Fires when a key is pressed down over an element.
| Inline |
<element onkeydown = "handler" ... > |
| Script |
object.onkeydown = handler |
| Bubbles |
Yes |
| Cancels |
Yes |
| To invoke |
Press any keyboard key. |
| Default action |
Returns a number specifying the keyCode of the key that was pressed. |
Setting event.returnValue=false has no effect on keyboard events used for navigation, on hot keys assigned to the browser, or on system events. The following keys cannot be canceled: TAB, F1 through F12, HOME, END, ESC, DELETE, and the arrow keys.
While event handlers in the Document Object Model do not receive parameters directly, the handler can query the event object for data.
Event Object Properties
| altKey |
Retrieves the current state of the ALT key. |
| cancelBubble |
Sets or retrieves whether the current event should bubble up the hierarchy of event handlers. |
| clientX |
Retrieves the x-coordinate of the position of the cursor when the mouse is clicked, relative to the size of the client area of the window but excluding window decorations or scroll bars. |
| clientY |
Returns the y-coordinate of the position of the cursor when the mouse is clicked, relative to the size of the client area of the window but excluding window decorations or scroll bars. |
| ctrlKey |
Retrieves the state of the CTRL key. |
| keyCode |
Sets or retrieves the Unicode key code associated with the key that caused the event. |
| offsetX |
Retrieves the horizontal coordinate of the mouse's position relative to the object firing the event. |
| offsetY |
Retrieves the vertical coordinate of the mouse's position relative to the object firing the event. |
| repeat |
Retrieves whether an event is being repeated. |
| returnValue |
Sets or retrieves the return value from the event. |
| screenX |
Retrieves the horizontal position of the mouse, in pixels, relative to the user's screen. |
| screenY |
Retrieves the vertical position of the mouse, in pixels, relative to the user's screen. |
| shiftKey |
Retrieves the state of the SHIFT key. |
| srcElement |
Retrieves the object that fired the event. |
| type |
Retrieves the event name from the event object. |
| x |
Returns the horizontal position of the mouse when the event fires. |
| y |
Returns the vertical position of the mouse when the event fires. |
This attribute may be used with most elements.
onkeypress, onkeyup