---
title: "How to: Detect When the Enter Key Pressed"
description: Detect when the Enter key is selected on the keyboard in Windows Presentation Foundation. This example consists of XAML and a code-behind file.
ms.date: "03/30/2017"
dev_langs: 
  - "csharp"
  - "vb"
helpviewer_keywords: 
  - "Enter key [WPF], detecting"
  - "keys [WPF], Enter"
ms.assetid: a66f39d2-ef4a-43a5-b454-a4ea0fe88655
---
# How to: Detect When the Enter Key Pressed
This example shows how to detect when the <xref:System.Windows.Input.Key.Enter> key is pressed on the keyboard.  
  
 This example consists of a [!INCLUDE[TLA#tla_xaml](../../../includes/tlasharptla-xaml-md.md)] file and a code-behind file.  
  
## Example  
 When the user presses the <xref:System.Windows.Input.Key.Enter> key in the <xref:System.Windows.Controls.TextBox>, the input in the text box appears in another area of the [!INCLUDE[TLA#tla_ui](../../../includes/tlasharptla-ui-md.md)].  
  
 The following XAML creates the user interface, which consists of a <xref:System.Windows.Controls.StackPanel>, a <xref:System.Windows.Controls.TextBlock>, and a <xref:System.Windows.Controls.TextBox>.  
  
 [!code-xaml[keydown#KeyDownUI](~/samples/snippets/csharp/VS_Snippets_Wpf/KeyDown/CSharp/Window1.xaml#keydownui)]  
  
 The following code behind creates the <xref:System.Windows.UIElement.KeyDown> event handler.  If the key that is pressed is the <xref:System.Windows.Input.Key.Enter> key, a message is displayed in the <xref:System.Windows.Controls.TextBlock>.  
  
 [!code-csharp[keydown#KeyDownSample](~/samples/snippets/csharp/VS_Snippets_Wpf/KeyDown/CSharp/Window1.xaml.cs#keydownsample)]
 [!code-vb[keydown#KeyDownSample](~/samples/snippets/visualbasic/VS_Snippets_Wpf/KeyDown/VisualBasic/Window1.xaml.vb#keydownsample)]  
  
## See also

- [Input Overview](input-overview.md)
- [Routed Events Overview](routed-events-overview.md)