Keyboard Events

Handle keyboard input events

BeginnerTopic: Events Programs
Back

JavaScript Keyboard Events Program

This program helps you to learn the fundamental structure and syntax of JavaScript programming.

Try This Code
// Method 1: Keydown event
document.addEventListener('keydown', function(e) {
    console.log('Key pressed:', e.key);
    console.log('Key code:', e.keyCode);
    console.log('Code:', e.code);
});

// Method 2: Keyup event
document.addEventListener('keyup', function(e) {
    console.log('Key released:', e.key);
});

// Method 3: Keypress event (deprecated, use keydown)
document.addEventListener('keypress', function(e) {
    console.log('Character:', e.key);
});

// Method 4: Specific keys
document.addEventListener('keydown', function(e) {
    if (e.key === 'Enter') {
        console.log('Enter pressed');
    } else if (e.key === 'Escape') {
        console.log('Escape pressed');
    } else if (e.key === 'ArrowUp') {
        console.log('Arrow up');
    }
});

// Method 5: Modifier keys
document.addEventListener('keydown', function(e) {
    if (e.ctrlKey && e.key === 's') {
        e.preventDefault();
        console.log('Ctrl+S pressed - Save');
    }
    
    if (e.shiftKey && e.key === 'Enter') {
        console.log('Shift+Enter');
    }
    
    if (e.altKey && e.key === 'f') {
        console.log('Alt+F');
    }
    
    if (e.metaKey && e.key === 'k') {
        console.log('Cmd+K (Mac) or Ctrl+K');
    }
});

// Method 6: Input field keyboard events
const input = document.getElementById('myInput');

input.addEventListener('keydown', function(e) {
    if (e.key === 'Enter') {
        console.log('Form submitted');
    }
});

input.addEventListener('keyup', function(e) {
    console.log('Input value:', e.target.value);
});

// Method 7: Prevent default for specific keys
document.addEventListener('keydown', function(e) {
    // Prevent spacebar from scrolling
    if (e.key === ' ' && e.target.tagName !== 'INPUT') {
        e.preventDefault();
    }
    
    // Prevent F5 refresh
    if (e.key === 'F5') {
        e.preventDefault();
    }
});

// Method 8: Keyboard shortcuts
const shortcuts = {
    'ctrl+k': () => console.log('Search'),
    'ctrl+s': () => console.log('Save'),
    'ctrl+z': () => console.log('Undo'),
    'ctrl+shift+z': () => console.log('Redo')
};

document.addEventListener('keydown', function(e) {
    const key = e.key.toLowerCase();
    let shortcut = '';
    
    if (e.ctrlKey) shortcut += 'ctrl+';
    if (e.shiftKey) shortcut += 'shift+';
    if (e.altKey) shortcut += 'alt+';
    
    shortcut += key;
    
    if (shortcuts[shortcut]) {
        e.preventDefault();
        shortcuts[shortcut]();
    }
});
Output
// Output depends on keyboard input

Understanding Keyboard Events

Keyboard events handle user input.

Event Types

keydown: Key pressed down
keyup: Key released
keypress: Character typed (deprecated)

Event Properties

key: Character value
keyCode: Numeric code (deprecated)
code: Physical key code
ctrlKey/shiftKey/altKey/metaKey: Modifiers

Common Keys

Enter, Escape, Arrow keys
Space, Tab, Backspace
Function keys (F1-F12)

Use Cases

Keyboard shortcuts
Form validation
Game controls
Accessibility

Best Practices

Use key instead of keyCode
Check modifier keys
Prevent default when needed

Let us now understand every line and the components of the above program.

Note: To write and run JavaScript programs, you need to set up the local environment on your computer. Refer to the complete article Setting up JavaScript Development Environment. If you do not want to set up the local environment on your computer, you can also use online IDE to write and run your JavaScript programs.

Table of Contents