User Guide

144 Chapter 2: ActionScript Language Reference
Button.onKeyDown
Availability
Flash Player 6.
Usage
my_btn.onKeyDown = function() : Void {
// your statements here
}
Parameters
None.
Returns
Nothing.
Description
Event handler; invoked when a button has keyboard focus and a key is pressed. The onKeyDown
event handler is invoked with no parameters. You can use the Key.getAscii() and Key.getCode()
methods to determine which key was pressed.
You must define a function that executes when the event handler is invoked.
Example
In the following example, a function that sends text to the Output panel is defined for the
onKeyDown handler. Create a button called my_btn on the Stage, and enter the following
ActionScript in a frame on the Timeline:
my_btn.onKeyDown = function() {
trace("onKeyDown: "+this._name+" (Key: "+getKeyPressed()+")");
};
function getKeyPressed():String {
var theKey:String;
switch (Key.getAscii()) {
case Key.BACKSPACE :
theKey = "<BACKSPACE>";
break;
case Key.SPACE :
theKey = "<SPACE>";
break;
default :
theKey = chr(Key.getAscii());
}
return theKey;
}
Select Control > Test Movie to test the SWF file. Make sure you select Control > Disable
Keyboard Shortcuts in the test environment. Then press the Tab key until the button has focus (a
yellow rectangle appears around the
my_btn instance) and start pressing keys on your keyboard.
When you press keys, they are displayed in the Output panel.