What Character Does Enter Key Generate On A Keyboard
Apr 07, 2020 USING ALT CODES ON LAPTOP WITHOUT NUM LOCK. Almost all the Spanish accent words require the combination of numeric key or the alt keys. However since your laptop does not have that option you may use the character map. Special characters are characters that cannot be found on your keyboard. These characters include advanced mathematical. Here’s what you need to enter in your AutoHotkey script to create a shortcut for your special character. This will let you press Alt+ the character of your choice to enter a special character. Substitute yourhotkey with the character you want to use as your shortcut, and yourspecialcharacter with the special character you want to input. I'm trying to figure an easy way to generate certain control characters such as NUL and EOF from the keyboard for testing purposes. Does anyone know how to do it? This is possible on Windows/DOS by turning the Num Lock key on, and then holding down the ALT key while you enter the numeric code from the keypad.
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- Numeric Key
- What Character Does Enter Key Generate On A Keyboard Computer
With ordinary rules, you can match any key that produces a character. However, sometimes you may want to match other keys, for example Backspace, or Ctrl- or Alt-combinations. In order to match keys like these you need to use virtual keys.
Every key on the keyboard is identified by a virtual key code. Virtual keys are identified by square brackets [ ]
containing a combination of zero or more shift-key codes and a virtual key code.
Using virtual keys
Virtual keys are used in the key section of a rule. Virtual keys are not valid in the context of a rule, as the context consists solely of characters. As virtual keys can only be output on a few platforms, they should not be used in the output section of a rule.
A typical use of virtual keys is to make rules to recognise non-character keys, such as Backspace or Tab; for example:
Virtual keys are also commonly used to recognise Ctrl or Alt key combinations, like this:
While Keyman virtual keys are closely related to the Windows virtual keys, there are differences, and the two cannot be used completely interchangeably. Most of the following discussion relates to physical keyboards.
The key codes refer to the actual key at the given position on a standard US-English keyboard. When used with a non US-English keyboard driver (selected through Control Panel/Keyboards), differences can arise, and this use is not recommended.
The Right-Alt key has traditionally been used on European keyboards as an additional shift state, usually known as AltGr. The end user of Keyman keyboards can select an option to emulate Right-Alt with Ctrl+Alt, as Right-Alt is not available on many notebook keyboards. Thus, it is wise to avoid using Ctrl+Alt combinations and Right-Alt combinations in the same keyboard.
Additionally, it is useful to keep in mind that when this emulation is active, it is not possible to recognise the Ctrl+Right Alt combination, as this is overridden by Ctrl+Alt (producing Right-Alt). This can have ramifications in keyboards such as German, which makes use of the Ctrl+AltGr combination.

Virtual Keys vs Virtual Character Keys: Keyman 6.0 introduced a new feature known as mnemonic layouts. This feature requires that the 'white' alphabet/numeric/punctuation keys in the primary section of the keyboard are referenced by the character on the key cap rather than the key position (as with non-mnemonic layouts). However, all other keys on the keyboard should be referenced as normal.
It is important to remember that you can choose any character that appears on a given keycap, not just the unshifted character. For instance, if you use ['A']
, you will be matching the unshifted A key; you must still explicitly state the shift state for the key.
Reference
The general format for a virtual character key is:
where 'c'
is any character on the keyboard. This can include characters on European keyboards.
The general format for a virtual key is:
The possible shift codes are:
Shift Key | Code |
---|---|
Either shift key | SHIFT |
Either control key | CTRL |
Left control key | LCTRL |
Right control key (not found on all keyboards) | RCTRL |
Either alt key | ALT |
Left alt key | LALT |
Right alt key or AltGr on European keyboards (not found on all keyboards) | RALT |
Caps Lock on | CAPS |
Caps Lock off | NCAPS |
Using Right Alt / AltGr
A caveat for using RALT: When using many European keyboards, Windows internally translates the RALT (or AltGr) key to LCTRL+RALT. Keyman also includes an option to treat CTRL+ALT in the same manner as RALT (this is useful for notebook keyboards that do not have a RALT or AltGr key. Both of these 'features' mean that you should avoid using more than one of the following shift combinations in the same keyboard:
Shift Code |
---|
RALT |
CTRL ALT |
CTRL RALT |
LCTRL ALT |
LCTRL RALT |
Caps Lock
If neither CAPS or NCAPS is specified, then the CAPS LOCK key is ignored. This means that if you do have a rule that uses CAPS, you should make sure that no other rule references that key without NCAPS or CAPS specified. In the following example, the [CAPS K_A] rule will never be matched, because the [K_A] rule does not take CAPS LOCK into account:
Instead, you should use:
Caps lock is also controlled by Caps lock stores.
Common virtual key codes
What Character Does Enter Key Generate On A Keyboard Download
The following table lists all of the common virtual key codes:
Key Code | Key Name | Key Code | Key Name |
---|---|---|---|
K_SPACE | K_oE2 | 102nd Key (European) | |
K_A | A | K_BKSP | Backspace |
K_B | B | K_TAB | Tab |
K_C | C | K_ENTER | Enter |
K_D | D | K_ESC | Escape |
K_E | E | K_LEFT | Left Arrow |
K_F | F | K_UP | Up Arrow |
K_G | G | K_RIGHT | Right Arrow |
K_H | H | K_DOWN | Down Arrow |
K_I | I | K_PGUP | Page Up |
K_J | J | K_PGDN | Page Down |
K_K | K | K_HOME | Home |
K_L | L | K_END | End |
K_M | M | K_INS | Insert |
K_N | N | K_DEL | Delete |
K_O | O | K_F1 | F1 |
K_P | P | K_F2 | F2 |
K_Q | Q | K_F3 | F3 |
K_R | R | K_F4 | F4 |
K_S | S | K_F5 | F5 |
K_T | T | K_F6 | F6 |
K_U | U | K_F7 | F7 |
K_V | V | K_F8 | F8 |
K_W | W | K_F9 | F9 |
K_X | X | K_F10 | F10 |
K_Y | Y | K_F11 | F11 |
K_Z | Z | K_F12 | F12 |
K_1 | 1 | K_KP5 | Key Pad 5 (Numlock off) |
K_2 | 2 | K_NP0 | Number Pad 0 |
K_3 | 3 | K_NP1 | Number Pad 1 |
K_4 | 4 | K_NP2 | Number Pad 2 |
K_5 | 5 | K_NP3 | Number Pad 3 |
K_6 | 6 | K_NP4 | Number Pad 4 |
K_7 | 7 | K_NP5 | Number Pad 5 |
K_8 | 8 | K_NP6 | Number Pad 6 |
K_9 | 9 | K_NP7 | Number Pad 7 |
K_0 | 0 | K_NP8 | Number Pad 8 |
K_BKQUOTE | ` | K_NP9 | Number Pad 9 |
K_HYPHEN | - | K_NPSTAR | Number Pad * |
K_EQUAL | = | K_NPPLUS | Number Pad + |
K_LBRKT | [ | K_NPMINUS | Number Pad - |
K_RBRKT | ] | K_NPDOT | Number Pad . |
K_BKSLASH | K_NPSLASH | Number Pad / | |
K_COLON | ; | ||
K_QUOTE | ' | ||
K_COMMA | , | ||
K_PERIOD | . | ||
K_SLASH | / |
The following table lists all of the less common virtual key codes:
Key Code | Key Name | Key Code | Key Name |
---|---|---|---|
K_SEL | Select | K_?96 | Unknown Key 96 |
K_PRINT | K_?97 | Unknown Key 97 | |
K_EXEC | Execute | K_?98 | Unknown Key 98 |
K_HELP | Help | K_?99 | Unknown Key 99 |
K_SEPARATOR | Separator | K_?9A | Unknown Key 9A |
K_F13 | F13 | K_?9B | Unknown Key 9B |
K_F14 | F14 | K_?9C | Unknown Key 9C |
K_F15 | F15 | K_?9D | Unknown Key 9D |
K_F16 | F16 | K_?9E | Unknown Key 9E |
K_F17 | F17 | K_?9F | Unknown Key 9F |
K_F18 | F18 | K_?A0 | Unknown Key A0 |
K_F19 | F19 | K_?A1 | Unknown Key A1 |
K_F20 | F20 | K_?A2 | Unknown Key A2 |
K_F21 | F21 | K_?A3 | Unknown Key A3 |
K_F22 | F22 | K_?A4 | Unknown Key A4 |
K_F23 | F23 | K_?A5 | Unknown Key A5 |
K_F24 | F24 | K_?A6 | Unknown Key A6 |
K_KANJI?15 | Kanji Key #1 | K_?A7 | Unknown Key A7 |
K_KANJI?16 | Kanji Key #2 | K_?A8 | Unknown Key A8 |
K_KANJI?17 | Kanji Key #3 | K_?A9 | Unknown Key A9 |
K_KANJI?18 | Kanji Key #4 | K_?AA | Unknown Key AA |
K_KANJI?19 | Kanji Key #5 | K_?AB | Unknown Key AB |
K_KANJI?1C | Kanji Key #6 | K_?AC | Unknown Key AC |
K_KANJI?1D | Kanji Key #7 | K_?AD | Unknown Key AD |
K_KANJI?1E | Kanji Key #8 | K_?AE | Unknown Key AE |
K_KANJI?1F | Kanji Key #9 | K_?AF | Unknown Key AF |
K_oE0 | OEM Key E0 | K_?B0 | Unknown Key B0 |
K_oE1 | OEM Key E1 | K_?B1 | Unknown Key B1 |
K_oE3 | OEM Key E3 | K_?B2 | Unknown Key B2 |
K_oE4 | OEM Key E4 | K_?B3 | Unknown Key B3 |
K_oE6 | OEM Key E6 | K_?B4 | Unknown Key B4 |
K_oE9 | OEM Key E9 | K_?B5 | Unknown Key B5 |
K_oEA | OEM Key EA | K_?B6 | Unknown Key B6 |
K_oEB | OEM Key EB | K_?B7 | Unknown Key B7 |
K_oEC | OEM Key EC | K_?B8 | Unknown Key B8 |
K_oED | OEM Key ED | K_?B9 | Unknown Key B9 |
K_oEE | OEM Key EE | K_?C1 | Unknown Key C1 |
K_oEF | OEM Key EF | K_?C2 | Unknown Key C2 |
K_oF0 | OEM Key F0 | K_?C3 | Unknown Key C3 |
K_oF1 | OEM Key F1 | K_?C4 | Unknown Key C4 |
K_oF2 | OEM Key F2 | K_?C5 | Unknown Key C5 |
K_oF3 | OEM Key F3 | K_?C6 | Unknown Key C6 |
K_oF4 | OEM Key F4 | K_?C7 | Unknown Key C7 |
K_oF5 | OEM Key F5 | K_?C8 | Unknown Key C8 |
K_?00 | Unknown Key 00 | K_?C9 | Unknown Key C9 |
K_?05 or K_NPENTER | Number Pad ENTER | K_?CA | Unknown Key CA |
K_?06 | Unknown Key 06 | K_?CB | Unknown Key CB |
K_?07 | Unknown Key 07 | K_?CC | Unknown Key CC |
K_?0A | Unknown Key 0A | K_?CD | Unknown Key CD |
K_?0B | Unknown Key 0B | K_?CE | Unknown Key CE |
K_?0E | Unknown Key 0E | K_?CF | Unknown Key CF |
K_?0F | Unknown Key 0F | K_?D0 | Unknown Key D0 |
K_?1A | Unknown Key 1A | K_?D1 | Unknown Key D1 |
K_?3A | Unknown Key 3A | K_?D2 | Unknown Key D2 |
K_?3B | Unknown Key 3B | K_?D3 | Unknown Key D3 |
K_?3C | Unknown Key 3C | K_?D4 | Unknown Key D4 |
K_?3D | Unknown Key 3D | K_?D5 | Unknown Key D5 |
K_?3E | Unknown Key 3E | K_?D6 | Unknown Key D6 |
K_?3F | Unknown Key 3F | K_?D7 | Unknown Key D7 |
K_?40 | Unknown Key 40 | K_?D8 | Unknown Key D8 |
K_?5B | Unknown Key 5B | K_?D9 | Unknown Key D9 |
K_?5C | Unknown Key 5C | K_?DA | Unknown Key DA |
K_?5D | Unknown Key 5D | K_oDF | Unknown Key DF |
K_?5E | Unknown Key 5E | K_?E5 | Unknown Key E5 |
K_?5F | Unknown Key 5F | K_?E7 | Unknown Key E7 |
K_?88 | Unknown Key 88 | K_?E8 | Unknown Key E8 |
K_?89 | Unknown Key 89 | K_?F6 | Unknown Key F6 |
K_?8A | Unknown Key 8A | K_?F7 | Unknown Key F7 |
K_?8B | Unknown Key 8B | K_?F8 | Unknown Key F8 |
K_?8C | Unknown Key 8C | K_?F9 | Unknown Key F9 |
K_?8D | Unknown Key 8D | K_?FA | Unknown Key FA |
K_?8E | Unknown Key 8E | K_?FB | Unknown Key FB |
K_?8F | Unknown Key 8F | K_?FC | Unknown Key FC |
K_?92 | Unknown Key 92 | K_?FD | Unknown Key FD |
K_?94 | Unknown Key 94 | K_?FE | Unknown Key FE |
K_?95 | Unknown Key 95 | K_?FF | Unknown Key FF |
The following table lists all of the reserved virtual key codes that will not be recognised even if they are on your keyboard, although they are included in Keyman for completeness:
Key Code | Key Name |
---|---|
K_SHIFT | Shift |
K_CONTROL | Control |
K_ALT | Alt |
K_CAPS | Caps Lock |
K_NUMLOCK | Num Lock |
K_SCROLL | Scroll Lock |
K_LBUTTON | Left Mouse Button |
K_MBUTTON | Middle Mouse Button |
K_RBUTTON | Right Mouse Button |
K_CANCEL | Ctrl+Break |
K_PAUSE | Pause |
K_PRTSCN | Print Screen |
Examples
Virtual keys should not be used in the output as they will only work on Windows applications and are not portable.
Virtual keys and touch layouts
Touch layouts do not have physical keyboards, so the concept of virtual keys is in some ways less relevant. However, for compatibility and ease of reference, Keyman maintains a mapping between the US English virtual key codes and the characters emitted by these keys. If a touch key is given one of these virtual keys (e.g. K_A
), then the corresponding US English character (a
) will be emitted, if no rule is provided to override that.
Each touch key must be given an identifying key code which is unique to the key layer. Key codes by and large correspond to the virtual key codes used when creating a keyboard program for a desktop keyboard, and should start with K_
, for keys mapped to standard Keyman virtual key names, e.g. K_HYPHEN
, and T_
or U_
for user-defined names, e.g. T_ZZZ
. If keyboard rules exist matching the key code in context, then the output from the key will be determined by the processing of those rules. It is usually best to include explicit rules to manage the output from each key, but if no rules matching the key code are included in the keyboard program, and the key code matches the pattern U_xxxx
(where xxxx
is a 4-digit uppercase hex string), then the Unicode character U+xxxx
will be output. The key code is always required, and a default code will usually be generated automatically by Keyman Developer 9.
K_xxxx
is used for a standard Keyman Desktop key name, e.g.K_W
,K_ENTER
. You cannot make up your ownK_xxxx
names. Many of theK_
ids have overloaded output behaviour, for instance, if no rule is matched forK_W
, Keyman will output 'w' when it is touched. The standard key names are listed above. Typically, you would use only the 'common' virtual key codes.T_xxxx
is used for any user defined names, e.g.T_SCHWA
. If you wanted to use it,T_ENTER
would also be valid. If no rule matches it, the key will have no output behaviour.U_####
is used as a shortcut for a key that will output that single Unicode value, if no rule matches it. This is similar to the overloaded behaviour forK_
ids. Thus####
must be a valid hexadecimal value. E.g.U_0259
would generate a schwa if no rule matches. It is still valid to have a rule such as+ [U_0259] > ...
Any key can be used to switch keyboard layers (see below), but the following layer-switching key codes have been added for switching to some commonly used secondary layers:
Identifier | Value |
---|---|
K_NUMERALS | 261 |
K_SYMBOLS | 262 |
K_CURRENCIES | 263 |
K_SHIFTED | 264 |
K_ALTGR | 265 |
On your Android phone, you’re not limited to typing only the symbols you see on the alphabetic keyboard. Most Android phones feature alternative character keyboards. To access these special keyboards, tap the symbol or numeric key, such as the ?1J key.
The number and variety of special character keyboards varies from phone to phone. At least one symbol keyboard is available, though you may find multiple symbol keyboards, special numeric keypads, and even emoji keyboards. Here, four different symbol keyboards are shown.
To switch keyboards, locate the special symbols, illustrated here. Tap a symbol to view an alternative character set. Though these symbols and the keyboards vary, nearly all Android phones use the ABC key to return to the standard, alpha keyboard.
Numeric Key
Some special symbols are available quickly from the alpha keyboard. These symbols include accented letters and other common characters. The secret is to long-press a key, such as the A key, shown here.
After you long-press, drag your finger upward to choose a character from the pop-up palette. If you choose the wrong character, tap the Delete key on the onscreen keyboard to erase the mistyped symbol.
- Some onscreen keyboards show tiny symbols next to the letters and numbers. If so, you can long-press that key to access the symbol, similar to the technique illustrated.
- Emojis are tiny images that express words or concepts, such as those shown on the bottom right in the first figure above. The variety of emojis is almost endless; choose another palette from the top of the keyboard.
- Emoticons predate emojis. They use characters to create faces or other expressions. Unlike emojis, emoticons appear identical on every smartphone; emojis may look subtly different and not every phone sports the same variety.
What Character Does Enter Key Generate On A Keyboard Computer
Emoticon is a portmanteau of emotion and icon. Emoji is a Japanese term that means “picture character.”