The wParam parameter of a keystroke message contains the virtual-key code of the key that was pressed or released. A window procedure processes or ignores a keystroke message, depending on the value of the virtual-key code.
A typical window procedure processes only a small subset of the keystroke messages that it receives and ignores the rest. For example, a window procedure might process only WM_KEYDOWN keystroke messages, and only those that contain virtual-key codes for the cursor movement keys, shift keys (also called control keys), and function keys. A typical window procedure does not process keystroke messages from character keys. Instead, it uses the TranslateMessage function to convert the message into character messages. For more information about TranslateMessage and character messages, see Character Messages.