docs-desktop/dotnet-desktop-guide/framework/winforms/controls/handling-user-input.md

title, ms.date, dev_langs, helpviewer_keywords, ms.assetid

title	ms.date	dev_langs	helpviewer_keywords	ms.assetid
Handling User Input	03/30/2017	csharp vb	custom controls [Windows Forms], user input using code custom controls [Windows Forms], keyboard events using code custom controls [Windows Forms], mouse events using code	d9b12787-86f6-4022-8e0f-e12d312c4af2

Handling User Input

This topic describes the main keyboard and mouse events provided by xref:System.Windows.Forms.Control?displayProperty=nameWithType. When handling an event, control authors should override the protected OnEventName method rather than attaching a delegate to the event. For a review of events, see Raising Events from a Component.

Note

If there is no data associated with an event, an instance of the base class xref:System.EventArgs is passed as an argument to the OnEventName method.

Keyboard Events

The common keyboard events that your control can handle are xref:System.Windows.Forms.Control.KeyDown, xref:System.Windows.Forms.Control.KeyPress, and xref:System.Windows.Forms.Control.KeyUp.

Event Name	Method to Override	Description of Event
KeyDown	void OnKeyDown(KeyEventArgs)	Raised only when a key is initially pressed.
KeyPress	void OnKeyPress (KeyPressEventArgs)	Raised every time a key is pressed. If a key is held down, a xref:System.Windows.Forms.Control.KeyPress event is raised at the repeat rate defined by the operating system.
KeyUp	void OnKeyUp(KeyEventArgs)	Raised when a key is released.

Note

Handling keyboard input is considerably more complex than overriding the events in the preceding table and is beyond the scope of this topic. For more information, see User Input in Windows Forms.

Mouse Events

The mouse events that your control can handle are xref:System.Windows.Forms.Control.MouseDown, xref:System.Windows.Forms.Control.MouseEnter, xref:System.Windows.Forms.Control.MouseHover, xref:System.Windows.Forms.Control.MouseLeave, xref:System.Windows.Forms.Control.MouseMove, and xref:System.Windows.Forms.Control.MouseUp.

Event Name	Method to Override	Description of Event
MouseDown	void OnMouseDown(MouseEventArgs)	Raised when the mouse button is pressed while the pointer is over the control.
MouseEnter	void OnMouseEnter(EventArgs)	Raised when the pointer first enters the region of the control.
MouseHover	void OnMouseHover(EventArgs)	Raised when the pointer hovers over the control.
MouseLeave	void OnMouseLeave(EventArgs)	Raised when the pointer leaves the region of the control.
MouseMove	void OnMouseMove(MouseEventArgs)	Raised when the pointer moves in the region of the control.
MouseUp	void OnMouseUp(MouseEventArgs)	Raised when the mouse button is released while the pointer is over the control or the pointer leaves the region of the control.

The following code fragment shows an example of overriding the xref:System.Windows.Forms.Control.MouseDown event.

[!code-csharpSystem.Windows.Forms.FlashTrackBar#7] [!code-vbSystem.Windows.Forms.FlashTrackBar#7]

The following code fragment shows an example of overriding the xref:System.Windows.Forms.Control.MouseMove event.

[!code-csharpSystem.Windows.Forms.FlashTrackBar#8] [!code-vbSystem.Windows.Forms.FlashTrackBar#8]

The following code fragment shows an example of overriding the xref:System.Windows.Forms.Control.MouseUp event.

[!code-csharpSystem.Windows.Forms.FlashTrackBar#9] [!code-vbSystem.Windows.Forms.FlashTrackBar#9]

For the complete source code for the FlashTrackBar sample, see How to: Create a Windows Forms Control That Shows Progress.

See also

• Events in Windows Forms Controls
• Defining an Event
• Events
• User Input in Windows Forms