KeyDown, KeyUp Events

See Also                  Macros         Event Procedures         Applies To

• The KeyDown event occurs when the user presses a key while a form or control has the focus. This event also occurs if you send a keystroke to a form or control by using the SendKeys action in a macro or the SendKeys statement in Visual Basic.
  
  
• The KeyUp event occurs when the user releases a key while a form or control has the focus. This event also occurs if you send a keystroke to a form or control by using the SendKeys action in a macro or the SendKeys statement in Visual Basic.

Note   The KeyDown and KeyUp events apply only to forms and controls on a form, not controls on a report.

Remarks

To run a macro or event procedure when these events occur, set the OnKeyDown or OnKeyUp property to the name of the macro or to [Event Procedure].

For both events, the object with the focus receives all keystrokes. A form can have the focus only if it has no controls or all its visible controls are disabled.

A form will also receive all keyboard events, even those that occur for controls, if you set the KeyPreview property of the form to Yes. With this property setting, all keyboard events occur first for the form, and then for the control that has the focus. You can respond to specific keys pressed in the form, regardless of which control has the focus. For example, you may want the key combination CTRL+X to always perform the same action on a form.

If you press and hold down a key, the KeyDown and KeyPress events alternate repeatedly (KeyDown, KeyPress, KeyDown, KeyPress, and so on) until you release the key, then the KeyUp event occurs.

Although the KeyDown and KeyUp events occur when most keys are pressed, they are typically used to recognize or distinguish between:

• Extended character keys, such as function keys.
  
  
• Navigation keys, such as HOME, END, PAGE UP, PAGE DOWN, UP ARROW, DOWN ARROW, RIGHT ARROW, LEFT ARROW, and TAB.
  
  
• Combinations of keys and standard keyboard modifiers (SHIFT, CTRL, or ALT keys).
  
  
• The numeric keypad and keyboard number keys.

The KeyDown and KeyUp events don't occur when you press:

• The ENTER key if the form has a command button for which the Default property is set to Yes.
  
  
• The ESC key if the form has a command button for which the Cancel property is set to Yes.

Tip   To find out the ANSI character corresponding to the key pressed, use the KeyPress event.

The KeyDown and KeyPress events occur when you press or send an ANSI key. The KeyUp event occurs after any event for a control caused by pressing or sending the key. If a keystroke causes the focus to move from one control to another control, the KeyDown event occurs for the first control, while the KeyPress and KeyUp events occur for the second control.

For more information, see Order of events for keystrokes and mouse clicks.

If a modal dialog box is displayed as a result of pressing or sending a key, the KeyDown and KeyPress events occur, but the KeyUp event doesn't occur.