Introduction
Simulation of a keyboard input is a well known concept for those who are all familiar with Visual Basic. SendKeys()
in Visual Basic does all the things, if you want to do anything without keyboard. But what is in SendKeys()
function? What does it do? Can we do such a thing with Visual C++? This article is the answer. I think this will be useful for beginners who are all just trying to do something different with VC++. Let us get into the steps�
Function Syntax
void keybd_event(BYTE bVirtualKey, BYTE bScanCode,
DWORD dwFlags, DWORD dwExtraInfo);
bVirtualKey
bScanCode
dwFlags
dwExtraInfo
Function Details:
bVirtualKey
Virtual keycode that has to be send as key input. The following are the available predefined virtual key codes:
VK_NUMPAD7 |
0x67 |
VK_BACK |
0x08 |
VK_NUMPAD8 |
0x68 |
VK_TAB |
0x09 |
VK_NUMPAD9 |
0x69 |
VK_RETURN |
0x0D |
VK_MULTIPLY |
0x6A |
VK_SHIFT |
0x10 |
VK_ADD |
0x6B |
VK_CONTROL |
0x11 |
VK_SEPARATOR |
0x6C |
VK_MENU |
0x12 |
VK_SUBTRACT |
0x6D |
VK_PAUSE |
0x13 |
VK_DECIMAL |
0x6E |
VK_CAPITAL |
0x14 |
VK_DIVIDE |
0x6F |
VK_ESCAPE |
0x1B |
VK_F1 |
0x70 |
VK_SPACE |
0x20 |
VK_F2 |
0x71 |
VK_END |
0x23 |
VK_F3 |
0x72 |
VK_HOME |
0x24 |
VK_F4 |
0x73 |
VK_LEFT |
0x25 |
VK_F5 |
0x74 |
VK_UP |
0x26 |
VK_F6 |
0x75 |
VK_RIGHT |
0x27 |
VK_F7 |
0x76 |
VK_DOWN |
0x28 |
VK_F8 |
0x77 |
VK_PRINT |
0x2A |
VK_F9 |
0x78 |
VK_SNAPSHOT |
0x2C |
VK_F10 |
0x79 |
VK_INSERT |
0x2D |
VK_F11 |
0x7A |
VK_DELETE |
0x2E |
VK_F12 |
0x7B |
VK_LWIN |
0x5B |
VK_NUMLOCK |
0x90 |
VK_RWIN |
0x5C |
VK_SCROLL |
0x91 |
VK_NUMPAD0 |
0x60 |
VK_LSHIFT |
0xA0 |
VK_NUMPAD1 |
0x61 |
VK_RSHIFT |
0xA1 |
VK_NUMPAD2 |
0x62 |
VK_LCONTROL |
0xA2 |
VK_NUMPAD3 |
0x63 |
VK_RCONTROL |
0xA3 |
VK_NUMPAD4 |
0x64 |
VK_LMENU |
0xA4 |
VK_NUMPAD5 |
0x65 |
VK_RMENU |
0xA5 |
VK_NUMPAD6 |
0x66 |
Character key can be converted into virtual key using VkKeyScan(TCHAR ch)
function.
bScanCode
Scan code is the hardware key code for the key (make and break codes). The following are the available scan codes (break code will be used in this parameter).


dwFlags
A set of flag bits that specify various aspects of function operation. An application can use any combination of the following predefined constant values to set the flags.
Value |
Meaning |
KEYEVENTF_EXTENDEDKEY |
If specified, the scan code was preceded by a prefix byte having the value 0xE0 (224). |
KEYEVENTF_KEYUP |
If specified, the key is being released. If not specified, the key is being depressed. |
dwExtraInfo
32-bit extra information along with the keyboard input.

Example Code
keybd_event(VK_MENU,0xb8,0 , 0);
keybd_event(VK_TAB,0x8f,0 , 0);
keybd_event(VK_TAB,0x8f, KEYEVENTF_KEYUP,0);
keybd_event(VK_MENU,0xb8,KEYEVENTF_KEYUP,0);
keybd_event(VK_CONTROL,0x9d,0 , 0);
keybd_event(VkKeyScan(�A�),0x9e,0 , 0);
keybd_event(VkKeyScan(�A�),0x9e, KEYEVENTF_KEYUP,0);
keybd_event(VK_CONTROL,0x9d,KEYEVENTF_KEYUP,0);
Conclusion
This article may not be that much detailed. None of the articles can satisfy one's expectations. But, each article should be a seed for your technical growth. Thus, I believe that this would be a seed. Thank you all.