Changing the keypress

Question

In an input box or contenteditable=true div, how can I modify a keypress for the letter \"a\" to return a keybress for the letter \"b\"? I.e., every time you type the letter

Answer 1

Here is an example without using any libraries

const input = document.querySelector('input')

// this is the order of events into an input
input.addEventListener('focus', onFocus)
input.addEventListener('keydown', keyDown)
input.addEventListener('keypress', keyPress)
input.addEventListener('input', onInput)
input.addEventListener('keyup', keyUp)
input.addEventListener('change', onChange)
input.addEventListener('blur', onBlur)

function onFocus  (event) { info(event) }
function keyDown  (event) { info(event) }
function keyPress (event) {
  info(event)
  // this 2 calls will stop `input` and `change` events
  event.preventDefault();
  event.stopPropagation();
  
  // get current props
  const target = event.target
  const start = target.selectionStart;
  const end = target.selectionEnd;
  const val = target.value;
  
  // get some char based on event
  const char = getChar(event);
  
  // create new value
  const value = val.slice(0, start) + char + val.slice(end);
  
  // first attemp to set value
  // (doesn't work in react because value setter is overrided)
  // target.value = value

  // second attemp to set value, get native setter
  const nativeInputValueSetter = Object.getOwnPropertyDescriptor(
    window.HTMLInputElement.prototype,
    "value"
  ).set;
  nativeInputValueSetter.call(target, value);

  // change cursor position
  target.selectionStart = target.selectionEnd = start + 1;
  
  // dispatch `input` again
  const newEvent = new InputEvent('input', {
    bubbles: true,
    inputType: 'insertText',
    data: char
  })
  event.target.dispatchEvent(newEvent);
}
function keyUp    (event) { info(event) }
function onInput  (event) { info(event) }
function onChange (event) { info(event) }
function onBlur   (event) {
  // dispatch `change` again
  const newEvent = new Event('change', { bubbles: true })
  event.target.dispatchEvent(newEvent);
  info(event)
}

function info     (event) { console.log(event.type) }

function getChar(event) {
  // will show X if letter, will show Y if Digit, otherwise Z
  return event.code.startsWith('Key')
    ? 'X'
    : event.code.startsWith('Digit')
      ? 'Y'
      : 'Z'
}