README.md

Plugin.Maui.KeyListener

Plugin.Maui.KeyListener provides KeyboardBehavior to listen for keyboard up (pressed) and down (released) events on any view in a .NET MAUI application. This is useful in situations where a KeyboardAccelerator isn't suitable.

Current status: I've got macOS working, and Windows via global window events. Android and iOS need some love.

Install Plugin

Available on NuGet.

Install with the dotnet CLI: dotnet add package Plugin.Maui.KeyListener, or through the NuGet Package Manager in Visual Studio.

Supported Platforms

Platform	Minimum Version Supported
iOS	11+
macOS	10.15+
Android	5.0 (API 21)
Windows	11 and 10 version 1809+

API Usage

Plugin.Maui.KeyListener provides the Feature class that has a single property Property that you can get or set.

You can either use it as a static class, e.g.: Feature.Default.Property = 1 or with dependency injection: builder.Services.AddSingleton<IFeature>(Feature.Default);

Regisgtration

Before you can start using KeyboardBehavior, you need to register to use it in your MauiProgram:

public static MauiApp CreateMauiApp()
{
    var builder = MauiApp.CreateBuilder();
    builder
        .UseMauiApp<App>()
        .UseKeyListener();    

    return builder.Build();
}

Listening

Add the behavior to the visual element where you want to listen for keyboard events. These events will bubble up no matter where you have focus.

public class MainPage : ContentPage
{
    KeyboardBehavior keyboardBehavior = new ();
    
    protected override void OnNavigatedTo(NavigatedToEventArgs args)
	{
		keyboardBehavior.KeyDown += OnKeyDown;
		keyboardBehavior.KeyUp += OnKeyUp;
		this.Behaviors.Add(keyboardBehavior);

		base.OnNavigatedTo(args);
	}

	protected override void OnNavigatedFrom(NavigatedFromEventArgs args)
	{
        keyboardBehavior.KeyDown -= OnKeyDown;
		keyboardBehavior.KeyUp -= OnKeyUp;
		this.Behaviors.Remove(keyboardBehavior);

		base.OnNavigatedFrom(args);
	}

    void OnKeyUp(object sender, KeyPressedEventArgs args)
    {
        // do something
    }

    void OnKeyDown(object sender, KeyPressedEventArgs args)
    {
        // do something
    }
}

Sample

There is a sample project here in the repository. I've also built a little game GuessWord that uses this plugin.

Acknowledgements

This is almost all code from @pureween, with some additions by @davidortinau and contributors! <3