Console.KeyAvailable Property
Definition
Important
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Gets a value indicating whether a key press is available in the input stream.
public:
static property bool KeyAvailable { bool get(); };
public static bool KeyAvailable { get; }
static member KeyAvailable : bool
Public Shared ReadOnly Property KeyAvailable As Boolean
Property Value
true
if a key press is available; otherwise, false
.
Exceptions
An I/O error occurred.
Standard input is redirected to a file instead of the keyboard.
Examples
The following example demonstrates how to use the KeyAvailable property to create a loop that runs until a key is pressed.
using namespace System;
using namespace System::Threading;
int main()
{
ConsoleKeyInfo cki;
do
{
Console::WriteLine( "\nPress a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit." );
// Your code could perform some useful task in the following loop. However,
// for the sake of this example we'll merely pause for a quarter second.
while ( !Console::KeyAvailable )
Thread::Sleep( 250 );
cki = Console::ReadKey( true );
Console::WriteLine( "You pressed the '{0}' key.", cki.Key );
}
while ( cki.Key != ConsoleKey::X );
}
/*
This example produces results similar to the following:
Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.
You pressed the 'H' key.
Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.
You pressed the 'E' key.
Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.
You pressed the 'PageUp' key.
Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.
You pressed the 'DownArrow' key.
Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.
You pressed the 'X' key.
*/
using System;
using System.Threading;
class Sample
{
public static void Main()
{
ConsoleKeyInfo cki;
do {
Console.WriteLine("\nPress a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.");
// Your code could perform some useful task in the following loop. However,
// for the sake of this example we'll merely pause for a quarter second.
while (!Console.KeyAvailable)
Thread.Sleep(250); // Loop until input is entered.
cki = Console.ReadKey(true);
Console.WriteLine("You pressed the '{0}' key.", cki.Key);
} while(cki.Key != ConsoleKey.X);
}
}
/*
This example produces results similar to the following:
Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.
You pressed the 'H' key.
Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.
You pressed the 'E' key.
Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.
You pressed the 'PageUp' key.
Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.
You pressed the 'DownArrow' key.
Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.
You pressed the 'X' key.
*/
open System
open System.Threading
let mutable cki = Unchecked.defaultof<ConsoleKeyInfo>
while cki.Key <> ConsoleKey.X do
printfn "\nPress a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit."
// Your code could perform some useful task in the following loop. However,
// for the sake of this example we'll merely pause for a quarter second.
while not Console.KeyAvailable do
Thread.Sleep 250 // Loop until input is entered.
cki <- Console.ReadKey true
printfn $"You pressed the '{cki.Key}' key."
// This example produces results similar to the following:
//
// Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.
// You pressed the 'H' key.
//
// Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.
// You pressed the 'E' key.
//
// Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.
// You pressed the 'PageUp' key.
//
// Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.
// You pressed the 'DownArrow' key.
//
// Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.
// You pressed the 'X' key.
Imports System.Threading
Class Sample
Public Shared Sub Main()
Dim cki As ConsoleKeyInfo
Do
Console.WriteLine(vbCrLf & "Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.")
' Your code could perform some useful task in the following loop. However,
' for the sake of this example we'll merely pause for a quarter second.
While Console.KeyAvailable = False
Thread.Sleep(250) ' Loop until input is entered.
End While
cki = Console.ReadKey(True)
Console.WriteLine("You pressed the '{0}' key.", cki.Key)
Loop While cki.Key <> ConsoleKey.X
End Sub
End Class
'This example produces results similar to the following:
'
'Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.
'You pressed the 'H' key.
'
'Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.
'You pressed the 'E' key.
'
'Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.
'You pressed the 'PageUp' key.
'
'Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.
'You pressed the 'DownArrow' key.
'
'Press a key to display; press the 'x' key to quit.
'You pressed the 'X' key.
'
Remarks
The property value is returned immediately; that is, the KeyAvailable property does not block input until a key press is available.
Use the KeyAvailable property in conjunction with only the ReadKey method, not the Read or ReadLine methods.
Applies to
.NET