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GetKeyState

The GetKeyState function retrieves the status of the specified virtual key. The status specifies whether the key is up, down, or toggled (on, off - alternating each time the key is pressed).

VB4-32,5,6
Declare Function GetKeyState Lib "user32" Alias "GetKeyState" (ByVal nVirtKey As Long) As Integer

Operating Systems Supported
Requires Windows NT 3.1 or later; Requires Windows 95 or later

Library
User32

Parameter Information
- nVirtKey
Specifies a virtual key. If the desired virtual key is a letter or digit (A through Z, a through z, or 0 through 9), nVirtKey must be set to the ASCII value of that character. For other keys, it must be a virtual-key code.
If a non-English keyboard layout is used, virtual keys with values in the range ASCII A through Z and 0 through 9 are used to specify most of the character keys. For example, for the German keyboard layout, the virtual key of value ASCII O (0x4F) refers to the “o” key, whereas VK_OEM_1 refers to the “o with umlaut” key.

Return Values
If the function succeeds, the return value specifies the status of the given virtual key. If the high-order bit is 1, the key is down; otherwise, it is up. If the low-order bit is 1, the key is toggled. A key, such as the CAPS LOCK key, is toggled if it is turned on. The key is off and untoggled if the low-order bit is 0. A toggle key’s indicator light (if any) on the keyboard will be on when the key is toggled, and off when the key is untoggled.

Last update: 07 April 2006