Custom key binds - c++

Question

I am working on an ImGui project, and am trying to find a way to create custom key binds. I thought of just listing every single VK key code in a massive,
if
statement, but not only would that be bulky, but I would also not take certain keys such as some unique mouse buttons or any other key I may end up missing. I want a function that will store the next mouse or keyboard input into an integer, without the use of a predefined set of available inputs. I want to dynamically recognize any input key.
Minimal example:
const char* cbind0 = "none";
static bool bbind0 = false;
static int ibind0;
if (ImGui::Button(cbind0))
bbind0 = true
if (bbind0 == true)
{
cbind0 = "press any key...";
CopyNextInputTo(ibind0); // Function to copy pressed key to our integer
}
This code would show up as a box in the GUI, and then the integer ibind0 which is containing our now determined keybind, will be used like so:
static bool option = false;
if (GetAsyncKeyState(ibind0) & 1)
{
option =! option;
}
And now we can toggle our option on and off either using a GUI checkbox or by pressing the user-determined key.
The only problem now being I have no clue how to dynamically record all possible inputs! Does anyone know any possible functions or methods? Thanks!

Answer 1

Assuming you are the one creating the window you're using ImGui on, you can handle WM_KEYDOWN events in your WNDPROC callback. Here's a basic example of this in action that will create a pop-up message box whenever you press a key:
#ifndef UNICODE
#define UNICODE
#endif
#include <Windows.h>
LRESULT CALLBACK WindowProc(HWND hWnd, UINT uMsg, WPARAM wParam, LPARAM lParam);
int WINAPI wWinMain(HINSTANCE hInstance, HINSTANCE hPrevInstance, PWSTR pCmdLine, int nCmdShow) {
const wchar_t WINDOW_CLASS_NAME[] = L"Keyboard Listener Class";
const wchar_t WINDOW_TITLE[] = L"Keyboard Listener";
WNDCLASS windowClass{};
windowClass.lpfnWndProc = WindowProc;
windowClass.hInstance = hInstance;
windowClass.lpszClassName = WINDOW_CLASS_NAME;
RegisterClass(&windowClass);
HWND hWnd = CreateWindowEx(
0,
WINDOW_CLASS_NAME,
WINDOW_TITLE,
WS_OVERLAPPEDWINDOW,
CW_USEDEFAULT,
CW_USEDEFAULT,
CW_USEDEFAULT,
CW_USEDEFAULT,
NULL,
NULL,
hInstance,
NULL
);
if (hWnd == NULL) {
return EXIT_FAILURE;
}
ShowWindow(hWnd, nCmdShow);
MSG msg{};
while (GetMessage(&msg, NULL, 0, 0) > 0) {
TranslateMessage(&msg);
DispatchMessage(&msg);
}
return EXIT_SUCCESS;
}
LRESULT CALLBACK WindowProc(HWND hWnd, UINT uMsg, WPARAM wParam, LPARAM lParam) {
switch (uMsg) {
case WM_DESTROY:
PostQuitMessage(0);
return EXIT_SUCCESS;
case WM_KEYDOWN:
wchar_t keyName[64];
GetKeyNameText(lParam, keyName, sizeof(keyName));
MessageBox(hWnd, keyName, L"Key Pressed!", MB_OK);
return EXIT_SUCCESS;
default:
return DefWindowProc(hWnd, uMsg, wParam, lParam);
}
return EXIT_SUCCESS;
}
Or, if you aren't the one actually creating the Window, you can hook into another Window's keyboard events using SetWindowsHookEx with the idHook parameter set to WH_KEYBOARD and passing in a KeyboardProc callback to the lpfn parameter.