Save to and replay from function keys? (Macro)

[cs475x]

How can I make it so when I type something into a text box and click save, it will put the text into one of the function keys at the top row of my keyboard and then be able to push that key to automatically type whatever I saved?

[vb5prgrmr]

If this is within your program, you can create a menu item, or several menu items and assign the keyboard shortcuts to those menu items, the somevariable = text1.text...



Good Luck

[cs475x]

Could you better explain that please?

[LaVolpe]

One of the questions asked, which would better focus the replies... Will this functionality just be used in your application or is it suppose to work on any window/application that has the focus?

[cs475x]

It's supposed to work in any application. The user will type anything into a text box and check a box if they want it enabled, then save the settings. After saving, the user will be able to press the corresponding function key (F1-F11) and whatever they typed will be automatically typed out for them.

I managed to find out how to assign functions to the F keys, but I still have some problems.

1) I can't manage to print the text in the specified text box into the currently selected text area in the current open program.
2) When I press the desired F key, the original function still performs. (Example: I press F10 to print "test10", but it still highlights the top menu (File, Edit, ect.)
3) I can't figure out how to type out the text. Right now, all I have is "Print text10.text" and it prints "test10" on the background of my application in a single column. How can I get it to actually type out into a text box?


I have some more problems. Within this application, I give the user two check boxes for options. The first is whether or not the F key is being overridden. The second is to include the enter key. If the auto-enter box isn't checked, I want it to just type out the text as if the user did. If it is checked, I want it to type out the text and emulate a press of the enter key. How might this be accomplished?

The current code I have for each F key is as follows:

    If Check19.Value = 1 Then 'If checked
        If KeyCode = vbKeyF10 Then 'If F10 is pressed
            Print Text10.Text 'Print what is in #10 text box
        End If
    End If

[LaVolpe]

Well, here's an idea.
1. Use RegisterHotKey (examples exist on this forum) to assign hotkey(s) to your application.
2. When the hotkey is pressed, you can try sending the text one of several ways
:: SendKeys - not recommended
:: SendInput - last resort in this case
:: SendMessage with WM_SetText - preferred if it works well
:: SetWindowText - basically calls SendMessage; so if one works the other may as well

For the last two options above, you will need an hWnd...
Here is how you might get the active window when your hotkey is received. There's a nice api to use called GetFocus but it only works for the thread that calls the API. There's also a neat hack by attaching one thread to another process' thread; thereby allowing GetFocus to return the child window in the foreground window that has the focus. It's just a tad complicated, so I've included it below.

Call GetTargetHwnd() function to return the actual window handle that has the current keyboard focus.

Private Declare Function GetForegroundWindow Lib "user32.dll" () As Long
Private Declare Function AttachThreadInput Lib "user32.dll" (ByVal idAttach As Long, ByVal idAttachTo As Long, ByVal fAttach As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function GetWindowThreadProcessId Lib "user32.dll" (ByVal hwnd As Long, ByRef lpdwProcessId As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function GetFocusAPI Lib "user32.dll" Alias "GetFocus" () As Long

Private Function GetTargetHwnd() As Long
    Dim tgtParent As Long
    Dim tgtThread As Long
    Dim myThread As Long
    
    tgtParent = GetForegroundWindow()
    myThread = App.ThreadID()
    tgtThread = GetWindowThreadProcessId(tgtParent, ByVal 0&)
    If myThread <> tgtThread Then
        AttachThreadInput myThread, tgtThread, 1& ' join threads
    End If
    GetTargetHwnd = GetFocusAPI
    If myThread <> tgtThread Then
        AttachThreadInput myThread, tgtThread, 0& ' release
    End If
End Function

[LaVolpe]

It's supposed to work in any application. The user will type anything into a text box and check a box if they want it enabled, then save the settings. After saving, the user will be able to press the corresponding function key (F1-F11) and whatever they typed will be automatically typed out for them.

See my previous reply too. Your trapping of function keys won't work if another application has the focus; so if this is to be system-wide, foreget about using KeyPress and KeyDown events.

I managed to find out how to assign functions to the F keys, but I still have some problems.

1) I can't manage to print the text in the specified text box into the currently selected text area in the current open program.
2) When I press the desired F key, the original function still performs. (Example: I press F10 to print "test10", but it still highlights the top menu (File, Edit, ect.)
3) I can't figure out how to type out the text. Right now, all I have is "Print text10.text" and it prints "test10" on the background of my application in a single column. How can I get it to actually type out into a text box?

1) For your application: Text1.Text = MacroText
2) In the keydown event, remember to set the KeyCode to 0 to stop its functionality. If F10 still activates the menubar, the ReigsterHotKey or a keyboard hook should prevent that
3) Print is wrong. You don't use Print to assign values to a property. Print is used to draw text to a DC or file.

[cs475x]

I have no idea how exactly to setup the registerhotkey to be honest.

Could you or someone else provide me the code needed to display the text of text1.text when F1 is pressed, text2.text when F2 is pressed and so on up until F11? I have been working on this for about 2 days now with a cold and I think I just used up all my brain power for the day...

[LaVolpe]

Untested, I'll leave that to you.
1. Ensure form's KeyPreview is set to True
2. Sample, untested code

Private Sub Form_KeyDown(KeyCode As Integer, Shift As Integer)
    Select Case KeyCode
    Case vbKeyF1 to vbKeyF11
         ' vbKeyF1 = 112, so simple math to get 112 = 1: KeyCode-111 = textbox number
         YourTargetTextBox.Text =  Me.Controls("Text" & CStr(KeyCode - 111)).Text 
         KeyCode = 0
    End Select
End Sub

I am not going to give you the HotKey code, it is readily available on this forum and a simple search will pull up very good examples that you can simply copy & paste and use with little to no modifications.

P.S. That Me.Controls(....) line would be unnecessary if your 11 textboxes were arrayed/indexed, i..e, Text1(1), Text1(2), Text1(3), etc.

And again, this is a waste of time in my opinion if you are going to try to set this up to work system-wide. You will not be trapping keystrokes in your application if someone is using FireFox for example.

Edited: ^^ should have read: ... You will not be trapping keystrokes with Form/Control's KeyDown events in your application....

Oh, and I don't intentionally mean to sound rash/harsh; just an attempt to have you step back a moment and really think about what the goals are for this project of yours and whether or not they should be modified. It sounds like you don't have much experience and jumping into APIs may be a bit premature. SendKeys may work and requires no APIs, but RegisterHotKey is something I think you will need if you want your macro to be system-wide. I and many others would rather suggest to a newbie vs. doing the work for them (i.e., the statement about not giving you the hotkey code).

[cs475x]

I used the code provided here, but it still only types out each textbox in the program, not in another program such as Notepad.

[LaVolpe]

That's because that post did not intend to send text to another application, it was intended to trap F1 in his own application among multiple forms.

In post #6 above I gave you the code you would need to determine which window has the keyboard focus. Only one window at a time can have the focus. So if someone is typing in NotePad, your app does not have the focus. If someone while in NotePad presses F2, your app won't know about it because your app does not have the focus.

By using hot keys, your app will be informed when that key is pressed. And once you are informed, you can determine which window has the focus and attempt to set the text.

Now there are some problems you will have to overcome and this is not what I would call a project for a beginner. It may prove difficult for you, but if you figure it out and do most of the work yourself, you will have learned quite a bit.

1. SendMessage using WM_SetText or using SetWindowText APIs replaces the text in the target window, it doesn't append
2. Using VB's SendKeys or SendInput API will send literal keystrokes, but both APIs are dumb, they do not target a specific window. If user changes focus to another app or another window while the keystrokes are being sent, those strokes are sent to the new focused window.
3. Using SendMessage with the WM_PASTE message could be a better choice overall. However, not all windows will process that message. Of course, you'd have to set text in the clipboard first.
4. RegisterHotKey per msdn documentation does not allow you to use a single key as a hotkey/macro. Read the documentation.
5. A global keyboard hook could resolve the single key issue, but I personally don't offer assistance with global hooks due to the high probability of their misuse/malicious use by others.

[LaVolpe]

Here's a really short example, combining code from post #6 above and thoughts from previous post.

Note. Just an example for proof of concept. There is no hot key code. A timer is used to simulate receipt of a hot key.

1. In a new project, add a form with these controls. Use their default properties; don't change them.
Timer, command button
2. Copy and paste this code into the form

Option Explicit

Private Declare Function GetForegroundWindow Lib "user32.dll" () As Long
Private Declare Function AttachThreadInput Lib "user32.dll" (ByVal idAttach As Long, ByVal idAttachTo As Long, ByVal fAttach As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function GetWindowThreadProcessId Lib "user32.dll" (ByVal hwnd As Long, ByRef lpdwProcessId As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function GetFocusAPI Lib "user32.dll" Alias "GetFocus" () As Long
Private Declare Function SendMessage Lib "user32.dll" Alias "SendMessageA" (ByVal hwnd As Long, ByVal wMsg As Long, ByVal wParam As Long, ByRef lParam As Any) As Long
Private Const WM_PASTE As Long = &H302

Private Function GetTargetHwnd() As Long
    Dim tgtParent As Long
    Dim tgtThread As Long
    Dim myThread As Long
    
    tgtParent = GetForegroundWindow()
    myThread = App.ThreadID()
    tgtThread = GetWindowThreadProcessId(tgtParent, ByVal 0&)
    If myThread <> tgtThread Then
        AttachThreadInput myThread, tgtThread, 1&
    End If
    GetTargetHwnd = GetFocusAPI
    If myThread <> tgtThread Then
        AttachThreadInput myThread, tgtThread, 0&
    End If
    
End Function

Private Sub Command1_Click()
    Timer1.Interval = 5000
    Timer1.Enabled = True
End Sub

Private Sub Timer1_Timer()
    Timer1.Enabled = False
    Clipboard.Clear
    Clipboard.SetText "Hello World"
    SendMessage GetTargetHwnd(), WM_PASTE, 0&, ByVal 0&
    MsgBox "Sent the text"
End Sub

3. Now open notepad, place your cursor in it some where
4. Open the vb project and run it
5. Press the command button, then within 5 seconds, click on the notepad window so it has focus.
6. When the 5 seconds are up, the text will be pasted into notepad

Edited: Try it with other applications too. Again, WM_Paste may not be processed by all windows.

[LeandroA]

Using the clipboard is as fast and safe, to have some fun, another method using WM_CHAR

put a textbox on a form, run it, we focus on a window, notepad, word, or any html editor and then press f10

Option Explicit

Private Type RECT
    Left As Long
    Top As Long
    Right As Long
    Bottom As Long
End Type

Private Type GUITHREADINFO
    cbSize As Long
    flags As Long
    hwndActive As Long
    hwndFocus As Long
    hwndCapture As Long
    hwndMenuOwner As Long
    hwndMoveSize As Long
    hwndCaret As Long
    rcCaret As RECT
End Type

Private Type POINTAPI
    x As Long
    y As Long
End Type

Private Type Msg
    hwnd As Long
    Message As Long
    wParam As Long
    lParam As Long
    time As Long
    pt As POINTAPI
End Type

Private Declare Function GetGUIThreadInfo Lib "user32.dll" (ByVal idThread As Long, ByRef pgui As GUITHREADINFO) As Long
Private Declare Function GetForegroundWindow Lib "user32.dll" () As Long
Private Declare Function GetWindowThreadProcessId Lib "user32.dll" (ByVal hwnd As Long, ByRef lpdwProcessId As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function PostMessage Lib "user32.dll" Alias "PostMessageA" (ByVal hwnd As Long, ByVal wMsg As Long, ByVal wParam As Long, ByVal lParam As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function RegisterHotKey Lib "user32" (ByVal hwnd As Long, ByVal id As Long, ByVal fsModifiers As Long, ByVal vk As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function UnregisterHotKey Lib "user32" (ByVal hwnd As Long, ByVal id As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function PeekMessage Lib "user32" Alias "PeekMessageA" (lpMsg As Msg, ByVal hwnd As Long, ByVal wMsgFilterMin As Long, ByVal wMsgFilterMax As Long, ByVal wRemoveMsg As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function WaitMessage Lib "user32" () As Long

Private Const WM_CHAR       As Long = &H102
Private Const WM_HOTKEY     As Long = &H312
Private Const PM_REMOVE     As Long = &H1

Private bCancel As Boolean

Private Sub ProcessMessages()
    Dim Message As Msg
    Dim HANDLE  As Long
    
    Do While Not bCancel

        WaitMessage
        If PeekMessage(Message, Me.hwnd, WM_HOTKEY, WM_HOTKEY, PM_REMOVE) Then
        
            HANDLE = GetFocusHandle
            
            If HANDLE <> 0 Then
                SetWindowTextEx HANDLE, Text1.Text  '<<<<<<<this line put the text in other aplication
            End If
            
        End If

        DoEvents
    Loop
End Sub


Public Function GetFocusHandle() As Long
    Dim GTI As GUITHREADINFO
    GTI.cbSize = Len(GTI)
    GetGUIThreadInfo GetWindowThreadProcessId(GetForegroundWindow, 0), GTI
    GetFocusHandle = GTI.hwndFocus
End Function

Private Function SetWindowTextEx(hwnd As Long, Text As String)
Dim i As Integer
Dim Key As Byte

For i = 1 To Len(Text)
    Key = Asc(Mid(Text, i, 1))
    If Key <> 10 Then
        PostMessage hwnd, WM_CHAR, Key, 0&
    End If
Next
End Function

Private Sub Command1_Click()
Timer1.Interval = 5000
End Sub

Private Sub Form_Load()

    bCancel = False

    Call RegisterHotKey(Me.hwnd, &HBFFF&, 0&, vbKeyF10)

    Me.Show

    ProcessMessages
End Sub

Private Sub Form_Unload(Cancel As Integer)
    bCancel = True
    Call UnregisterHotKey(Me.hwnd, &HBFFF&)
End Sub

es solo un ejemplo pero es mas conveniente utilizar sublcass para los hotkeys