SendKeys PowerBasic replacement

[John Montenigro]

Another tidbit for SendKeys...

IF you need the other app to save a file, AND IF that location is across a LAN, you may hit timing delays, so you add something like a {SLEEP 500}, and probably, you're fine; the app finally resolves the path, and your command to save then executes.

BUT: IF you're trying to feed a full path and filename to that app in one string, you may hit another problem - the other app gets lost and confused.
So if {SLEEP xxx} didn't help, try this: break the path and filename into two separate commands.

Change this:

SendKeys "P:\01 New\MyFile.txt{ENTER}"

Into:

SendKeys "P:\01 New\{ENTER}"   ' Step 1: first, force the change of directory

Sleep 200         'take a quick breather

SendKeys "MyFile.txt{ENTER}"   ' Step2: now provide the filename

-John

[John Montenigro]

SendKeys has been superseded, but IF you are still using it and IF you need to send a mouseclick to a foreign app to UNSELCT what was selected, here's a small mod:

In the SUB SendEachKey(), insert these 3 lines into the main CASE:

      case "{XMOUSECLICK}"              ' mouseclick to unselect text
         CALL MouseClick(UCASE$(MID$(sChar,2,1)),0,0)
         EXIT SUB

I stuck it right before "{LMOUSECLICK}".

-John

[Mike Trader]

A few notes from a not overly bright first time user...


Keep in mind that SendKeys is case sensitive

SendKeys "%f" ' ALT-f
SendKeys "%F" ' ALT-SHIFT-f

SendKeys "^f" ' CTRL-F
SendKeys "^f" ' CTRL-SHIFT-F

Sending Function keys like F9. 
SendKeys "{F9}"  ' Function Key F9
SendKeys "^{F9}" ' Ctrl-F9

SendKeys "{ENTER}" ' Enter see the sendkeys.inc file
SendKeys "{ESC}    ' Escape
SendKeys "{TAB}"   ' Tab      


To REGISTER other HotKeys with windows ....   
RegisterHotKey CbHndl, nAtom, 0, Asc("D") ' D                    
RegisterHotKey CbHndl, nAtom, 0, 68       ' D
RegisterHotKey CbHndl, nAtom, 1, Asc("D") ' Alt-D
RegisterHotKey CbHndl, nAtom, 2, Asc("D") ' Ctrl-D
RegisterHotKey CbHndl, nAtom, 4, Asc("D") ' Shift-D
RegisterHotKey CbHndl, nAtom, 1 + 2, Asc("D") ' Ctrl-Alt-D 

RegisterHotKey CbHndl, nAtom, 0, 13       ' ENTER - dangerous

RegisterHotKey CbHndl, nAtom, 0, ??? ' F9

      
Also, don't forget to process dialog events

      FOR i = 1 TO 40  ' Erase suggested text entry in target app
        DIALOG DOEVENTS
        SendKeys "{BACKSPACE}" 
      NEXT
      SendPlainText Addrs(i).Street ' Insert my entry
      
If you need to wait while the app you are sending keys to is processing use
      SendKeys "{SLEEP 3000}" \
      

I found that I could use the GetDesktopWindow()
function to look for windows that shoudl appear when commands are issued
or buttons hit. I also used it in a loop with a SLEEP to wait for a process
to complete knowing that the process puts up a window called
"Finding..." for example. I also want to use CTRL-C to copy the contents
of a textbox to clipboard and then examine it to see if it contains
results I am expecting.


If the developers of the target app were nice enought to throw up a dialog while processing (might not allways have time to be drawn)
then look for it. In my case the processing window was called "Finding..."

      WHILE Finding  ' wait for dialog to complete 
        DIALOG DOEVENTS 
        SendKeys "{SLEEP 4000}" 
      WEND    
where:

'¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
 FUNCTION GetChildText(Ihwnd AS LONG) AS STRING   
  DIM Textlen AS LONG
  DIM sTemp AS STRING

    ON ERROR RESUME NEXT
    Textlen = SendMessage(Ihwnd, %WM_GETTEXTLENGTH, 0, 0)
    IF Textlen = 0 THEN
        FUNCTION = ""
        EXIT FUNCTION
    END IF
    Textlen = Textlen + 1
    sTemp   = STRING$(Textlen,0)
    Textlen = SendMessage(Ihwnd, %WM_GETTEXT, Textlen, STRPTR(sTemp))
    FUNCTION = LEFT$(sTemp, Textlen)
END FUNCTION

'¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ 
FUNCTION Finding() AS LONG 

  DIM hWndChild AS LONG   
  DIM xRes AS STRING  
  DIM hWndParent AS LONG  
           
    hWndParent = GetDesktopWindow()
    hWndChild  = GetWindow(hWndParent, %GW_CHILD OR %GW_HWNDFIRST)
    DO WHILE hWndChild <> 0
      xRes = GetChildText(hWndChild)
      IF xRes <> "" THEN ' PRINT #hDbg, LEFT$(xRes, 80) 
        IF INSTR( xRes, "Finding..." ) THEN
          FUNCTION = 1 ' window is found
          EXIT FUNCTION
        END IF     
      END IF
      hWndChild = GetWindow(hWndChild, %GW_HWNDNEXT)
    LOOP  

END FUNCTION 
'¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ 


similarly, if dont want to be stuck with untitled file ...
sAppDocName = FindFileName() ' to be clear
SendKeys "{AppActivate " + sAppDocName + "}" ' Use open file name 
SendKeys "^f"     ' CTRL-F ' open the Find Address window


where:
'¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ 
FUNCTION FindFileName() AS STRING ' find doc open in MapSource

  DIM hWndChild AS LONG   
  DIM xRes AS STRING  
  DIM hWndParent AS LONG  

    hWndParent = GetDesktopWindow()
    hWndChild = GetWindow(hWndParent, %GW_CHILD OR %GW_HWNDFIRST)
    DO WHILE hWndChild <> 0
      xRes = GetChildText(hWndChild)
      IF xRes <> "" THEN ' PRINT #hDbg, LEFT$(xRes, 80) 
        IF INSTR( xRes, "- MapSource" ) THEN
          FUNCTION = TRIM$( xRes ) 
          EXIT FUNCTION
        END IF     
      END IF
      hWndChild = GetWindow(hWndChild, %GW_HWNDNEXT)
    LOOP  

    MSGBOX "MapSource Not Found",64,"Error" ' quit the app

END FUNCTION    

'¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

------------------
Kind Regards
Mike

A tiny mistake in "SUB SendPlainText(BYVAL sText AS STRING)" with %VK_SHIFT:

IF (iTempShifted AND 4) THEN KeyBd_Event %VK_MENU, MapVirtualKey(%VK_SHIFT, 0), 0, 0: SLEEP 0 'hold down alt

Better:
IF (iTempShifted AND 4) THEN KeyBd_Event %VK_MENU, MapVirtualKey %VK_MENU, 0), 0, 0: SLEEP 0 'hold down alt

Ok?


------------------

[Lance Edmonds]

Joseph: Use the %EM_SETSEL message.

Please note that the source code forum is intended for p[osting code only. Questions and discussions (and even thank you messages to show appreciation for source code, etc) should be posted in a more appropriate forum.


------------------
Lance
PowerBASIC Support
mailto:[email protected][email protected]</A>

[Joseph Boccanera]

I am trying to send a CTRL END to a dialog Box so that I can go
to the end of TEXTBOX.


The Code Line is...
SendKeys "{^}{END}"

The Scroll bar elavator on the right side of the Window moves up and down.
but it never goes to the Bottom of the TextBox. Always goes back to the top.

I was able to use other sendkeys succesfully

Any Sugestions would be helpful..




------------------
mailto:[email protected][email protected]</A>

[William Burns]

Here is an example of using the above SendKeys include file.

(It is also a simple example of using global hotkeys)

#COMPILE EXE      'Example program for SendKeys.Inc file
#REGISTER NONE
#DIM ALL
#INCLUDE "SendKeys.Inc" '<-- file found in Source Code forum (above)  - by William Burns
GLOBAL hDlg AS LONG
'=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
CALLBACK FUNCTION DlgProc
   STATIC nAtom() AS DWORD
   LOCAL sText    AS STRING
   LOCAL iRet     AS LONG
   LOCAL iCount   AS LONG
      SELECT CASE CBMSG
         CASE %WM_INITDIALOG
            iRet = TIMER
            REDIM nAtom(1:3)
            FOR iCount = 1 TO 3
               nAtom(iCount) = GlobalAddAtom ("My Hotkeys" + STR$(iRet + iCount))  'make each unique
               RegisterHotKey CBHNDL, nAtom(iCount), 2, 64 + iCount ' Ctrl-A-B-C
            NEXT iCOunt
         CASE %WM_DESTROY
            FOR iCount = 1 TO 3
               UnregisterHotKey CBHNDL, nAtom(iCount)
               GlobalDeleteAtom nAtom(iCount)
            NEXT iCount
         CASE %WM_HOTKEY
            SELECT CASE CBWPARAM
               CASE nAtom(1) 'Ctrl-a
                  AppActivate "Untitled - Notepad"  'switch to notepad window (if found)
                  WaitForNoKeys 'use this to wait for user to let go of keys (so our keys dont end up as ctrl keys)
                  sText = "{4 + 4 = 8} It is now " & DATE$ & " " & LEFT$(TIME$,5)
                  SendPlainText sText
               CASE nAtom(2) 'Ctrl-b
                  WaitForNoKeys  'use this to wait for user to let go of keys (so our keys dont end up as ctrl keys)
                  SendKeys "{AppActivate Untitled - Notepad}12{UP}34{END}567890" 'Switch to notepad then type 12 then go up and type 34 and go to end of line type 567890
                  SendKeys "{SLEEP 1000}{BACKSPACE}{SLEEP 500}" 'pause, backspace, pause
                  SendKeys "{BACKSPACE 3}"  'send 3 backspaces
               CASE nAtom(3) 'Ctrl-c
                  sText = INPUTBOX$("Enter string to send" + $CRLF + $CRLF + "You'll have 3 seconds " _
                           + "to switch back to the program to send keystokes.","Send what?")
                  SLEEP 3000
                  SendKeys sText
            END SELECT
      END SELECT
END FUNCTION
'=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
FUNCTION PBMAIN
   DIALOG NEW 0, "SendKeys example",,, 300, 30,%WS_MINIMIZEBOX OR %WS_SYSMENU OR %WS_CAPTION, 0 TO hDlg
   CONTROL ADD LABEL, hDlg, 205, "Switch to another program and then press Ctrl-A or Ctrl-B or Ctrl-C in to send keystrokes", 5, 10, 290, 15, %SS_CENTER
   DIALOG SHOW MODAL hDlg CALL DlgProc
END FUNCTION
'=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
'  other hot-key examples:
'RegisterHotKey CbHndl, nAtom, 0, Asc("D") ' D
'RegisterHotKey CbHndl, nAtom, 1, Asc("D") ' Alt-D
'RegisterHotKey CbHndl, nAtom, 2, Asc("D") ' Ctrl-D
'RegisterHotKey CbHndl, nAtom, 4, Asc("D") ' Shift-D
'RegisterHotKey CbHndl, nAtom, 1 + 2, Asc("D") ' Ctrl-Alt-D

------------------
"I haven't lost my mind... its backed up on tape... I think??"

[This message has been edited by William Burns (edited December 30, 2002).]

[William Burns]

I know that the Journal Playback Hook is the proper way to send keys to
an application, but I have a lot of existing VB code that used their SendKeys
command. So I built an include file to emulate this command. It will
support all of the VB's sendkeys codes, plus I added several more codes to
do more functions that the VB sendkeys cant. (like mouse movements, sleep, etc)

I have tried to throughly test it, and it seems to work fine.
If fact it even send keys to a DOS window, which I had problems with VB SendKeys.

ADDED: AppActivate function (similar to VBs AppActivate)
ADDED: {LMOUSECLICK X Y} to give basic mouse functions
ADDED: {CHR 123} to send a ascii code to the window example {CHR 65} would send A

'=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
'  SendKeys.inc        - by William Burns    revised 03/19/2004
'
'  Made with PowerBasic for Windows 7.0
'
'  This SendKeys function should emulate most of the same rules as the VisualBasic sendkeys
'
'  Example usage:   SendKeys "This is my text to send.{ENTER}"
'
'  You can send these codes: {ENTER}{ESC}{UP}{DOWN}{LEFT}{RIGHT}
'  {BACKSPACE}or{BS}{HOME}{END}{PGUP}{PGDN}{TAB}{DEL}or{DELETE}
'  {INS}or{INSERT}{WIN}{PRTSC}(CAPSLOCK}{NUMLOCK}{SCROLLLOCK}{HELP}
'  {PAUSEKEY} {BREAK}{LCONTROL}{RCONTROL}{LSHIFT}{RSHIFT}{ATTN}
'  {LMENU}{RMENU}
'  {F1}-{F16}    {SLEEP 1000} <-- 1000 miliseconds
'  {PAUSE 3.5}                <-- Pauses 3.5 seconds (while processing event messages)
'  {AppActivate WindowName}   <-- switches to this window
'  {LMOUSECLICK X Y}          <-- Left button mouse click at x/y screen position
'  {RMOUSECLICK X Y}          <-- Right button mouse click at x/y screen position
'  {MMOUSECLICK X Y}          <-- Middle button mouse click at x/y screen position
'  {CHR 123}                  <-- Send an ascii code 123 (same as pressing Alt-123     example: {CHR 65} would be A
'
'  Procede characters with + for Shift, ^ for Ctrl, % for Alt                          example: ^p       would be Ctrl-p
'  You can also group characters for shift/ctrl/alt with parentheses ()                example: %(fx)    would be Alt-F Alt-X     
'  To send these special characters {+^%~( as plain characters enclose them in braces  example: {{}      would just send  {
'  To send a key multiple times inclose it in braces with a number like {h 3}          example: {DEL 41)  would send DELETE key 41 times
'
'  I also included a routine called SendPlainText to make it easier to send plain text without
'  worrying about enclosing the special characters in braces (this one will not process codes)
'
'  Note: the VB sendkeys has an optional 2nd parameter for pausing the program, but it is rarely used and
'        since PowerBasic cant do optional parms, I left this parm off and gave you a seperate sub called
'        WaitForNoKeys   <-- just call this sub to see if the user has let go of all the keys, then call sendkeys
'
'  ADDED: The code {AppActivate WindowName} will switch focus to the WindowName you specify
'         or you can call this function direct:  Result = AppActivate("Untitled - Notepad")
'
'=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
#If Not %Def(%WINAPI)
    #Include "win32api.inc"                        'add win32api if not already added
#EndIf
'=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
Declare Sub SendKeys(ByVal sText As String)        'main sub (should work just like VBs SendKeys command
Declare Sub WaitForNoKeys                          'call this to wait until user lets go of all keys
Declare Sub SendPlainText(ByVal sText As String)   'Similar to SendKeys except doesnt process codes or shifted states
Declare Function AppActivate(ByVal sWinName As String) As Long 'sets focus to windowname
Declare Sub SendEachKey(ByVal sChar As String, ByVal iShiftedState As Long) 'used internaly
Declare Function SwitchToWin(ByVal iHandle As Long, ByVal iFlag As Long) As Long 'used internaly by AppActivate function
'=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
Sub SendKeys(ByVal sText As String)
   Local iCount         As Long
   Local iCount2        As Long
   Local iShiftedState  As Long
   Local sSingleChar    As String
   If Len(sText) < 1 Then Exit Sub
   For iCount = 1 To Len(sText)
      sSingleChar = Mid$(sText,iCount,1)
      If sSingleChar = "+" And IsFalse(iShiftedState And 1) Then  'Shift
         iShiftedState = iShiftedState Or 1
         keybd_event %VK_SHIFT, MapVirtualKey(%VK_SHIFT, 0), 0, 0
         Iterate For 'get next char
      End If
      If sSingleChar = "^" And IsFalse(iShiftedState And 2) Then  'Ctrl
         iShiftedState = iShiftedState Or 2
         keybd_event %VK_CONTROL, MapVirtualKey(%VK_CONTROL, 0), 0, 0
         Iterate For 'get next char
      End If
      If sSingleChar = "%" And IsFalse(iShiftedState And 4) Then  'Alt
         iShiftedState = iShiftedState Or 4
         keybd_event %VK_MENU, MapVirtualKey(%VK_MENU, 0), 0, 0
         Iterate For 'get next char
      End If
      If sSingleChar = "(" And iShiftedState Then  'group of shifted keys
         For iCount2 = iCount + 1 To (InStr(iCount + 2,sText,")") -1)   'process shift/ctrl/alt grouping
            sSingleChar = Mid$(sText,iCount2,1)
            If sSingleChar = "{" Then  'process code
               Call SendEachKey(Mid$(sText, iCount2, ((InStr(iCount2 + 2,sText,"}")-iCount2)+1)), iShiftedState) 'process codes
               iCount2 = InStr(iCount2 + 2,sText,"}") 'set next reg char to after the bracket
            Else                       'not a code so process each char
               Call SendEachKey(sSingleChar, iShiftedState)
            End If
         Next iCount2                  'next grouped key
         iCount = InStr(iCount + 2,sText,")")
      Else                             'not grouped, so process each code or char
         If sSingleChar = "{" Then     'process code
            Call SendEachKey(Mid$(sText, iCount, ((InStr(iCount + 2,sText,"}")-iCount)+1)), iShiftedState) 'process codes
            iCount = InStr(iCount + 2,sText,"}") 'set next reg char to after the bracket
         Else                          'not a code so process each char
            Call SendEachKey(sSingleChar, iShiftedState)
         End If
      End If
      If (iShiftedState And 1) Then keybd_event %VK_SHIFT, MapVirtualKey(%VK_SHIFT, 0), %KEYEVENTF_KEYUP, 0: Sleep 0     'key_UP msg
      If (iShiftedState And 2) Then keybd_event %VK_CONTROL, MapVirtualKey(%VK_CONTROL, 0), %KEYEVENTF_KEYUP, 0: Sleep 0 'key_UP msg
      If (iShiftedState And 4) Then keybd_event %VK_MENU, MapVirtualKey(%VK_MENU, 0), %KEYEVENTF_KEYUP, 0: Sleep 0       'key_UP msg
      iShiftedState = 0
   Next iCount
End Sub
'=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
Sub MouseClick(ByVal sButton As String, ByVal iXpos As Long, ByVal iYpos As Long)  'internal use
   If iXpos < 0 Or iyPos < 0 Then Exit Sub
   'mouse_event %MOUSEEVENTF_ABSOLUTE, iXpos, iYpos, 0, 0 'move mouse to correct position
   SetCursorPos iXpos, iYpos 'move mouse
   Select Case sButton
      Case "L" 'left mouse button
         mouse_event %MOUSEEVENTF_LEFTDOWN Or %MOUSEEVENTF_ABSOLUTE, iXpos, iYpos, 0, 0
         mouse_event %MOUSEEVENTF_LEFTUP Or %MOUSEEVENTF_ABSOLUTE, iXpos, iYpos, 0, 0
      Case "R" 'right mouse button
         mouse_event %MOUSEEVENTF_RIGHTDOWN Or %MOUSEEVENTF_ABSOLUTE, iXpos, iYpos, 0, 0
         mouse_event %MOUSEEVENTF_RIGHTUP Or %MOUSEEVENTF_ABSOLUTE, iXpos, iYpos, 0, 0
      Case "M" 'middle mouse button
         mouse_event %MOUSEEVENTF_MIDDLEDOWN Or %MOUSEEVENTF_ABSOLUTE, iXpos, iYpos, 0, 0
         mouse_event %MOUSEEVENTF_MIDDLEUP Or %MOUSEEVENTF_ABSOLUTE, iXpos, iYpos, 0, 0
   End Select
End Sub
'=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
Sub SendChrCode(ByVal sChar As String, ByVal iShiftedState As Long)  'internal use
   Local iRet        As Long
   Local iNumPad     As Long
   Local iCounter    As Long
   If (iShiftedState And 4) <> 4 Then keybd_event %VK_MENU, MapVirtualKey(%VK_MENU, 0), 0, 0 'press Alt
   For iCounter = 5 To Len(sChar) -1
      If Asc(sChar,iCounter) > 47 And Asc(sChar,iCounter) < 58 Then  'only process chars 0 - 9
         iNumPad = Val(Mid$(sChar,iCounter,1)) + &H60          'convert each number to the correct keypad scan code
         keybd_event iNumPad, MapVirtualKey(iNumPad, 0), 0, 0  'press keypad      
         keybd_event iNumPad, MapVirtualKey(iNumPad, 0), %KEYEVENTF_KEYUP, 0: Sleep 0 'key_UP msg
      End If
   Next iCounter
   If (iShiftedState And 4) <> 4 Then keybd_event %VK_MENU, MapVirtualKey(%VK_MENU, 0), %KEYEVENTF_KEYUP, 0: Sleep 0       'key_UP msg
End Sub
'=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
Sub SendEachKey(ByVal sChar As String, ByVal iShiftedState As Long)  'internal use
   Local iCounter       As Long
   Local iTime          As Single
   Local iRet           As Long
   Local iVKcode        As Integer
   Local iTempShifted   As Long
   Local iRepeat        As Single
   If Len(sChar) < 1 Then Exit Sub
   iVKcode = 0
   iRepeat = 1
   If sChar = "~" Then iVKcode = %VK_RETURN  ' ~ is enter key
   If Len(sChar) > 1 And Left$(sChar,1) = "{" Then
         If ParseCount(sChar," ") > 1 Then   'second parm is included
            If UCase$(Parse$(sChar," ",1)) = "{APPACTIVATE" Then 'switch window code
               Call AppActivate(Mid$(sChar, 14,(Len(sChar)-14)))
               Exit Sub
            End If
            If UCase$(Parse$(sChar," ",1)) = "{LMOUSECLICK" Or UCase$(Parse$(sChar," ",1)) = "{RMOUSECLICK" Or UCase$(Parse$(sChar," ",1)) = "{MMOUSECLICK" Then 'mouseclick
               Call MouseClick(UCase$(Mid$(sChar,2,1)),Val(Parse$(sChar," ",2)), Val(Parse$(sChar," ",3)))
               Exit Sub
            End If
            If UCase$(Parse$(sChar," ",1)) = "{CHR" Then 'CHR code use Alt numpad
               SendChrCode(sChar,iShiftedState)
               Exit Sub
            End If
            iRepeat = Val(Left$(Parse$(sChar," ",2),Len(Parse$(sChar," ",2))-1)) 'grab repeat number only
            sChar = Parse$(sChar," ",1) + "}"'now set the work string to be real code
         End If
         Select Case UCase$(sChar)
            Case "{ENTER}"
               iVKcode = %VK_RETURN
            Case "{TAB}"
               iVKcode = %VK_TAB
            Case "{LMOUSECLICK}"
               iVKcode = %VK_LBUTTON
            Case "{RMOUSECLICK}"
               iVKcode = %VK_RBUTTON
            Case "{BACKSPACE}", "{BS}"
               iVKcode = %VK_BACK
            Case "{RIGHT}"
               iVKcode = %VK_RIGHT
            Case "{LEFT}"
               iVKcode = %VK_LEFT
            Case "{UP}"
               iVKcode = %VK_UP
            Case "{DOWN}"
               iVKcode = %VK_DOWN
            Case "{HOME}"
               iVKcode = %VK_HOME
            Case "{END}"
               iVKcode = %VK_END
            Case "{PGDN}"
               iVKcode = %VK_PGDN
            Case "{PGUP}"
               iVKcode = %VK_PGUP
            Case "{INS}", "{INSERT}"
               iVKcode = %VK_INSERT
            Case "{DEL}", "{DELETE}"
               iVKcode = %VK_DELETE
            Case "{ESC}"
               iVKcode = %VK_ESCAPE
            Case "{F1}"
               iVKcode = %VK_F1
            Case "{F2}"
               iVKcode = %VK_F2
            Case "{F3}"
               iVKcode = %VK_F3
            Case "{F4}"
               iVKcode = %VK_F4
            Case "{F5}"
               iVKcode = %VK_F5
            Case "{F6}"
               iVKcode = %VK_F6
            Case "{F7}"
               iVKcode = %VK_F7
            Case "{F8}"
               iVKcode = %VK_F8
            Case "{F9}"
               iVKcode = %VK_F9
            Case "{F10}"
               iVKcode = %VK_F10
            Case "{F11}"
               iVKcode = %VK_F11
            Case "{F12}"
               iVKcode = %VK_F12
            Case "{F13}"
               iVKcode = %VK_F13
            Case "{F14}"
               iVKcode = %VK_F14
            Case "{F15}"
               iVKcode = %VK_F15
            Case "{F16}"
               iVKcode = %VK_F16
            Case "{PRTSC}"
               iVKcode = %VK_SNAPSHOT
            Case "{WIN}"
               iVKcode = %VK_LWIN
            Case "{CAPSLOCK}"
               iVKcode = %VK_CAPITAL
            Case "{NUMLOCK}"
               iVKcode = %VK_NUMLOCK
            Case "{SCROLLLOCK}"
               iVKcode = %VK_SCROLL
            Case "{LCONTROL}"
               iVKcode = %VK_LCONTROL
            Case "{RCONTROL}"
               iVKcode = %VK_RCONTROL
            Case "{LSHIFT}"
               iVKcode = %VK_LSHIFT
            Case "{RSHIFT}"
               iVKcode = %VK_RSHIFT
            Case "{LMENU}"
               iVKcode = %VK_LMENU
            Case "{RMENU}"
               iVKcode = %VK_RMENU
            Case "{ATTN}"
               iVKcode = %VK_ATTN
            Case "{BREAK}"
               iVKcode = %VK_CANCEL
            Case "{PAUSEKEY}"
               iVKcode = %VK_PAUSE
            Case "{NOTHING}"              'added so you can use Alt while typing nothing ex: %{NOTHING}
               Exit Sub
            Case "{HELP}"
               iVKcode = %VK_HELP
            Case "{SLEEP}"                'suggested by Eros Olmi
               Sleep iRepeat
               Exit Sub
            Case "{PAUSE}"                'sleeps nicely while processing events
               iTime = Timer
               Do While Timer < (iTime + iRepeat)
                  Sleep 100
                  Dialog DoEvents
               Loop
               Exit Sub
            Case Else
               sChar = Mid$(sChar,2,1)    'special char to send as normal key
         End Select
   End If
   If iVKcode = 0 Then                    'process normal keys
      iRet = VkKeyScan(Asc(sChar))
      If (LoByt(iRet) = -1) And (HiByt(iRet) = -1) Then Exit Sub 'cant do this char so skip
      iVKcode = LoByt(iRet)
      If (iShiftedState And HiByt(iRet)) <> HiByt(iRet) Then iTempShifted = HiByt(iRet) - (iShiftedState And HiByt(iRet)) 'and temp shift state if needed for this key
   End If
   If (iTempShifted And 1) Then keybd_event %VK_SHIFT, MapVirtualKey(%VK_SHIFT, 0), 0, 0     'hold down shift
   If (iTempShifted And 2) Then keybd_event %VK_CONTROL, MapVirtualKey(%VK_CONTROL, 0), 0, 0 'hold down control
   If (iTempShifted And 4) Then keybd_event %VK_MENU, MapVirtualKey(%VK_MENU, 0), 0, 0       'hold down alt
   Do
      keybd_event iVKcode, MapVirtualKey(iVKcode, 0), 0, 0 :Sleep 0               'key_down msg
      keybd_event iVKcode, MapVirtualKey(iVKcode, 0), %KEYEVENTF_KEYUP, 0 :Sleep 0'key_up msg
      Decr iRepeat
   Loop While iRepeat > 0
   If (iTempShifted And 1) Then keybd_event %VK_SHIFT, MapVirtualKey(%VK_SHIFT, 0), %KEYEVENTF_KEYUP, 0: Sleep 0     'key_UP msg
   If (iTempShifted And 2) Then keybd_event %VK_CONTROL, MapVirtualKey(%VK_CONTROL, 0), %KEYEVENTF_KEYUP, 0: Sleep 0 'key_UP msg
   If (iTempShifted And 4) Then keybd_event %VK_MENU, MapVirtualKey(%VK_MENU, 0), %KEYEVENTF_KEYUP, 0: Sleep 0       'key_UP msg
End Sub
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Sub WaitForNoKeys    'you can use this function to wait until user lets go of the ctrl/Alt/Shift and any other keys
   Local KeyWasPressed  As Long
   Local iKey           As Long
   Do                'loop here until user lets go of the ctrl/Alt/Shift and any other keys
      Sleep 300
      KeyWasPressed = 0
      For iKey = 19 To 255         '0-9 and a-z
         If (GetAsyncKeyState(iKey) And 1) Then KeyWasPressed = 1
      Next iKey
      If (GetAsyncKeyState(%VK_CONTROL) And &H8000) Or (GetAsyncKeyState(%VK_SHIFT) And &H8000) Or (GetAsyncKeyState(%VK_MENU) And &H8000) Then KeyWasPressed = 1  'note: VK_MENU = VK_ALT
   Loop While KeyWasPressed
End Sub
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Function AppActivate(ByVal sWinName As String) As Long  'Switches focus to the named window using undocumented SwitchToThisWindow function
   Local zWinName    As Asciiz * %MAX_PATH
   Local hUser32     As Dword
   Local dProcAddr   As Dword
   Local iRet        As Long
   Local hFindDlg    As Long
   zWinName = sWinName
   hFindDlg = FindWindow(ByVal 0, zWinName)  'find window by name
   If hFindDlg = 0 Then Exit Function        'cant find window so exit
   hUser32 = GetModuleHandle("user32.dll")   'get handle for DLL already in mem
   If hUser32 = 0 Then Exit Function         'cant find dll so exit
   dProcAddr = GetProcAddress(hUser32, "SwitchToThisWindow")         'get subroutine address from dll
   If dProcAddr = 0 Then Exit Function       'cant find sub in dll
   Call Dword dProcAddr Using SwitchToWin(hFindDlg, %TRUE) To iRet   'call routine
   Function = iRet                           'return results (1=success 0=failed)
End Function
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Sub SendPlainText(ByVal sText As String)
   Local iRet           As Long
   Local iCounter       As Long
   Local iVKcode        As Integer
   Local iTempShifted   As Long
   For iCounter = 1 To Len(sText)
      iRet = VkKeyScan(Asc(sText,iCounter))
      If (LoByt(iRet) = -1) And (HiByt(iRet) = -1) Then Iterate For 'cant do this char so skip
      iVKcode = LoByt(iRet)
      iTempShifted = HiByt(iRet)
      If (iTempShifted And 1) Then keybd_event %VK_SHIFT, MapVirtualKey(%VK_SHIFT, 0), 0, 0: Sleep 0     'hold down shift
      If (iTempShifted And 2) Then keybd_event %VK_CONTROL, MapVirtualKey(%VK_CONTROL, 0), 0, 0: Sleep 0 'hold down control
      If (iTempShifted And 4) Then keybd_event %VK_MENU, MapVirtualKey(%VK_MENU, 0), 0, 0: Sleep 0      'hold down alt
      keybd_event iVKcode, MapVirtualKey(iVKcode, 0), 0, 0: Sleep 0                'key_down msg
      keybd_event iVKcode, MapVirtualKey(iVKcode, 0), %KEYEVENTF_KEYUP, 0: Sleep 0 'key_up msg
      If (iTempShifted And 1) Then keybd_event %VK_SHIFT, MapVirtualKey(%VK_SHIFT, 0), %KEYEVENTF_KEYUP, 0: Sleep 0     'key_up msg
      If (iTempShifted And 2) Then keybd_event %VK_CONTROL, MapVirtualKey(%VK_CONTROL, 0), %KEYEVENTF_KEYUP, 0: Sleep 0 'key_up msg
      If (iTempShifted And 4) Then keybd_event %VK_MENU, MapVirtualKey(%VK_MENU, 0), %KEYEVENTF_KEYUP, 0: Sleep 0       'key_up msg
   Next iCounter
End Sub
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"I haven't lost my mind... its backed up on tape... I think??"



[This message has been edited by William Burns (edited March 23, 2004).]