Checking for a non typing interval

Question

This question is a bit obscure, however I cannot find an answer for it anywhere. I am writing a program in C# (Visual Studio Pro 2013) and I need to perform an action after the user has stopped typing for 2 seconds (setting the interval at 2000). I would need a standard timer for this however I need to detect when the user has stopped typing for 2 seconds. How would I go about doing this?

Answer 1

Here's the complete code:

public partial class Form1 : Form
{
    System.Timers.Timer timer;

    public Form1()
    {
        InitializeComponent();

        // Initialize the timer.
        timer = new System.Timers.Timer();
        timer.Interval = 2000; // = 2 seconds; 1 second = 1000 miliseconds
        timer.Elapsed += OnElapsed;
    }

    // Handles the TextBox.KeyUp event.
    // The event handler was added in the designer via the Properties > Events > KeyUp
    private void textBox1_KeyUp(object sender, System.Windows.Forms.KeyEventArgs e)
    {
        // Reset the timer on each KeyUp.
        timer.Stop();
        timer.Start();
    }

    private void OnElapsed(object source, ElapsedEventArgs e)
    {
        // When time's up...

        // - stop the timer first...
        timer.Stop();

        // - do something more...
        MessageBox.Show("Time out!");
    }        
}

Answer 2

Try this:

System.Timers.Timer timer = new System.Timers.Timer(2000);;
timer.Elapsed += new ElapsedEventHandler(OnTimedEvent);
timer.Enabled = false;

private void textBox1_KeyUp(object sender, System.Windows.Forms.KeyEventArgs e)
{
    timer.Enabled = false;
    timer.Enabled = true;   
}

private static void OnTimedEvent(object source, ElapsedEventArgs e)
{
    // Do something
    timer.Enabled = false;
}

Answer 3

king.code's answer would be correct if you just reset the timer in the first line of textBox1_KeyUp event and initialize the timer in constructor or main method depending on usage.

System.Timers.Timer timer;

private void textBox1_KeyUp(object sender, System.Windows.Forms.KeyEventArgs e)
{
    timer.Stop();
    timer.Start();
    timer.Elapsed += new ElapsedEventHandler(OnTimedEvent);
}

private static void OnTimedEvent(object source, ElapsedEventArgs e)
{
    // Do something
}

I would recommend you go for class that inherits text box and pass timer into it if you are going to use it at multiple places

Answer 4

That is easy just create a timer that sets to 2000 Ms and handle It by the text change interveral . Ex: Set an integer that count from 0 to 2000 then increase it by the Timer if user starts typing then reset the number else keep Counting till reach 2000 an ping do the rusty homeboy helped;)

Answer 5

I have just found a valid answer that is simple and compact. I will explain it first and then show a code example. You need to start the timer disabled, and then you need to enable it as soon as the the user presses a key. Then, while still in the method for the user pressing the button you would need to reset the timer interval back to 2000. Whenever the timer expires, you do the action that needs to happen when the keyboard has been inactive for 2 seconds. Code example:

private void textBox_KeyPress(object sender, KeyPressEventArgs e)
{
    this.timer.Enabled = true;
    this.timer.Interval = 2000;
}

Now the method for the timer_Tick:

 private void timer_Tick(object sender, EventArgs e)
 {
    //Do something when the keyboard has been inactive in 2 seconds
 }