How to Grab Key Events Outside Java

In the Java programming language, the "keyDown" event detects each time a user presses a key. You can use this event handler in a Java application that runs in the background on a computer, allowing you to detect keystrokes outside of the Java program itself. You must set up the keyDown event and code to determine the computer’s response when the user presses a key.

Instructions

1. Open the Java editor that you use to write your code and load up the project you want to edit. Double-click on your Java source code file.

2. Add the event handler that detects when a user presses a key. The following Java code detects each key press:

   public boolean mouseDown( Event evt, int x, int y)
   {

   }

   The Java code that you want to execute when the key is pressed is placed within the brackets.

3. Add code to the event handler. The following example echoes the keystroke back to the user:

   System.out.println("You pressed the " + evt.key + " key.");

References

• Java Coffee Break: Simple Event Handling