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<section id="module-pygame.key">
<span id="pygame-key"></span><dl class="definition">
<dt class="title module sig sig-object">
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">pygame.key</span></code></dt>
<dd><div class="line-block">
<div class="line"><span class="summaryline">pygame module to work with the keyboard</span></div>
</div>
<table class="toc docutils align-default">
<colgroup>
<col style="width: 30%" />
<col style="width: 1%" />
<col style="width: 69%" />
</colgroup>
<tbody>
<tr class="row-odd"><td><div class="line"><a class="toc reference external" href="key.html#pygame.key.get_focused">pygame.key.get_focused</a></div>
</td>
<td>—</td>
<td>true if the display is receiving keyboard input from the system</td>
</tr>
<tr class="row-even"><td><div class="line"><a class="toc reference external" href="key.html#pygame.key.get_pressed">pygame.key.get_pressed</a></div>
</td>
<td>—</td>
<td>get the state of all keyboard buttons</td>
</tr>
<tr class="row-odd"><td><div class="line"><a class="toc reference external" href="key.html#pygame.key.get_mods">pygame.key.get_mods</a></div>
</td>
<td>—</td>
<td>determine which modifier keys are being held</td>
</tr>
<tr class="row-even"><td><div class="line"><a class="toc reference external" href="key.html#pygame.key.set_mods">pygame.key.set_mods</a></div>
</td>
<td>—</td>
<td>temporarily set which modifier keys are pressed</td>
</tr>
<tr class="row-odd"><td><div class="line"><a class="toc reference external" href="key.html#pygame.key.set_repeat">pygame.key.set_repeat</a></div>
</td>
<td>—</td>
<td>control how held keys are repeated</td>
</tr>
<tr class="row-even"><td><div class="line"><a class="toc reference external" href="key.html#pygame.key.get_repeat">pygame.key.get_repeat</a></div>
</td>
<td>—</td>
<td>see how held keys are repeated</td>
</tr>
<tr class="row-odd"><td><div class="line"><a class="toc reference external" href="key.html#pygame.key.name">pygame.key.name</a></div>
</td>
<td>—</td>
<td>get the name of a key identifier</td>
</tr>
<tr class="row-even"><td><div class="line"><a class="toc reference external" href="key.html#pygame.key.key_code">pygame.key.key_code</a></div>
</td>
<td>—</td>
<td>get the key identifier from a key name</td>
</tr>
<tr class="row-odd"><td><div class="line"><a class="toc reference external" href="key.html#pygame.key.start_text_input">pygame.key.start_text_input</a></div>
</td>
<td>—</td>
<td>start handling Unicode text input events</td>
</tr>
<tr class="row-even"><td><div class="line"><a class="toc reference external" href="key.html#pygame.key.stop_text_input">pygame.key.stop_text_input</a></div>
</td>
<td>—</td>
<td>stop handling Unicode text input events</td>
</tr>
<tr class="row-odd"><td><div class="line"><a class="toc reference external" href="key.html#pygame.key.set_text_input_rect">pygame.key.set_text_input_rect</a></div>
</td>
<td>—</td>
<td>controls the position of the candidate list</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>This module contains functions for dealing with the keyboard.</p>
<p>The <a class="tooltip reference internal" href="event.html#module-pygame.event" title=""><code class="xref py py-mod docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">pygame.event</span></code><span class="tooltip-content">pygame module for interacting with events and queues</span></a> queue gets <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">pygame.KEYDOWN</span></code> and <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">pygame.KEYUP</span></code>
events when the keyboard buttons are pressed and released. Both events have
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">key</span></code> and <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">mod</span></code> attributes.</p>
<blockquote>
<div><ul class="simple">
<li><p><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">key</span></code>: an <a class="reference internal" href="#key-constants-label"><span class="std std-ref">integer ID</span></a> representing every key
on the keyboard</p></li>
<li><p><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">mod</span></code>: a bitmask of all the <a class="reference internal" href="#key-modifiers-label"><span class="std std-ref">modifier keys</span></a>
that were in a pressed state when the event occurred</p></li>
</ul>
</div></blockquote>
<p>The <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">pygame.KEYDOWN</span></code> event has the additional attributes <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">unicode</span></code> and
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">scancode</span></code>.</p>
<blockquote>
<div><ul class="simple">
<li><p><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">unicode</span></code>: a single character string that is the fully translated
character entered, this takes into account the shift and composition keys</p></li>
<li><p><code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">scancode</span></code>: the platform-specific key code, which could be different from
keyboard to keyboard, but is useful for key selection of weird keys like
the multimedia keys</p></li>
</ul>
</div></blockquote>
<div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in pygame 2.0.0: </span>The <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">pygame.TEXTINPUT</span></code> event is preferred to the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">unicode</span></code> attribute
of <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">pygame.KEYDOWN</span></code>. The attribute <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">text</span></code> contains the input.</p>
</div>
<p id="key-constants-label">The following is a list of all the constants (from <a class="tooltip reference internal" href="locals.html#module-pygame.locals" title=""><code class="xref py py-mod docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">pygame.locals</span></code><span class="tooltip-content">pygame constants</span></a>) used to
represent keyboard keys.</p>
<p>Portability note: The integers for key constants differ between pygame 1 and 2.
Always use key constants (<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">K_a</span></code>) rather than integers directly (<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">97</span></code>) so
that your key handling code works well on both pygame 1 and pygame 2.</p>
<div class="highlight-default notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span>pygame
Constant ASCII Description
---------------------------------
K_BACKSPACE \b backspace
K_TAB \t tab
K_CLEAR clear
K_RETURN \r return
K_PAUSE pause
K_ESCAPE ^[ escape
K_SPACE space
K_EXCLAIM ! exclaim
K_QUOTEDBL " quotedbl
K_HASH # hash
K_DOLLAR $ dollar
K_AMPERSAND & ampersand
K_QUOTE quote
K_LEFTPAREN ( left parenthesis
K_RIGHTPAREN ) right parenthesis
K_ASTERISK * asterisk
K_PLUS + plus sign
K_COMMA , comma
K_MINUS - minus sign
K_PERIOD . period
K_SLASH / forward slash
K_0 0 0
K_1 1 1
K_2 2 2
K_3 3 3
K_4 4 4
K_5 5 5
K_6 6 6
K_7 7 7
K_8 8 8
K_9 9 9
K_COLON : colon
K_SEMICOLON ; semicolon
K_LESS < less-than sign
K_EQUALS = equals sign
K_GREATER > greater-than sign
K_QUESTION ? question mark
K_AT @ at
K_LEFTBRACKET [ left bracket
K_BACKSLASH \ backslash
K_RIGHTBRACKET ] right bracket
K_CARET ^ caret
K_UNDERSCORE _ underscore
K_BACKQUOTE ` grave
K_a a a
K_b b b
K_c c c
K_d d d
K_e e e
K_f f f
K_g g g
K_h h h
K_i i i
K_j j j
K_k k k
K_l l l
K_m m m
K_n n n
K_o o o
K_p p p
K_q q q
K_r r r
K_s s s
K_t t t
K_u u u
K_v v v
K_w w w
K_x x x
K_y y y
K_z z z
K_DELETE delete
K_KP0 keypad 0
K_KP1 keypad 1
K_KP2 keypad 2
K_KP3 keypad 3
K_KP4 keypad 4
K_KP5 keypad 5
K_KP6 keypad 6
K_KP7 keypad 7
K_KP8 keypad 8
K_KP9 keypad 9
K_KP_PERIOD . keypad period
K_KP_DIVIDE / keypad divide
K_KP_MULTIPLY * keypad multiply
K_KP_MINUS - keypad minus
K_KP_PLUS + keypad plus
K_KP_ENTER \r keypad enter
K_KP_EQUALS = keypad equals
K_UP up arrow
K_DOWN down arrow
K_RIGHT right arrow
K_LEFT left arrow
K_INSERT insert
K_HOME home
K_END end
K_PAGEUP page up
K_PAGEDOWN page down
K_F1 F1
K_F2 F2
K_F3 F3
K_F4 F4
K_F5 F5
K_F6 F6
K_F7 F7
K_F8 F8
K_F9 F9
K_F10 F10
K_F11 F11
K_F12 F12
K_F13 F13
K_F14 F14
K_F15 F15
K_NUMLOCK numlock
K_CAPSLOCK capslock
K_SCROLLOCK scrollock
K_RSHIFT right shift
K_LSHIFT left shift
K_RCTRL right control
K_LCTRL left control
K_RALT right alt
K_LALT left alt
K_RMETA right meta
K_LMETA left meta
K_LSUPER left Windows key
K_RSUPER right Windows key
K_MODE mode shift
K_HELP help
K_PRINT print screen
K_SYSREQ sysrq
K_BREAK break
K_MENU menu
K_POWER power
K_EURO Euro
K_AC_BACK Android back button
</pre></div>
</div>
<p id="key-modifiers-label">The keyboard also has a list of modifier states (from <a class="tooltip reference internal" href="locals.html#module-pygame.locals" title=""><code class="xref py py-mod docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">pygame.locals</span></code><span class="tooltip-content">pygame constants</span></a>) that
can be assembled by bitwise-ORing them together.</p>
<div class="highlight-default notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="n">pygame</span>
<span class="n">Constant</span> <span class="n">Description</span>
<span class="o">-------------------------</span>
<span class="n">KMOD_NONE</span> <span class="n">no</span> <span class="n">modifier</span> <span class="n">keys</span> <span class="n">pressed</span>
<span class="n">KMOD_LSHIFT</span> <span class="n">left</span> <span class="n">shift</span>
<span class="n">KMOD_RSHIFT</span> <span class="n">right</span> <span class="n">shift</span>
<span class="n">KMOD_SHIFT</span> <span class="n">left</span> <span class="n">shift</span> <span class="ow">or</span> <span class="n">right</span> <span class="n">shift</span> <span class="ow">or</span> <span class="n">both</span>
<span class="n">KMOD_LCTRL</span> <span class="n">left</span> <span class="n">control</span>
<span class="n">KMOD_RCTRL</span> <span class="n">right</span> <span class="n">control</span>
<span class="n">KMOD_CTRL</span> <span class="n">left</span> <span class="n">control</span> <span class="ow">or</span> <span class="n">right</span> <span class="n">control</span> <span class="ow">or</span> <span class="n">both</span>
<span class="n">KMOD_LALT</span> <span class="n">left</span> <span class="n">alt</span>
<span class="n">KMOD_RALT</span> <span class="n">right</span> <span class="n">alt</span>
<span class="n">KMOD_ALT</span> <span class="n">left</span> <span class="n">alt</span> <span class="ow">or</span> <span class="n">right</span> <span class="n">alt</span> <span class="ow">or</span> <span class="n">both</span>
<span class="n">KMOD_LMETA</span> <span class="n">left</span> <span class="n">meta</span>
<span class="n">KMOD_RMETA</span> <span class="n">right</span> <span class="n">meta</span>
<span class="n">KMOD_META</span> <span class="n">left</span> <span class="n">meta</span> <span class="ow">or</span> <span class="n">right</span> <span class="n">meta</span> <span class="ow">or</span> <span class="n">both</span>
<span class="n">KMOD_CAPS</span> <span class="n">caps</span> <span class="n">lock</span>
<span class="n">KMOD_NUM</span> <span class="n">num</span> <span class="n">lock</span>
<span class="n">KMOD_MODE</span> <span class="n">AltGr</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<p>The modifier information is contained in the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">mod</span></code> attribute of the
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">pygame.KEYDOWN</span></code> and <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">pygame.KEYUP</span></code> events. The <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">mod</span></code> attribute is a
bitmask of all the modifier keys that were in a pressed state when the event
occurred. The modifier information can be decoded using a bitwise AND (except
for <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">KMOD_NONE</span></code>, which should be compared using equals <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">==</span></code>). For example:</p>
<div class="highlight-default notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="k">for</span> <span class="n">event</span> <span class="ow">in</span> <span class="n">pygame</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">event</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">get</span><span class="p">():</span>
<span class="k">if</span> <span class="n">event</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">type</span> <span class="o">==</span> <span class="n">pygame</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">KEYDOWN</span> <span class="ow">or</span> <span class="n">event</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">type</span> <span class="o">==</span> <span class="n">pygame</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">KEYUP</span><span class="p">:</span>
<span class="k">if</span> <span class="n">event</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">mod</span> <span class="o">==</span> <span class="n">pygame</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">KMOD_NONE</span><span class="p">:</span>
<span class="nb">print</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s1">'No modifier keys were in a pressed state when this '</span>
<span class="s1">'event occurred.'</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="k">else</span><span class="p">:</span>
<span class="k">if</span> <span class="n">event</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">mod</span> <span class="o">&</span> <span class="n">pygame</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">KMOD_LSHIFT</span><span class="p">:</span>
<span class="nb">print</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s1">'Left shift was in a pressed state when this event '</span>
<span class="s1">'occurred.'</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="k">if</span> <span class="n">event</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">mod</span> <span class="o">&</span> <span class="n">pygame</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">KMOD_RSHIFT</span><span class="p">:</span>
<span class="nb">print</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s1">'Right shift was in a pressed state when this event '</span>
<span class="s1">'occurred.'</span><span class="p">)</span>
<span class="k">if</span> <span class="n">event</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">mod</span> <span class="o">&</span> <span class="n">pygame</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">KMOD_SHIFT</span><span class="p">:</span>
<span class="nb">print</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s1">'Left shift or right shift or both were in a '</span>
<span class="s1">'pressed state when this event occurred.'</span><span class="p">)</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<dl class="py function definition">
<dt class="sig sig-object py title" id="pygame.key.get_focused">
<span class="sig-prename descclassname"><span class="pre">pygame.key.</span></span><span class="sig-name descname"><span class="pre">get_focused</span></span><span class="sig-paren">(</span><span class="sig-paren">)</span><a class="headerlink" href="#pygame.key.get_focused" title="Permalink to this definition">¶</a></dt>
<dd><div class="line-block">
<div class="line"><span class="summaryline">true if the display is receiving keyboard input from the system</span></div>
<div class="line"><span class="signature">get_focused() -> bool</span></div>
</div>
<p>Returns <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">True</span></code> when the display window has keyboard focus from the
system. If the display needs to ensure it does not lose keyboard focus, it
can use <a class="tooltip reference internal" href="event.html#pygame.event.set_grab" title=""><code class="xref py py-func docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">pygame.event.set_grab()</span></code><span class="tooltip-content">control the sharing of input devices with other applications</span></a> to grab all input.</p>
</dd></dl>
<dl class="py function definition">
<dt class="sig sig-object py title" id="pygame.key.get_pressed">
<span class="sig-prename descclassname"><span class="pre">pygame.key.</span></span><span class="sig-name descname"><span class="pre">get_pressed</span></span><span class="sig-paren">(</span><span class="sig-paren">)</span><a class="headerlink" href="#pygame.key.get_pressed" title="Permalink to this definition">¶</a></dt>
<dd><div class="line-block">
<div class="line"><span class="summaryline">get the state of all keyboard buttons</span></div>
<div class="line"><span class="signature">get_pressed() -> bools</span></div>
</div>
<p>Returns a sequence of boolean values representing the state of every key on
the keyboard. Use the key constant values to index the array. A <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">True</span></code>
value means that the button is pressed.</p>
<div class="admonition note">
<p class="admonition-title">Note</p>
<p>Getting the list of pushed buttons with this function is not the proper
way to handle text entry from the user. There is no way to know the order
of keys pressed, and rapidly pushed keys can be completely unnoticed
between two calls to <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">pygame.key.get_pressed()</span></code>. There is also no way to
translate these pushed keys into a fully translated character value. See
the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">pygame.KEYDOWN</span></code> events on the <a class="tooltip reference internal" href="event.html#module-pygame.event" title=""><code class="xref py py-mod docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">pygame.event</span></code><span class="tooltip-content">pygame module for interacting with events and queues</span></a> queue for this
functionality.</p>
</div>
<div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in pygame 2.2.0: </span>The collection of bools returned by <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">get_pressed</span></code> can not be iterated
over because the indexes of the internal tuple does not correpsond to the
keycodes.</p>
</div>
<div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in pygame 2.5.0: </span>Iteration over the collection of bools returned by <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">get_pressed</span></code> is now
restored. However it still does not make sense to iterate over it. Currently.</p>
</div>
</dd></dl>
<dl class="py function definition">
<dt class="sig sig-object py title" id="pygame.key.get_mods">
<span class="sig-prename descclassname"><span class="pre">pygame.key.</span></span><span class="sig-name descname"><span class="pre">get_mods</span></span><span class="sig-paren">(</span><span class="sig-paren">)</span><a class="headerlink" href="#pygame.key.get_mods" title="Permalink to this definition">¶</a></dt>
<dd><div class="line-block">
<div class="line"><span class="summaryline">determine which modifier keys are being held</span></div>
<div class="line"><span class="signature">get_mods() -> int</span></div>
</div>
<p>Returns a single integer representing a bitmask of all the modifier keys
being held. Using bitwise operators you can test if specific
<a class="reference internal" href="#key-modifiers-label"><span class="std std-ref">modifier keys</span></a> are pressed.</p>
</dd></dl>
<dl class="py function definition">
<dt class="sig sig-object py title" id="pygame.key.set_mods">
<span class="sig-prename descclassname"><span class="pre">pygame.key.</span></span><span class="sig-name descname"><span class="pre">set_mods</span></span><span class="sig-paren">(</span><span class="sig-paren">)</span><a class="headerlink" href="#pygame.key.set_mods" title="Permalink to this definition">¶</a></dt>
<dd><div class="line-block">
<div class="line"><span class="summaryline">temporarily set which modifier keys are pressed</span></div>
<div class="line"><span class="signature">set_mods(int) -> None</span></div>
</div>
<p>Create a bitmask of the <a class="reference internal" href="#key-modifiers-label"><span class="std std-ref">modifier key constants</span></a>
you want to impose on your program.</p>
</dd></dl>
<dl class="py function definition">
<dt class="sig sig-object py title" id="pygame.key.set_repeat">
<span class="sig-prename descclassname"><span class="pre">pygame.key.</span></span><span class="sig-name descname"><span class="pre">set_repeat</span></span><span class="sig-paren">(</span><span class="sig-paren">)</span><a class="headerlink" href="#pygame.key.set_repeat" title="Permalink to this definition">¶</a></dt>
<dd><div class="line-block">
<div class="line"><span class="summaryline">control how held keys are repeated</span></div>
<div class="line"><span class="signature">set_repeat() -> None</span></div>
<div class="line"><span class="signature">set_repeat(delay) -> None</span></div>
<div class="line"><span class="signature">set_repeat(delay, interval) -> None</span></div>
</div>
<p>When the keyboard repeat is enabled, keys that are held down will generate
multiple <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">pygame.KEYDOWN</span></code> events. The <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">delay</span></code> parameter is the number of
milliseconds before the first repeated <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">pygame.KEYDOWN</span></code> event will be sent.
After that, another <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">pygame.KEYDOWN</span></code> event will be sent every <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">interval</span></code>
milliseconds. If a <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">delay</span></code> value is provided and an <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">interval</span></code> value is
not provided or is 0, then the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">interval</span></code> will be set to the same value as
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">delay</span></code>.</p>
<p>To disable key repeat call this function with no arguments or with <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">delay</span></code>
set to 0.</p>
<p>When pygame is initialized the key repeat is disabled.</p>
<dl class="field-list simple">
<dt class="field-odd">Raises</dt>
<dd class="field-odd"><p><strong>ValueError</strong> -- if <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">delay</span></code> or <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">interval</span></code> is < 0</p>
</dd>
</dl>
<div class="versionchanged">
<p><span class="versionmodified changed">Changed in pygame 2.0.0: </span>A <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">ValueError</span></code> is now raised (instead of a
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">pygame.error</span></code>) if <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">delay</span></code> or <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">interval</span></code> is < 0.</p>
</div>
</dd></dl>
<dl class="py function definition">
<dt class="sig sig-object py title" id="pygame.key.get_repeat">
<span class="sig-prename descclassname"><span class="pre">pygame.key.</span></span><span class="sig-name descname"><span class="pre">get_repeat</span></span><span class="sig-paren">(</span><span class="sig-paren">)</span><a class="headerlink" href="#pygame.key.get_repeat" title="Permalink to this definition">¶</a></dt>
<dd><div class="line-block">
<div class="line"><span class="summaryline">see how held keys are repeated</span></div>
<div class="line"><span class="signature">get_repeat() -> (delay, interval)</span></div>
</div>
<p>Get the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">delay</span></code> and <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">interval</span></code> keyboard repeat values. Refer to
<a class="tooltip reference internal" href="#pygame.key.set_repeat" title=""><code class="xref py py-func docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">pygame.key.set_repeat()</span></code><span class="tooltip-content">control how held keys are repeated</span></a> for a description of these values.</p>
<div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in pygame 1.8.</span></p>
</div>
</dd></dl>
<dl class="py function definition">
<dt class="sig sig-object py title" id="pygame.key.name">
<span class="sig-prename descclassname"><span class="pre">pygame.key.</span></span><span class="sig-name descname"><span class="pre">name</span></span><span class="sig-paren">(</span><span class="sig-paren">)</span><a class="headerlink" href="#pygame.key.name" title="Permalink to this definition">¶</a></dt>
<dd><div class="line-block">
<div class="line"><span class="summaryline">get the name of a key identifier</span></div>
<div class="line"><span class="signature">name(key, use_compat=True) -> str</span></div>
</div>
<p>Get the descriptive name of the button from a keyboard button id constant.
Returns an empty string (<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">""</span></code>) if the key is not found.</p>
<p>If <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">use_compat</span></code> argument is <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">True</span></code> (which is the default), this function
returns the legacy name of a key where applicable. The return value is
expected to be the same across different pygame versions (provided the
corresponding key constant exists and is unique). If the return value is
passed to the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">key_code</span></code> function, the original constant will be returned.</p>
<p><strong>Experimental:</strong> <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">use_compat</span></code> paramater still in development for testing and feedback. It may change.
<a class="reference external" href="https://github.com/pygame/pygame/pull/3312">Please leave use_compat feedback with authors</a></p>
<p>If this argument is <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">False</span></code>, the returned name may be prettier to display
and may cover a wider range of keys than with <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">use_compat</span></code>, but there are
no guarantees that this name will be the same across different pygame
versions. If the name returned is passed to the <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">key_code</span></code> function, the
original constant is returned back (this is an implementation detail which
may change later, do not rely on this)</p>
<div class="versionchanged">
<p><span class="versionmodified changed">Changed in pygame 2.1.3: </span>Added <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">use_compat</span></code> argument and guaranteed API stability for it</p>
</div>
</dd></dl>
<dl class="py function definition">
<dt class="sig sig-object py title" id="pygame.key.key_code">
<span class="sig-prename descclassname"><span class="pre">pygame.key.</span></span><span class="sig-name descname"><span class="pre">key_code</span></span><span class="sig-paren">(</span><span class="sig-paren">)</span><a class="headerlink" href="#pygame.key.key_code" title="Permalink to this definition">¶</a></dt>
<dd><div class="line-block">
<div class="line"><span class="summaryline">get the key identifier from a key name</span></div>
<div class="line"><span class="signature">key_code(name=string) -> int</span></div>
</div>
<p>Get the key identifier code from the descriptive name of the key. This
returns an integer matching one of the K_* keycodes. For example:</p>
<div class="highlight-default notranslate"><div class="highlight"><pre><span></span><span class="gp">>>> </span><span class="n">pygame</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">key</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">key_code</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s2">"return"</span><span class="p">)</span> <span class="o">==</span> <span class="n">pygame</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">K_RETURN</span>
<span class="go">True</span>
<span class="gp">>>> </span><span class="n">pygame</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">key</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">key_code</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s2">"0"</span><span class="p">)</span> <span class="o">==</span> <span class="n">pygame</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">K_0</span>
<span class="go">True</span>
<span class="gp">>>> </span><span class="n">pygame</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">key</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">key_code</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="s2">"space"</span><span class="p">)</span> <span class="o">==</span> <span class="n">pygame</span><span class="o">.</span><span class="n">K_SPACE</span>
<span class="go">True</span>
</pre></div>
</div>
<dl class="field-list simple">
<dt class="field-odd">Raises</dt>
<dd class="field-odd"><p><strong>ValueError</strong> -- if the key name is not known.</p>
</dd>
</dl>
<div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in pygame 2.0.0.</span></p>
</div>
</dd></dl>
<dl class="py function definition">
<dt class="sig sig-object py title" id="pygame.key.start_text_input">
<span class="sig-prename descclassname"><span class="pre">pygame.key.</span></span><span class="sig-name descname"><span class="pre">start_text_input</span></span><span class="sig-paren">(</span><span class="sig-paren">)</span><a class="headerlink" href="#pygame.key.start_text_input" title="Permalink to this definition">¶</a></dt>
<dd><div class="line-block">
<div class="line"><span class="summaryline">start handling Unicode text input events</span></div>
<div class="line"><span class="signature">start_text_input() -> None</span></div>
</div>
<p>Start receiving <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">pygame.TEXTEDITING</span></code> and <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">pygame.TEXTINPUT</span></code>
events. If applicable, show the on-screen keyboard or IME editor.</p>
<p>For many languages, key presses will automatically generate a
corresponding <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">pygame.TEXTINPUT</span></code> event. Special keys like
escape or function keys, and certain key combinations will not
generate <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">pygame.TEXTINPUT</span></code> events.</p>
<p>In other languages, entering a single symbol may require multiple
key presses, or a language-specific user interface. In this case,
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">pygame.TEXTINPUT</span></code> events are preferable to <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">pygame.KEYDOWN</span></code>
events for text input.</p>
<p>A <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">pygame.TEXTEDITING</span></code> event is received when an IME composition
is started or changed. It contains the composition <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">text</span></code>, <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">length</span></code>,
and editing <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">start</span></code> position within the composition (attributes
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">text</span></code>, <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">length</span></code>, and <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">start</span></code>, respectively).
When the composition is committed (or non-IME input is received),
a <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">pygame.TEXTINPUT</span></code> event is generated.</p>
<p>Text input events handling is on by default.</p>
<div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in pygame 2.0.0.</span></p>
</div>
</dd></dl>
<dl class="py function definition">
<dt class="sig sig-object py title" id="pygame.key.stop_text_input">
<span class="sig-prename descclassname"><span class="pre">pygame.key.</span></span><span class="sig-name descname"><span class="pre">stop_text_input</span></span><span class="sig-paren">(</span><span class="sig-paren">)</span><a class="headerlink" href="#pygame.key.stop_text_input" title="Permalink to this definition">¶</a></dt>
<dd><div class="line-block">
<div class="line"><span class="summaryline">stop handling Unicode text input events</span></div>
<div class="line"><span class="signature">stop_text_input() -> None</span></div>
</div>
<p>Stop receiving <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">pygame.TEXTEDITING</span></code> and <code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">pygame.TEXTINPUT</span></code>
events. If an on-screen keyboard or IME editor was shown with
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">pygame.key.start_text_input()</span></code>, hide it again.</p>
<p>Text input events handling is on by default.</p>
<p>To avoid triggering the IME editor or the on-screen keyboard
when the user is holding down a key during gameplay, text input
should be disabled once text entry is finished, or when the user
clicks outside of a text box.</p>
<div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in pygame 2.0.0.</span></p>
</div>
</dd></dl>
<dl class="py function definition">
<dt class="sig sig-object py title" id="pygame.key.set_text_input_rect">
<span class="sig-prename descclassname"><span class="pre">pygame.key.</span></span><span class="sig-name descname"><span class="pre">set_text_input_rect</span></span><span class="sig-paren">(</span><span class="sig-paren">)</span><a class="headerlink" href="#pygame.key.set_text_input_rect" title="Permalink to this definition">¶</a></dt>
<dd><div class="line-block">
<div class="line"><span class="summaryline">controls the position of the candidate list</span></div>
<div class="line"><span class="signature">set_text_input_rect(Rect) -> None</span></div>
</div>
<p>This sets the rectangle used for typing with an IME.
It controls where the candidate list will open, if supported.</p>
<div class="versionadded">
<p><span class="versionmodified added">New in pygame 2.0.0.</span></p>
</div>
</dd></dl>
</dd></dl>
</section>
<br /><br />
<hr />
<a href="https://github.com/pygame/pygame/edit/main/docs/reST/ref\key.rst" rel="nofollow">Edit on GitHub</a>
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