sf::Keyboard Class Reference

Give access to the real-time state of the keyboard. More...

#include <SFML/Window/Keyboard.hpp>

Classes
struct	Scan
	Scancodes. More...

Public Types
enum	Key {   Unknown = -1 , A = 0 , B , C ,   D , E , F , G ,   H , I , J , K ,   L , M , N , O ,   P , Q , R , S ,   T , U , V , W ,   X , Y , Z , Num0 ,   Num1 , Num2 , Num3 , Num4 ,   Num5 , Num6 , Num7 , Num8 ,   Num9 , Escape , LControl , LShift ,   LAlt , LSystem , RControl , RShift ,   RAlt , RSystem , Menu , LBracket ,   RBracket , Semicolon , Comma , Period ,   Apostrophe , Slash , Backslash , Grave ,   Equal , Hyphen , Space , Enter ,   Backspace , Tab , PageUp , PageDown ,   End , Home , Insert , Delete ,   Add , Subtract , Multiply , Divide ,   Left , Right , Up , Down ,   Numpad0 , Numpad1 , Numpad2 , Numpad3 ,   Numpad4 , Numpad5 , Numpad6 , Numpad7 ,   Numpad8 , Numpad9 , F1 , F2 ,   F3 , F4 , F5 , F6 ,   F7 , F8 , F9 , F10 ,   F11 , F12 , F13 , F14 ,   F15 , Pause , KeyCount , Tilde = Grave ,   Dash = Hyphen , BackSpace = Backspace , BackSlash = Backslash , SemiColon = Semicolon ,   Return = Enter , Quote = Apostrophe }
	Key codes. More...
typedef Scan::Scancode	Scancode

Static Public Member Functions
static bool	isKeyPressed (Key key)
	Check if a key is pressed.
static bool	isKeyPressed (Scancode code)
	Check if a key is pressed.
static Key	localize (Scancode code)
	Localize a physical key to a logical one.
static Scancode	delocalize (Key key)
	Identify the physical key corresponding to a logical one.
static String	getDescription (Scancode code)
	Provide a string representation for a given scancode.
static void	setVirtualKeyboardVisible (bool visible)
	Show or hide the virtual keyboard.

Detailed Description

Give access to the real-time state of the keyboard.

sf::Keyboard provides an interface to the state of the keyboard.

It only contains static functions (a single keyboard is assumed), so it's not meant to be instantiated.

This class allows users to query the keyboard state at any time and directly, without having to deal with a window and its events. Compared to the KeyPressed and KeyReleased events, sf::Keyboard can retrieve the state of a key at any time (you don't need to store and update a boolean on your side in order to know if a key is pressed or released), and you always get the real state of the keyboard, even if keys are pressed or released when your window is out of focus and no event is triggered.

Usage example:

if (sf::Keyboard::isKeyPressed(sf::Keyboard::Left))
{
    // move left...
}
else if (sf::Keyboard::isKeyPressed(sf::Keyboard::Right))
{
    // move right...
}
else if (sf::Keyboard::isKeyPressed(sf::Keyboard::Escape))
{
    // quit...
}
else if (sf::Keyboard::isKeyPressed(sf::Keyboard::Scan::Grave))
{
    // open in-game command line (if it's not already open)
}

See also

sf::Joystick, sf::Mouse, sf::Touch

Definition at line 42 of file Keyboard.hpp.

Member Typedef Documentation

Scancode

typedef Scan::Scancode sf::Keyboard::Scancode

Definition at line 356 of file Keyboard.hpp.

Member Enumeration Documentation

Key

enum sf::Keyboard::Key

Key codes.

The enumerators refer to the "localized" key; i.e. depending on the layout set by the operating system, a key can be mapped to Y or Z.

Enumerator
Unknown	Unhandled key.
A	The A key.
B	The B key.
C	The C key.
D	The D key.
E	The E key.
F	The F key.
G	The G key.
H	The H key.
I	The I key.
J	The J key.
K	The K key.
L	The L key.
M	The M key.
N	The N key.
O	The O key.
P	The P key.
Q	The Q key.
R	The R key.
S	The S key.
T	The T key.
U	The U key.
V	The V key.
W	The W key.
X	The X key.
Y	The Y key.
Z	The Z key.
Num0	The 0 key.
Num1	The 1 key.
Num2	The 2 key.
Num3	The 3 key.
Num4	The 4 key.
Num5	The 5 key.
Num6	The 6 key.
Num7	The 7 key.
Num8	The 8 key.
Num9	The 9 key.
Escape	The Escape key.
LControl	The left Control key.
LShift	The left Shift key.
LAlt	The left Alt key.
LSystem	The left OS specific key: window (Windows and Linux), apple (macOS), ...
RControl	The right Control key.
RShift	The right Shift key.
RAlt	The right Alt key.
RSystem	The right OS specific key: window (Windows and Linux), apple (macOS), ...
Menu	The Menu key.
LBracket	The [ key.
RBracket	The ] key.
Semicolon	The ; key.
Comma	The , key.
Period	The . key.
Apostrophe	The ' key.
Slash	The / key.
Backslash	The \ key.
Grave	The ` key.
Equal	The = key.
Hyphen	The - key (hyphen)
Space	The Space key.
Enter	The Enter/Return keys.
Backspace	The Backspace key.
Tab	The Tabulation key.
PageUp	The Page up key.
PageDown	The Page down key.
End	The End key.
Home	The Home key.
Insert	The Insert key.
Delete	The Delete key.
Add	The + key.
Subtract	The - key (minus, usually from numpad)
Multiply	The * key.
Divide	The / key.
Left	Left arrow.
Right	Right arrow.
Up	Up arrow.
Down	Down arrow.
Numpad0	The numpad 0 key.
Numpad1	The numpad 1 key.
Numpad2	The numpad 2 key.
Numpad3	The numpad 3 key.
Numpad4	The numpad 4 key.
Numpad5	The numpad 5 key.
Numpad6	The numpad 6 key.
Numpad7	The numpad 7 key.
Numpad8	The numpad 8 key.
Numpad9	The numpad 9 key.
F1	The F1 key.
F2	The F2 key.
F3	The F3 key.
F4	The F4 key.
F5	The F5 key.
F6	The F6 key.
F7	The F7 key.
F8	The F8 key.
F9	The F9 key.
F10	The F10 key.
F11	The F11 key.
F12	The F12 key.
F13	The F13 key.
F14	The F14 key.
F15	The F15 key.
Pause	The Pause key.
KeyCount	Keep last – the total number of keyboard keys.
Tilde	Deprecated: Use Grave instead
Dash	Deprecated: Use Hyphen instead
BackSpace	Deprecated: Use Backspace instead
BackSlash	Deprecated: Use Backslash instead
SemiColon	Deprecated: Use Semicolon instead
Return	Deprecated: Use Enter instead
Quote	Deprecated: Use Apostrophe instead

Definition at line 54 of file Keyboard.hpp.

Member Function Documentation

delocalize()

static Scancode sf::Keyboard::delocalize ( Key  key )

static

Identify the physical key corresponding to a logical one.

Parameters

key	Key to "delocalize"

Returns

The scancode corresponding to the key under the current keyboard layout used by the operating system, or sf::Keyboard::Scan::Unknown when the key cannot be mapped to a sf::Keyboard::Scancode.

See also

localize

getDescription()

static String sf::Keyboard::getDescription ( Scancode  code )

static

Provide a string representation for a given scancode.

The returned string is a short, non-technical description of the key represented with the given scancode. Most effectively used in user interfaces, as the description for the key takes the users keyboard layout into consideration.

Warning

The result is OS-dependent: for example, sf::Keyboard::Scan::LSystem is "Left Meta" on Linux, "Left Windows" on Windows and "Left Command" on macOS.

The current keyboard layout set by the operating system is used to interpret the scancode: for example, sf::Keyboard::Semicolon is mapped to ";" for layout and to "é" for others.

Returns

The localized description of the code

isKeyPressed() [1/2]

static bool sf::Keyboard::isKeyPressed ( Key  key )

static

Check if a key is pressed.

Parameters

key	Key to check

Returns

True if the key is pressed, false otherwise

isKeyPressed() [2/2]

static bool sf::Keyboard::isKeyPressed ( Scancode  code )

static

Check if a key is pressed.

Parameters

code	Scancode to check

Returns

True if the physical key is pressed, false otherwise

localize()

static Key sf::Keyboard::localize ( Scancode  code )

static

Localize a physical key to a logical one.

Parameters

code	Scancode to localize

Returns

The key corresponding to the scancode under the current keyboard layout used by the operating system, or sf::Keyboard::Unknown when the scancode cannot be mapped to a Key.

See also

delocalize

setVirtualKeyboardVisible()

static void sf::Keyboard::setVirtualKeyboardVisible ( bool  visible )

static

Show or hide the virtual keyboard.

Warning

The virtual keyboard is not supported on all systems. It will typically be implemented on mobile OSes (Android, iOS) but not on desktop OSes (Windows, Linux, ...).

If the virtual keyboard is not available, this function does nothing.

Parameters

visible

True to show, false to hide

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The documentation for this class was generated from the following file:

• Keyboard.hpp