How do I assign hot keys(shortcuts) for a WPF application

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I have to assign ShortCut Keys to open a window in a WPF application(MVVM Pattern).The shortcut key should work from any window in my application. These keys should work in application level and shouldn't be global. Could anyone please help me with this?

What I have tried:

I've tried Importing User32.dll and RegisterHotKey method. But, this assigns key globally. Even If I've minimized my application and press any shortcut key, the assigned window gets open.

[DllImport("user32.dll")]
static extern bool RegisterHotKey(IntPtr hWnd, int id, uint fsModifiers,int vk);

Posted 4-Jun-17 23:55pm

Manoj_Baddi

Updated 5-Jun-17 0:18am

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jimmson · Answer 1 · 2017-06-05T00:18:00

Solution 1

What you need is command key binding.

KeyBinding Class (System.Windows.Input)[^] (scroll down for example)

Posted 5-Jun-17 0:18am

jimmson

Comments

Manoj_Baddi 5-Jun-17 8:31am

KeyBinding works only when my focus is on that window. I need the shortcut to work no matter where my focus is in the whole application.

jimmson 5-Jun-17 8:37am

Well, you can just add key binding to the each window. It can point to the same command, you don't need to duplicate it.

Manoj_Baddi 7-Jun-17 2:57am

Thank you. But, I've more than 40 windows in my application. Isn't there any other way to achieve this?

jimmson 7-Jun-17 3:12am

Yes, it is. Do these windows have some common parent? You can add command binding to the parent (in code, not xaml).

Manoj_Baddi 8-Jun-17 2:30am

Ya, there is a window which is the owner of rest of the windows.Could you please help me with an example?

jimmson 8-Jun-17 3:40am

Owner is something else. It would work with common parent, the class they inherit from. Do they inherit from Window class?

Manoj_Baddi 8-Jun-17 9:47am

No, they do not inherit from main window class!

jimmson 8-Jun-17 9:50am

Okey, so what they inherit from?

Manoj_Baddi 9-Jun-17 3:47am

I mean, they do inherit from Window class. But there is no parent-child relationship in my application.

jimmson 9-Jun-17 4:01am

Great, so you need to do:
1) create a new class that will inherit from Window class
2) in the constructor of this class, add key binding (as in the link examples)
3) inherit your windows from this new class

This is not tested, but I'm pretty sure it should work. Just be sure you have a command accessible (you may need to add command bindings to the constructor as well).
I would recommend to try it on the one window first.

Manoj_Baddi 9-Jun-17 5:07am

Thank you so much.I'll try this!