C# How to press any keyboard key every few min/seconds?

Question

I am looking for a code that will press any keyboard key every 50 seconds, lets say the key is the number 5 key.

Just make sure that it wont just type 5, I want it to press the key itself.

EDIT: i just want it to press any keyboard key thats all. like if its shift or capslock or whatever

*wont just type 5, i just want it to press the key itself*, do you mean like magic the key being pressed ? — V4Vendetta, Dec 28 '12 at 12:13
Dint get you please add some more information for better explanation..!! — SidPen, Dec 28 '12 at 12:13
Software can't really do any hardware physical things, you know? — Oded, Dec 28 '12 at 12:13
Why do you want to press the key? Is it to keep the machine awake? In that case, there are better ways to accomplish this. Or is this to use with a particular application? — Roger Lipscombe, Dec 28 '12 at 12:14
ye i just want it to keep pressing 5 or any other key every few seconds.. — Bxcb Sbdsb, Dec 28 '12 at 12:16
we're not trolling you, it's just unclear the reason why you want to do this. There may be other ways. — CuccoChaser, Dec 28 '12 at 12:17
No one is trying to troll you. The question is extremely unclear - you can't have software press keys for you. What is it that you are _actually_ trying to achieve that pressing 5 repeatedly will solve? — Oded, Dec 28 '12 at 12:17
Have a look into this http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3047375/simulating-key-press-c-sharp — A J, Dec 28 '12 at 12:28

score 5 · Answer 1 · answered Dec 28 '12 at 12:29

I am assuming you want to achieve this programmatically.

If this is the case you can use:

    SendKeys.Send({NUMPAD5});
    SendKeys.Send({HOME});

And so on. For the timer part:

    Timer timer = new Timer();
    timer.Tick += new EventHandler(timer_Tick);     // Everytime timer ticks, timer_Tick will be called
        timer.Interval = (1000) * (50);             // Timer will tick every 50 second
        timer.Enabled = true;                       // Enable the timer
        timer.Start();                              // Start the timer

    void timer_Tick(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        SendKeys.Send({NUMPAD5});
    }

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Dec 28 '12 at 12:18

2

Look at the SendKey class. MSDN

answered Dec 28 '12 at 12:18

Hamlet Hakobyan

32,965
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score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Dec 28 '12 at 12:18

2

You could use SendKey in combination with a Timer.

answered Dec 28 '12 at 12:18

Ralf de Kleine

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score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Dec 28 '12 at 12:16

Software can simulate a key press by various methods, ie, mimic what would happen when the key was pressed. What it cannot do is press the key. You would need to create a robot that would press the key every so often.

Can you provide the context in which you are trying to achieve this. There may be better ways to do this.

score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Dec 28 '12 at 12:29

        int countTypeA = 0;
        private void textBox1_KeyUp(object sender, KeyEventArgs e)
        {
            switch (e.KeyCode)
            {
                case Keys.A:
                    ++countTypeA;
                    Console.WriteLine(countTypeA.ToString());
                    break;
            }
        }

C# How to press any keyboard key every few min/seconds?

5 Answers5