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Editorial Team
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Asked: 2026-06-11T10:22:45+00:00

I’m trying to get a .net 2 Windows.Forms application running on the Mac using

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I’m trying to get a .net 2 Windows.Forms application running on the Mac using Mono. The application has key combination short cuts for all functions, which have pre-defined defaults and can be reconfigured by the user. The Form KeyDown event handler looks up the action to be performed.

My problem is relating the Modifiers and KeyCode to the actual keys pressed. I don’t mind if some mapping needs to be added for the Mac, but I need at least 3 modifier keys. However of the 4 modifiers on the Mac, few seem to produce obvious results. I get:
Shift – works as expected
Ctrl – reports a different KeyCode, but with correct modifier (eg Ctrl+N has Modifiers = Control and KeyCode 14 = “RButton, Clear”).
Alt – reports some other key, unmodified (eg Alt+R gives KeyCode = 168 = “BrowserRefresh”)
Cmd – reports as Alt with expected KeyCode (eg Cmd+N appears as Alt-N)

I presume that the Cmd key would normally be used where Ctrl is used on Windows. Can anyone advise which of the three Mac keys I should be trying to use? And most importantly how to parse the KeyEventArgs to consistently report a base key plus three optional modifiers?

Mono is the latest version (as of a week or two ago), and it’s a MacBook Air, OS X 10.8.1 if that makes any difference.

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  1. Editorial Team

    I get the same issues. Try using IRC and asking at irc.gnome.org on rooms Mono and MonoMac. Very helpful folks.

    Apparently with MonoMac, which lets you build a native UI in Interface Builder and helps stub out your backend C# code to talk to it (that is, MonoMac is Mono talking to native Mac, not Mono running on a Mac; the second is just plain Mono), Windows.Forms support has dropped to the wayside — I was told that Windows.Forms is essentially “dead” on the Mac, and the quiet bugzilla page seems to support that. It really is quite buggy. I ran into SelectionBackColor not working in RichTextBox right off the bat, then menu accelerators not working reliably. Windows.Forms on Mac is alpha to beta quality, I think.

    That said, for what’s essentially a labor of love, a surprising amount of Windows.Forms works well, but I wouldn’t use it for a polished app. Good luck.

    EDIT: I realize the OP wasn’t specifically talking about menuitems, but here’s a bug report about accelerators and menu items not working so well, just to speak to related bugginess.

    [Mono-bugs] [Bug 75996][Maj] New – menuitem event not triggered by Shortcut

    Windows.Forms on Mono is so close to working, it’s tempting to think it’s going to support what you need to get done, but, imo, to consider it solid enough for use beyond making quick utilities would be a mistake.

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