int ToAscii(wVirtKey,wScanCode,lpKeyState,lpChar,wFlags)
This function translates the virtual-key code specified by the wVirtKey parameter and the current keyboard state specified by the lpKeyState parameter to the corresponding ANSI character or characters.
| Parameter | Type/Description |
| wVirtKey | WORD Specifies the virtual-key code to be translated. | |
| wScanCode | WORD Specifies the “hardware” raw scan code of the key to be translated. The high-order bit of this value is set if the key is up. | |
| lpKeyState | LPSTR Points to an array of 256 bytes, each of which contains the state of one key. If the high-order bit of the byte is set the key is down. | |
| lpChar | LPVOID Points to a 32-bit buffer which receives the translated ANSI character or characters. | |
| wFlags | WORD The bit 0 flag's menu display. |
The return value specifies the number of characters copied to the buffer identified by the lpChar parameter. The return value is negative if the key was a dead key. Otherwise, it is one of the following values:
| Value | Meaning |
| 2 | Two characters were copied to the buffer. This is usually an accent and a dead-key character, when the dead key cannot be translated otherwise. |
| 1 | One ANSI character was copied to the buffer. |
| 0 | The specified virtual key has no translation for the current state of the keyboard. |
The parameters supplied to the ToAscii function might not be sufficient to translate the virtual-key code because a previous dead key is stored in the keyboard driver.
Typically, ToAscii performs the translation based on the virtual-key code. In some cases, however, the wScanCode parameter may be used to distinguish between a key depression or a key release. The scan code is used for translating ALT+NUMBER key combinations.