Simulate keyboard input inside app in C++ MFC app - c++

Question

I created a dialog MainDialog.cpp with 2 edit controls whose IDs are IDC_EDITCONTROL_A and IDC_EDITCONTROL_B, and have variables defined as m_editControlA and m_editControlB, respectively.
Also, I have 2 buttons whose IDs are IDC_MFCBUTTON_KEY_X and IDC_MFCBUTTON_KEY_Y, and variables are m_buttonKeyX and m_buttonKeyY, respectively.
Below is the code in the source file
#include "afxdialogex.h"
IMPLEMENT_DYNAMIC(CMainDialog, CDialogEx)
CMainDialog::CMainDialog(CWnd* pParent): CDialogEx(IDD_MAIN_DIALOG, pParent)
{
}
CMainDialog::~CMainDialog()
{
}
void CMainDialog::DoDataExchange(CDataExchange* pDX)
{
CDialogEx::DoDataExchange(pDX);
DDX_Control(pDX, IDC_EDITCONTROL_A, m_editControlA);
DDX_Control(pDX, IDC_EDITCONTROL_B, m_editControlB);
DDX(Control(pDX, IDC_MFCBUTTON_KEY_X, m_buttonKeyX);
DDX(Control(pDX, IDC_MFCBUTTON_KEY_Y, m_buttonKeyY);
}
BEGIN_MESSAGE_MAP(CMainDialog, CDialogEx)
ON_EN_CHANGE(IDC_EDITCONTROL, &CMainDialog::OnEnChangeEditA)
ON_BN_CLICKED(IDC_MFCBUTTON_KEY_X, &CMainDialog::OnBnClickedButtonX)
ON_BN_CLICKED(IDC_MFCBUTTON_KEY_Y, &CMainDialog::OnBnClickedButtonY)
END_MESSAGE_MAP()
void CMainDialog::OnBnClickedButtonX()
{
m_editControlA.SetWindowTextW(_T("X")); // test
}
void CMainDialog::OnBnClickedButtonX()
{
m_editControlA.SetWindowTextW(_T("Y")); // test
}
I am trying to understand how I can have each button send their respective character (i.e. X or Y in this example) to the selected edit control if one is selected. Essentially, I would like to simulate keyboard input.
I have read the docs about how to simulate keyboard events and also the sendMessage but I could not understand how to implement it since my C++ knowledge is very basic. Also, following my previous question I have found that the GetFocus would be useful but still my main issue currently is sending the input.
Any example code or useful link could be very useful for me to learn how I can simulate a keyboard input inside an app.

Answer 1

The characters are sent from the OS to the edit controls using the WM_CHAR message.
In reality it is a bit more complex than that, but you do not need to emulate the entire WM_KEYUP WM_KEYDOWN message sequence, since its end result is to generate a WM_CHAR message.
You can use CWnd::PostMessage to send characters directly to your edit controls, even when they do not have the focus.
You have probably already found the documentation for WM_CHAR here: https://msdn.microsoft.com/fr-fr/library/windows/desktop/ms646276(v=vs.85).aspx
oops.. excuse my french, ths english doc is here
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ms646276(v=vs.85).aspx
(just changing the fr-fr to en-us does the trick, it probably works for all other languages, neat!
wParam holds the character you want to send. Either an plain ASCII character, or one of the VK_ constants... I suggest you use the unicode version WM_CHARW, as most windows software uses unicode nowadays. The notation for wide chars is either L'X' or _T('X'), the unicode (UTF-16) character type is wchar_t.
lParam contains other keystroke details, 0 should be fine for what you want to do.
to send X, simply call
m_editControlA.PostMessage(WM_CHAR, _T('X'));
When using the _T() notation, the character (or string) literal between the parenthesis will be automatically converted to the right character width for your app's unicode setting (you should set that to UNICODE, since that's what the OS is using, and is also the only valid encoding for Windows CE, for example, and you should get used to manipulating this type.
the _T() macros and _t* overrides for almost all C library functions operating on strings are defined in tchar.h, which is included by Visual Studio in stdafx.h. Under MFC, you'll mostly use CString, but it's good to know where these things are.
[EDIT] When you get that running, you should start playing with WM_KEYDOWN. You will discover that PostMessage(WM_CHAR, VK_ESCAPE) directly to your dialog does not close it, while a PostMessage(WM_KEYDOWN, VK_ESCAPE) does. And that m_editBox.PostMessage(WM_KEYDOWN, _T('X')) will send a lower key 'x' to your edit box. But that's another topic to ivestigate.
Have fun with MFC!
For your last question:
Sure, but it gets a bit more complicated, as your button will gain focus, as soon as you click on it. You'd have to create handlers for EN_SETFOCUS for eeach of your edit boxes, and add a CWnd* data member to keep track of the last edit box that had focus.
Your EN_SETFOCUS handlers should look something like this
void CdlgDlg::OnEnSetfocusEdit1()
{
m_pWndLastFocus = &m_edit1;
}
Don't forget to set the pointer to NULL in your constructor and to chjeck it's valid before calling m_pWndLastFocus->PostMessage() though.

Answer 2

The way to synthesize input in MFC is by using the SendInput method.