How do you tell which key is about to be pressed?

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2 total messages Started by Mischa Sandberg Fri, 17 Apr 1992 05:14

#170

Author: Mischa Sandberg
Date: Fri, 17 Apr 1992 05:14

28 lines
1935 bytes

Could someone tell me if there is a DOS or BIOS system call that
can tell me which key the user is about to press? One user of
some application software I wrote has complained, in somewhat
hand-waving terms, that an order entry module requires too much
input, and interrupts the entire order-taking process by immediately
responding to invalid product codes or postal codes (zip codes
for you americans). He has asked me to propose some improvements
that will, quote, "make it go faster without so many ways to
choose the wrong option when you are in a hurry" (yes, I try,
how I try, to give the user choices from a menu, to "remember"
and regurgitate values that might have to be entered repetitively).

So here I am, stuck with my one last hope: that the hesitating
finger of the user, hovering over the "X" key, then the "Enter"
key, then the "Print Screen" key, can be detected by the hardware
(why DO they call it an 'enhanced' keyboard, anyway?), evaluated
for likelihood of being what the user really wants, and substitute
the correct keystroke instead.

Any suggestions will be collected and reposted, depending on
how well they help me forget (oops, I meant *solve*) my problems.
--
Mischa Sandberg ... Mischa_Sandberg@mindlink.bc.ca
                 or uunet!van-bc!rsoft!mindlink!Mischa_Sandberg
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Engineers think equations are an approximation of reality.
Physicists think reality is an approximation of the equations.
Mathematicians never make the connection.

Re: How do you tell which key is about to be pressed?

#171

Author: Phil Howard
Date: Fri, 17 Apr 1992 06:17

18 lines
1216 bytes

Mischa_Sandberg@mindlink.bc.ca (Mischa Sandberg) writes:

>Could someone tell me if there is a DOS or BIOS system call that
>can tell me which key the user is about to press? One user of
...
>So here I am, stuck with my one last hope: that the hesitating
>finger of the user, hovering over the "X" key, then the "Enter"
>key, then the "Print Screen" key, can be detected by the hardware
>(why DO they call it an 'enhanced' keyboard, anyway?), evaluated
>for likelihood of being what the user really wants, and substitute
>the correct keystroke instead.

I believe this is going to require a further hardware upgrade.

>Any suggestions will be collected and reposted, depending on
>how well they help me forget (oops, I meant *solve*) my problems.

I would suggest just forgetting it.

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