spacer
Yehuda Shiran October 21, 2000
Probing the Left ALT Key
Tips: October 2000

Yehuda Shiran, Ph.D.
Doc JavaScript

Developer News
News Flash: Adobe Has iPhone Workaround
Adobe's Flash 10.1 Goes Mobile (Minus iPhone)
A Salute to Visionary CEOs

 Starting with IE 5.5, you can set and retrieve the status of the left alt key. You can detect its status by probing event.altLeft. It is true when the key is pressed, false otherwise. You can also set event.altKey.

This property is currently supported only in NT and Windows 2000. When you try it in Windows 95/98, the response will be as if the Right ALT key is pressed.

You have to make sure that the document has focus. You can make sure of it by calling document.body.focus().

Try pressing the Left ALT key. You will get an alert, showing the pressed key. You should get altRight on Windows 95/98 and altLeft on NT and Windows 2000. To facilitate this demo we modified the BODY statement of this tip to look like this:

<BODY onload="document.body.focus();" onkeydown="AltDown();">

The event handler is defined as: 

function AltDown() {
  if (event.altLeft) {
    alert("altLeft Pressed");
  }
  else {
    if (event.altKey) {
      alert("altRight Pressed");
    }
  }
  document.body.focus();
}

Read more about events and event handling in Column 11, The Cross-Browser Event Model.

People who read this tip also read these tips:

Look for similar tips by subject:

internet.commediabistro.comJusttechjobs.comGraphics.com

Search:

WebMediaBrands Corporate Info

Legal Notices, Licensing, Reprints, Permissions, Privacy Policy.
Advertise | Newsletters | Shopping | E-mail Offers | Freelance Jobs

Solutions

Whitepapers and eBooks

Adobe Article: Adobe Helps PHP Developers Create Rich Internet Applications
Adobe Article: Java Developers Finding a Home at Adobe Flex
IBM Articles: A Smarter Business Needs Smarter Technology
Intel Xeon Processor Increases Server Efficiency and Capabilities
Intel Tech Brief: Automated Energy Efficiency for the Intelligent Enterprise
Oracle Whitepaper: Using Oracle In-Memory Database Cache to Accelerate the Oracle Database
Oracle Whitepapers - Innovation for IT Leaders
Avaya Article: Communication-Enabled Mashups--Empowering Both Business Owners and IT
 Internet.com eBook: IT Manager's Guide to Social Networking
Internet.com eBook: Get Ready for Windows 7
Microsoft Article: Expression Web 3--New Features for PHP Developers
Whitepapers: Manage Your Business Infrastracture with IBM
Whitepaper: Maximize Your Storage Investment with HP
Internet.com eBook: Becoming a Better Project Manager
Microsoft Article: Stress Free and Efficient Designer/Developer Collaboration
MORE WHITEPAPERS, EBOOKS, AND ARTICLES

Webcasts

Webcast: Connecting PHP to Microsoft Technologies
Video: Microsoft Partner Program Benefits
Video: Windows Azure Debugging Tips
SAP BusinessObjects Webcast: Unlock the Power of Reporting with Crystal Reports
 IBM Webcast: Speed Business Innovation with Reduced Cost and Risk
Video: Deploy Applications on Windows Azure
MORE WEBCASTS, PODCASTS, AND VIDEOS

Downloads and eKits

Downloads & Free Trials: Microsoft's New Efficiency Resource Center
Get the Windows 7 SDK
Free Trial: Red Gate SQL Backup Pro 6
 Iron Speed Designer Application Generator
MORE DOWNLOADS, EKITS, AND FREE TRIALS

Tutorials and Demos

Virtual Lab: Migrating PHP Applications
Enabling Web Slices and Accelerators with a PHP Site
Internet.com Hot List: Get the Inside Scoop on the Hottest IT and Developer Products
 All About Botnets
MORE TUTORIALS, DEMOS AND STEP-BY-STEP GUIDES
webref The latest from WebReference.com Browse >
Building a Banking Application Home Page with OOP · Mixing Scripting Languages · Review: phpFox, a Social Networking CMS with all the Bells and Whistles
Sitemap · Experts · Tools · Services · Email a Colleague · Contact FREE Newsletters > 
 The latest from internet.com
Enterprise 2.0: Social Networking in the Cloud · BroadSoft Marketplace Hastens Pace of Telephony Innovation · Review: HTC Hero for Sprint