Android SoftKeyboard onKeyDown/Up not detecting 'alternative' keys

Question

I have a view which handles input for me, I pop up a keyboard and set the view focusable. Now I can get certain key presses...

@Override
public boolean onKey         


        

Answer 1

When the keyboard is open, onKeyDown() and onKeyUp() methods don't work properly because Android considers on-screen keyboard as a separate activity.

The easiest way to achieve what you want is to override onKeyPreIme() method on your view. For example, if you're trying to capture onKeyDown from an EditText, create a new Class which extends EditText, and override the onKeyPreIme() method:

public class LoseFocusEditText extends EditText {

    private Context mContext;

    protected final String TAG = getClass().getName();

    public LoseFocusEditText(Context context) {
        super(context);
        mContext = context;
    }

    public LoseFocusEditText(Context context, AttributeSet attrs) {
        super(context, attrs);
        mContext = context;
    }

    public LoseFocusEditText(Context context, AttributeSet attrs, int defStyle) {
        super(context, attrs, defStyle);
        mContext = context;
    }

    @Override
    public boolean onKeyPreIme(int keyCode, KeyEvent event) {
        if (keyCode == KeyEvent.KEYCODE_BACK) {

            //hide keyboard
            InputMethodManager mgr = (InputMethodManager) mContext.getSystemService(Context.INPUT_METHOD_SERVICE);
            mgr.hideSoftInputFromWindow(this.getWindowToken(), 0);

            //lose focus
            this.clearFocus();

            return true;
        }
        return false;
    }
}

This was tested on kitkat / htc one.