Detect key press while form is minimised.

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I created one windows form keypress application.And I am using F3,F4,F5 keypress for some operation. But keypress is not working while form is minimised. It should work when form is minimised.How to fix this problem in C#.

C#

protected override bool ProcessCmdKey(ref Message msg, Keys keyData)
       {
               this.WindowState = FormWindowState.Minimized;

               oWord.Visible = true;
               if (keyData == Keys.F3)
               {
                   this.WindowState = FormWindowState.Minimized;
                   CaptureWithTaskBar();
                   this.WindowState = FormWindowState.Normal;
               }
               else if (keyData == Keys.F4)
               {
                   this.WindowState = FormWindowState.Minimized;
                   CaptureWithoutTaskBar();
                   this.WindowState = FormWindowState.Normal;
               }
               else if (keyData == Keys.F5)
               {
                   SaveDocument();
               }
}

Posted 4-May-15 20:30pm

Member 11444399

Updated 21-Jan-21 5:44am

v4

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OriginalGriff · Answer 1 · 2015-05-04T21:05:00

The problem is that when the form is minimised, it doesn't have the focus - so it doesn;t get any keyboard activity.

If you want to catch keystrokes when minimized - and I'd advise against it, it annoys users if the keys are used by other apps like F3, F4, and F5 often are - then you have to start doing very complex code to install a Global Hook: Google[^] - but do not expect it to be easy, and do expect your attempts to crash your PC or leave it in a very unstable state a couple of times while you are developing it.