GetKeyState Function

Declare Function GetKeyState Lib "user32.dll" (ByVal nVirtKey As Long) As Integer

Platforms

Windows 95: Supported.
Windows 98: Supported.
Windows NT: Requires Windows NT 3.1 or later.
Windows 2000: Supported.
Windows CE: Requires Windows CE 1.0 or later.

Description & Usage

GetKeyState determines the current status of a key. The function both finds whether the key is currently pressed down or not, and determines if the key is currently toggled. The keyboard information retrieved by this function is thread-specific; its information does not necessarily reflect key states pertaining to the system as a whole.

Return Value

If the &H1 bit of the return value is set, the key is toggled. If the &H80 bit of the return value is set, the key is currently pressed down.

Visual Basic-Specific Issues

None.

Parameters

nVirtKey

The virtual-key code of the key to read the status of. Windows NT, 2000: This could also be one of the following flags which distinguish between the left and right Ctrl, Alt, and Shift keys:

VK_LSHIFT: The left Shift key.
VK_RSHIFT: The right Shift key.
VK_LCONTROL: The left Ctrl key.
VK_RCONTROL: The right Ctrl key.
VK_LMENU: The left Alt key.
VK_RMENU: The right Alt key.

Constant Definitions

Const VK_LSHIFT = &HA0
Const VK_RSHIFT = &HA1
Const VK_LCONTROL = &HA2
Const VK_RCONTROL = &HA3
Const VK_LMENU = &HA4
Const VK_RMENU = &HA5

Example:

' Display the current status of the Enter key.
Dim keystate As Long  ' receives key state

' Read the current status of the Enter key.
keystate = GetKeyState(VK_RETURN)

' Display the Enter key's toggle status.
If (keystate And &H1) = &H1 Then
  Debug.Print "The Enter key is currently toggled."
Else
  Debug.Print "The Enter key is not currently toggled."
End If
' Display whether the Enter key is being pressed or not.
If (keystate And &H80) = &H80 Then
  Debug.Print "The Enter key is currently pressed."
Else
  Debug.Print "The Enter key is currently up."
End If

Related Functions

GetAsyncKeyState, GetKeyboardState