SendKeys
Sends one or more keystrokes to the active window as if typed at the keyboard.
Syntax: SendKeys string [ , wait ]
- string
- required String expression specifying the keystrokes to send.
- wait
- optional Boolean specifying the wait mode. If False (default), control is returned to the procedure as soon as the keys have been queued. If True, the keystrokes must be processed by the receiving window before control returns.
Each key is represented by one or more characters. To specify a single keyboard character, use the character itself — for example, "A" for the letter A, or "ABC" for A, B, then C in sequence.
The plus sign (+), caret (^), percent sign (%), tilde (~), and parentheses ( ) have special meanings to SendKeys. To send one of these characters as itself, enclose it in braces: for example, "{+}" for the plus sign. Brackets [ ] have no special meaning to SendKeys itself, but you must enclose them in braces because other applications may treat them specially during dynamic data exchange (DDE). To send brace characters, use "{{}" and "{}}".
To send keys that don’t correspond to a printable character, use the codes in the following table:
| Key | Code |
|---|---|
| BACKSPACE | {BACKSPACE}, {BS}, or {BKSP} |
| BREAK | {BREAK} |
| CAPS LOCK | {CAPSLOCK} |
| DEL or DELETE | {DELETE} or {DEL} |
| DOWN ARROW | {DOWN} |
| END | {END} |
| ENTER | {ENTER} or ~ |
| ESC | {ESC} |
| HELP | {HELP} |
| HOME | {HOME} |
| INS or INSERT | {INSERT} or {INS} |
| LEFT ARROW | {LEFT} |
| NUM LOCK | {NUMLOCK} |
| PAGE DOWN | {PGDN} |
| PAGE UP | {PGUP} |
| PRINT SCREEN | {PRTSC} |
| RIGHT ARROW | {RIGHT} |
| SCROLL LOCK | {SCROLLLOCK} |
| TAB | {TAB} |
| UP ARROW | {UP} |
| F1–F16 | {F1} … {F16} |
To combine a key with SHIFT, CTRL, or ALT, prefix the key code with one or more of the following modifier codes:
| Key | Code |
|---|---|
| SHIFT | + |
| CTRL | ^ |
| ALT | % |
To hold one or more modifiers down while a sequence of keys is pressed, enclose the keys in parentheses. For example, "+(EC)" holds SHIFT down while E and C are pressed.
To repeat a key, use the form {key number} — for example, "{LEFT 42}" to press LEFT 42 times, or "{h 10}" to type h ten times. The space between key and number is required.
Note
SendKeys can’t send keystrokes to applications that aren’t running in Windows, and it cannot send the PRINT SCREEN key ({PRTSC}) to any application.
Example
This example uses Shell to launch the Windows Calculator and SendKeys to drive it: it adds the numbers 1 through 100, takes the running total, then closes Calculator with ALT+F4. Because AppActivate changes the focus, the example must be run, not single-stepped.
Dim TaskId As Double, I As Long
TaskId = Shell("CALC.EXE", vbNormalFocus)
AppActivate TaskId
For I = 1 To 100
SendKeys I & "{+}", True
Next I
SendKeys "=", True
SendKeys "%{F4}", True
See Also
- AppActivate statement
- Shell function