HOWTO: Detect Keystrokes While a Menu Is Pulled Down

ID: Q35930

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Win32 Software Development Kit (SDK)
Microsoft Windows Software Development Kit (SDK) versions 3.0, 3.1

In the Windows environment, there are two methods that an application can use to receive notification that a key is pressed while a menu is dropped down:

The easier method is to process the WM_MENUCHAR message that is sent to an application when the user presses a key that does not correspond to any of the accelerator keys defined for the current menu.

The other method is to use a message filter hook or a keyboard hook specified with the SetWindowsHook function. The hook function can process a message before it is dispatched to a dialog box, message box, or menu.


Keywords          : kbHook kbNTOS kbGrpUser kbWinOS 
Version           : 
Platform          : 
Issue type        : kbhowto

Last Reviewed: March 5, 1999