How to know if .keyup() is a character key (jQuery)

Question

How to know if .keyup() is a character key (jQuery)

$(\"input\").keyup(function() {

if (key is a character) { //such as a b A b c 5 3 2 $ # ^ ! ^ * # ...etc         


        

Answer 1

I wanted to do exactly this, and I thought of a solution involving both the keyup and the keypress events.

(I haven't tested it in all browsers, but I used the information compiled at http://unixpapa.com/js/key.html)

Edit: rewrote it as a jQuery plugin.

(function($) {
    $.fn.normalkeypress = function(onNormal, onSpecial) {
        this.bind('keydown keypress keyup', (function() {
            var keyDown = {}, // keep track of which buttons have been pressed
                lastKeyDown;
            return function(event) {
                if (event.type == 'keydown') {
                    keyDown[lastKeyDown = event.keyCode] = false;
                    return;
                }
                if (event.type == 'keypress') {
                    keyDown[lastKeyDown] = event; // this keydown also triggered a keypress
                    return;
                }

                // 'keyup' event
                var keyPress = keyDown[event.keyCode];
                if ( keyPress &&
                     ( ( ( keyPress.which >= 32 // not a control character
                           //|| keyPress.which == 8  || // \b
                           //|| keyPress.which == 9  || // \t
                           //|| keyPress.which == 10 || // \n
                           //|| keyPress.which == 13    // \r
                           ) &&
                         !( keyPress.which >= 63232 && keyPress.which <= 63247 ) && // not special character in WebKit < 525
                         !( keyPress.which == 63273 )                            && //
                         !( keyPress.which >= 63275 && keyPress.which <= 63277 ) && //
                         !( keyPress.which === event.keyCode && // not End / Home / Insert / Delete (i.e. in Opera < 10.50)
                            ( keyPress.which == 35  || // End
                              keyPress.which == 36  || // Home
                              keyPress.which == 45  || // Insert
                              keyPress.which == 46  || // Delete
                              keyPress.which == 144    // Num Lock
                              )
                            )
                         ) ||
                       keyPress.which === undefined // normal character in IE < 9.0
                       ) &&
                     keyPress.charCode !== 0 // not special character in Konqueror 4.3
                     ) {

                    // Normal character
                    if (onNormal) onNormal.call(this, keyPress, event);
                } else {
                    // Special character
                    if (onSpecial) onSpecial.call(this, event);
                }
                delete keyDown[event.keyCode];
            };
        })());
    };
})(jQuery);