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Sendkeys in Visual Basic Scripts

iby — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 21:56:48 +0000

Sendkeys can also be used from a Visual Basic Scripts, which means you can ex. build a vbs file, that can be used for starting up applications, or executing steps that you often have to do.

This is an example on starting the Notepad and afterwards, as the first thing to do writing the word Hallo:

set WshShell = WScript.CreateObject(“WScript.Shell”)
WshShell.Run “notepad”

WScript.Sleep 100

WshShell.AppActivate “Notesblok”
WshShell.SendKeys “Hallo”

Set WshShell = nothing

Lets take a closer look on what the script actual do. The first step is to initiate the object:

set WshShell = WScript.CreateObject(“WScript.Shell”)

when the object is initiate, the Notepad application is being startet:

WshShell.Run “notepad”

To be sure that notepad is up and running, there has to be a kind of wait state before continuing. This is done be telling the script to Sleep x milliseconds:

WScript.Sleep 100

Now the Notepad application has to be activated:

WshShell.AppActivate “Notesblok”

Once Notepad has been activated, it is ready to receive keys. Which now can be send with the sendkeys command:

WshShell.SendKeys “Hallo”

Finally you have to clean up after you – which means, to stop / close the WshShell you have to set it to nothing.

Set WshShell = nothing

Thats it – now you have written the Visual Basic Script – and all you have to do is save it as a vbs file, or incorporate it into a web page using th vbscript tags.

Keys in SendKeys

iby — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 23:36:45 +0000

Most keys can be represented by the character of the key itself. E.g, the key sequence HALLO can be represented simply by “HALLO”.

Some special keys, such as the control keys, function keys etc are encoded in a string enclosed by {braces}
See the table below:

Key	SendKey Equivalent	Description
~	{~}	send a tilde (~)
!	{!}	send an exclamation point (!)
^	{^}	send a caret (^)
+	{+}	send a plus sign (+)
Alt	{ALT}	send an Alt keystroke
Backspace	{BACKSPACE}, {BS}, or {BKSP}	send a Backspace keystroke
Break	{BREAK}	send a Break keystroke
Caps Lock	{CAPSLOCK}	send a Caps Lock keystroke
Clear	{CLEAR}	Clear the field
Delete	{DELETE} or {DEL}	send a Delete keystroke
Down Arrow	{DOWN}	send a Down Arrow keystroke
End	{END}	send an End keystroke
Enter	{ENTER} or ~	send an Enter keystroke
Escape	{ESCAPE} or {ESC}	send an Esc keystroke
F1 through F16	{F1} through {F16}	send the appropriate Function key
HOME	{HOME}	send a Home keystroke
INSERT	{INSERT} or {INS}	send a Insert keystroke
LEFT ARROW	{LEFT}	send a Left Arrow keystroke
Page Down	{PGDN}	send a Page Down keystroke
RIGHT ARROW	{RIGHT}	send a Right Arrow keystroke
Space	{SPACE}	send a Spacebar keystroke
Tab	{TAB}	send a Tab keystroke
UP ARROW	{UP}	send a Up Arrow keystroke

To specify keys combined with any combination of SHIFT, CTRL, and ALT keys, precede the key code with
one or more of the following:

For SHIFT prefix with +
For CTRL prefix with ^
For ALT prefix with %

E.g, the key sequence SHIFT+F12 can be represented simply by “+{F12}”.

If a key has to be repeated several time, it can be done by sending the keystroke as {keystroke number}. E.g., the key sequence aaaaa can be represented simply by “{a 5}”. Be sure to include a space between keystroke and number. Also be aware of that this is not possible for combined keys – it will not be possible for ex. SHIFT+F12.

Issues with Sendkeys

iby — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 23:16:38 +0000

When using Sendkeys there is one big issue, you can not see when/if the application is in the correct state. This means you have to build in some kind of wait states and then after each wait, you must assume that the application is in the correct state.

There are 3 different kinds of wait states:

Using SLEEP after each keystroke
Using BEEP after each keystroke – when executing BEEPs the OS waits to complete the strokes and then sends the BEEP. Though my experience says that you have to use a BEEP that is at least 10ms long or else it doesn’t have any effects.
Using a combination of SLEEP and BEEP

Sendkeys in Navision

iby — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 22:45:50 +0000

With SendKeys you simulate user keystrokes – which mean it is possible to start applications, enter information, choose menus, buttons etc.

SendKeys is a part of Windows Script Host.

Currently I am using this functionality to take over a second Navision Client, to start an export of objects without any user interventions.

In Navision SendKeys are found in the automation Windows Script Host Object Model class WshShell.

The first thing to do is to create the automation:

IF ISCLEAR(WshShell) THEN
…..CREATE(WshShell);

Activate the application which has to behandled:

WshShell.AppActivate(AppName);

And then send the keys:

WaitForKeys := TRUE;

WshShell.SendKeys(‘{ESC 2}’,WaitForKeys);
WshShell.SendKeys(‘{DOWN}’,WaitForKeys);
WshShell.SendKeys(‘{LEFT}’,WaitForKeys);
WshShell.SendKeys(‘Ver{ENTER}’,WaitForKeys);

When you are finished sending keys then stop the automation by clearing it:

CLEAR(WshShell);

Pretty simple – right