I am trying to capture ctrl+z key combination in javascript with this code:
<html> <head> <title>Untitled Document</title> </head> <body> <script type='text/javascript'> function KeyPress(e) { var evtobj = window.event? event : e //test1 if (evtobj.ctrlKey) alert("Ctrl"); //test2 if (evtobj.keyCode == 122) alert("z"); //test 1 & 2 if (evtobj.keyCode == 122 && evtobj.ctrlKey) alert("Ctrl+z"); } document.onkeypress = KeyPress; </script> </body> </html>
Commented line "test1" generates the alert if I hold down the ctrl key and press any other key.
Commented line "test2" generates the alert if I press the z key.
Put them together as per the line after "test 1 & 2", and holding down the ctrl key then pressing the z key does not generate the alert as expected.
What is wrong with the code?
onkeydown
(or onkeyup
), not onkeypress
keyCode
90, not 122Online demo: http://jsfiddle.net/29sVC/
To clarify, keycodes are not the same as character codes.
Character codes are for text (they differ depending on the encoding, but in a lot of cases 0-127 remain ASCII codes). Key codes map to keys on a keyboard. For example, in unicode character 0x22909 means 好. There aren't many keyboards (if any) who actually have a key for this.
The OS takes care of transforming keystrokes to character codes using the input methods that the user configured. The results are sent to the keypress event. (Whereas keydown and keyup respond to the user pressing buttons, not typing text.)
For future folks who stumble upon this question, here’s a better method to get the job done:
document.addEventListener('keydown', function(event) { if (event.ctrlKey && event.key === 'z') { alert('Undo!'); } });
Using event.key
greatly simplifies the code, removing hardcoded constants. It has support for IE 9+.
Additionally, using document.addEventListener
means you won’t clobber other listeners to the same event.
Finally, there is no reason to use window.event
. It’s actively discouraged and can result in fragile code.
If you love us? You can donate to us via Paypal or buy me a coffee so we can maintain and grow! Thank you!
Donate Us With