pywinauto.keyboardΒΆ

Keyboard input emulation module

Automate typing keys or individual key actions (viz. press and hold, release) to an active window by calling send_keys method.

You can use any Unicode characters (on Windows) and some special keys listed below. The module is also available on Linux.

Available key codes:

{SCROLLLOCK}, {VK_SPACE}, {VK_LSHIFT}, {VK_PAUSE}, {VK_MODECHANGE},
{BACK}, {VK_HOME}, {F23}, {F22}, {F21}, {F20}, {VK_HANGEUL}, {VK_KANJI},
{VK_RIGHT}, {BS}, {HOME}, {VK_F4}, {VK_ACCEPT}, {VK_F18}, {VK_SNAPSHOT},
{VK_PA1}, {VK_NONAME}, {VK_LCONTROL}, {ZOOM}, {VK_ATTN}, {VK_F10}, {VK_F22},
{VK_F23}, {VK_F20}, {VK_F21}, {VK_SCROLL}, {TAB}, {VK_F11}, {VK_END},
{LEFT}, {VK_UP}, {NUMLOCK}, {VK_APPS}, {PGUP}, {VK_F8}, {VK_CONTROL},
{VK_LEFT}, {PRTSC}, {VK_NUMPAD4}, {CAPSLOCK}, {VK_CONVERT}, {VK_PROCESSKEY},
{ENTER}, {VK_SEPARATOR}, {VK_RWIN}, {VK_LMENU}, {VK_NEXT}, {F1}, {F2},
{F3}, {F4}, {F5}, {F6}, {F7}, {F8}, {F9}, {VK_ADD}, {VK_RCONTROL},
{VK_RETURN}, {BREAK}, {VK_NUMPAD9}, {VK_NUMPAD8}, {RWIN}, {VK_KANA},
{PGDN}, {VK_NUMPAD3}, {DEL}, {VK_NUMPAD1}, {VK_NUMPAD0}, {VK_NUMPAD7},
{VK_NUMPAD6}, {VK_NUMPAD5}, {DELETE}, {VK_PRIOR}, {VK_SUBTRACT}, {HELP},
{VK_PRINT}, {VK_BACK}, {CAP}, {VK_RBUTTON}, {VK_RSHIFT}, {VK_LWIN}, {DOWN},
{VK_HELP}, {VK_NONCONVERT}, {BACKSPACE}, {VK_SELECT}, {VK_TAB}, {VK_HANJA},
{VK_NUMPAD2}, {INSERT}, {VK_F9}, {VK_DECIMAL}, {VK_FINAL}, {VK_EXSEL},
{RMENU}, {VK_F3}, {VK_F2}, {VK_F1}, {VK_F7}, {VK_F6}, {VK_F5}, {VK_CRSEL},
{VK_SHIFT}, {VK_EREOF}, {VK_CANCEL}, {VK_DELETE}, {VK_HANGUL}, {VK_MBUTTON},
{VK_NUMLOCK}, {VK_CLEAR}, {END}, {VK_MENU}, {SPACE}, {BKSP}, {VK_INSERT},
{F18}, {F19}, {ESC}, {VK_MULTIPLY}, {F12}, {F13}, {F10}, {F11}, {F16},
{F17}, {F14}, {F15}, {F24}, {RIGHT}, {VK_F24}, {VK_CAPITAL}, {VK_LBUTTON},
{VK_OEM_CLEAR}, {VK_ESCAPE}, {UP}, {VK_DIVIDE}, {INS}, {VK_JUNJA},
{VK_F19}, {VK_EXECUTE}, {VK_PLAY}, {VK_RMENU}, {VK_F13}, {VK_F12}, {LWIN},
{VK_DOWN}, {VK_F17}, {VK_F16}, {VK_F15}, {VK_F14}

~ is a shorter alias for {ENTER}

Modifiers:

  • '+': {VK_SHIFT}
  • '^': {VK_CONTROL}
  • '%': {VK_MENU} a.k.a. Alt key

Example how to use modifiers:

send_keys('^a^c') # select all (Ctrl+A) and copy to clipboard (Ctrl+C)
send_keys('+{INS}') # insert from clipboard (Shift+Ins)
send_keys('%{F4}') # close an active window with Alt+F4

Repetition count can be specified for special keys. {ENTER 2} says to press Enter twice.

Example which shows how to press and hold or release a key on the keyboard:

send_keys("{VK_SHIFT down}"
          "pywinauto"
          "{VK_SHIFT up}") # to type PYWINAUTO

send_keys("{h down}"
          "{e down}"
          "{h up}"
          "{e up}"
          "llo") # to type hello

Use curly brackers to escape modifiers and type reserved symbols as single keys:

send_keys('{^}a{^}c{%}') # type string "^a^c%" (Ctrl will not be pressed)
send_keys('{{}ENTER{}}') # type string "{ENTER}" without pressing Enter key

For Windows only, pywinauto defaults to sending a virtual key packet (VK_PACKET) for textual input. For applications that do not handle VK_PACKET appropriately, the vk_packet option may be set to False. In this case pywinauto will attempt to send the virtual key code of the requested key. This option only affects the behavior of keys matching [-=[];’,./a-zA-Z0-9 ]. Note that upper and lower case are included for a-z. Both reference the same virtual key for convenience.