRL+C, the read operation is interrupted and the 
console cancel event handler, myHandler, is invoked.

If you add this code in handler : "Thread.Sleep(20000)";

When the handler is sleeping, you could still input. So "the read operation is interrupted" is wrong?


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