There seems to be an issue simulating the backspace key with java.awt.Robot
.
This thread seems to confirm this but it does not propose a solution.
This works:
Robot rob = new Robot();
rob.keyPress(KeyEvent.VK_A);
rob.keyRelease(KeyEvent.VK_A);
This doesn't:
Robot rob = new Robot();
rob.keyPress(KeyEvent.VK_BACK_SPACE);
rob.keyRelease(KeyEvent.VK_BACK_SPACE);
Any ideas?
It seems to work in this test.
Addendum: Regarding the cited article, "Aside from those keys that are defined by the Java language (VK_ENTER
, VK_BACK_SPACE
, and VK_TAB
), do not rely on the values of the VK_ constants
. Sun reserves the right to change these values as needed to accomodate a wider range of keyboards in the future."—java.awt.event.KeyEvent
public class RobotTest {
public static void main(String[] args) {
EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
new RobotTest().create();
}
});
}
private void create() {
JFrame f = new JFrame();
f.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
f.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
f.setLayout(new FlowLayout());
f.add(new JTextField(8));
final JButton b = new JButton();
f.getRootPane().setDefaultButton(b);
b.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
b.setText("@" + e.getWhen());
}
});
f.add(b);
f.setSize(256, 128);
f.setVisible(true);
doTest();
}
private void doTest() {
try {
Robot r = new Robot();
int[] keys = {
KeyEvent.VK_T, KeyEvent.VK_E,
KeyEvent.VK_S, KeyEvent.VK_T,
KeyEvent.VK_Z, KeyEvent.VK_BACK_SPACE,
KeyEvent.VK_ENTER
};
for (int code : keys) {
r.keyPress(code);
r.keyRelease(code);
}
} catch (AWTException ex) {
ex.printStackTrace(System.err);
}
}
}
The Backspace functionality does not work as expected. I added a Shift key with the Backspace and it works fine for me, here is the pseudo-code for it.
robot.keyPress(KeyEvent.VK_SHIFT);
robot.keyPress(KeyEvent.VK_BACK_SPACE);
robot.keyRelease(KeyEvent.VK_BACK_SPACE);
robot.keyRelease(KeyEvent.VK_SHIFT);
This does not seem to work for the Delete key though.