I’m working on key handling in Javascript. I have done some research and I’d like to know whether I have a correct understanding of key handling.
KeyDown/KeyUp Event
The key down and key up events are supported by IE7+ and Firefox 3.5+ I didn’t check the earlier versions of the browsers, but I guess that they also support these events.
Is it correct to say that each key on the keyboard will always have a keycode.
CharCode
CharCode value is available on the keypress.Majority of the keys will have the charcodes that represent the actual value. Some keys won’t have a charcode associated with them. E.g. backspace, delete, arrow keys.
Am I correct to say that on the keypress the charcode will be the same as the keycode?
Order of the events
- KeyDown
- KeyPress
- KeyUp
Does this order differ from browser to browser? For example I have two functions. First is bound to KeyDown event, second is bound to the KeyPress event. Calling a KeyPress event means that the KeyDown event will also be called, when I want only one of these events to work.
Finally I have been considering on using different key handling routines depending on the version browser. For example:
- Check browser version
- Get key handling routine depending on the browser version
This will introduce additional code, but should simplify the maintenance. Also, in the future, when I want to provide a support for a different browser, I can simply add another routine and it won’t affect existing character handling routine.
So far I have been reading http://www.quirksmode.org
See the following pages, they will answer your quetions:
onkeydown event,
onkeypress event,
keyCode property,
charCode property,
which property