How to set hotkeys for a Windows Forms form

Question

I would like to set hotkeys in my Windows Forms form. For example, Ctrl + N for a new form and Ctrl + S for save. How would I do

Answer 1

Set

myForm.KeyPreview = true;

Create a handler for the KeyDown event:

myForm.KeyDown += new KeyEventHandler(Form_KeyDown);

Example of handler:

    // Hot keys handler
    void Form_KeyDown(object sender, KeyEventArgs e)
    {
        if (e.Control && e.KeyCode == Keys.S)       // Ctrl-S Save
        {
            // Do what you want here
            e.SuppressKeyPress = true;  // Stops other controls on the form receiving event.
        }
    }

Answer 2

You can also override ProcessCmdKey in your Form derived type like this:

protected override bool ProcessCmdKey(ref Message message, Keys keys)
{
    switch (keys)
    {
        case Keys.B | Keys.Control | Keys.Alt | Keys.Shift:
            // ... Process Shift+Ctrl+Alt+B ...

            return true; // signal that we've processed this key
    }

    // run base implementation
    return base.ProcessCmdKey(ref message, keys);
}

I believe it's more suitable for hotkeys. No KeyPreview needed.

Answer 3

If you are trying to link them to menu items in your application, then you don't need any code. On the menu item, you can simply setup the shortcut key property and it will run the same event that you have configured for your menu item click.

Answer 4

I thought I'd put an update here since the newest answer is 5 years old. Specifically addressing the question portion regarding Menu hotkeys, you can manipulate the properties of your MenuStrip.MenuItem object, by setting the ShortcutKeys property. In Visual Studio you can do this in the form design window by opening the properties of your MenuStrip object. Once scrolled down to the the ShortcutKeys property, you can use VS interface to set your hot keys.

If you want a MenuStrip to underline a menu item, prefix the ampersand (&) char to the char of the desired hotkey. So for example if you want the "x" of Exit to be underlined, the property setting should be E&xit.

These property manipulations should yield a result similar to this*:

*Note: To display the shortcut key "Ctrl+N" change ShowShortcutKeys property to true.

Answer 5

I'd like a KeyDown event for the Form and some code like this:

private void Form1_KeyDown(object sender, KeyEventArgs e)
{
    if (e.KeyData == (Keys.Control | Keys.N))
    {
        CreateNew();
    }
}

Answer 6

If your window has a menu, you can use the ShortcutKeys property of System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripMenuItem:

myMenuItem.ShortcutKeys = Keys.Control | Keys.S;

In Visual Studio, you can set it in the property page of the menu item, too.