How to generate keyboard events?
I tried lib keyboard and it works good on Windows, Mac and Linux. Below line helps me switch tabs in browser:
keyboard.press_and_release('ctrl+tab')
For both python3 and python2 you can use pyautogui (pip install pyautogui)
from pyautogui import press, typewrite, hotkey
press('a')
typewrite('quick brown fox')
hotkey('ctrl', 'w')
It's also crossplatform with Windows, OSX, and Ubuntu LTS.
user648852's idea at least for me works great for OS X, here is the code to do it:
#!/usr/bin/env python
import time
from Quartz.CoreGraphics import CGEventCreateKeyboardEvent
from Quartz.CoreGraphics import CGEventPost
# Python releases things automatically, using CFRelease will result in a scary error
#from Quartz.CoreGraphics import CFRelease
from Quartz.CoreGraphics import kCGHIDEventTap
# From http://stackoverflow.com/questions/281133/controlling-the-mouse-from-python-in-os-x
# and from https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/documentation/Carbon/Reference/QuartzEventServicesRef/index.html#//apple_ref/c/func/CGEventCreateKeyboardEvent
def KeyDown(k):
keyCode, shiftKey = toKeyCode(k)
time.sleep(0.0001)
if shiftKey:
CGEventPost(kCGHIDEventTap, CGEventCreateKeyboardEvent(None, 0x38, True))
time.sleep(0.0001)
CGEventPost(kCGHIDEventTap, CGEventCreateKeyboardEvent(None, keyCode, True))
time.sleep(0.0001)
if shiftKey:
CGEventPost(kCGHIDEventTap, CGEventCreateKeyboardEvent(None, 0x38, False))
time.sleep(0.0001)
def KeyUp(k):
keyCode, shiftKey = toKeyCode(k)
time.sleep(0.0001)
CGEventPost(kCGHIDEventTap, CGEventCreateKeyboardEvent(None, keyCode, False))
time.sleep(0.0001)
def KeyPress(k):
keyCode, shiftKey = toKeyCode(k)
time.sleep(0.0001)
if shiftKey:
CGEventPost(kCGHIDEventTap, CGEventCreateKeyboardEvent(None, 0x38, True))
time.sleep(0.0001)
CGEventPost(kCGHIDEventTap, CGEventCreateKeyboardEvent(None, keyCode, True))
time.sleep(0.0001)
CGEventPost(kCGHIDEventTap, CGEventCreateKeyboardEvent(None, keyCode, False))
time.sleep(0.0001)
if shiftKey:
CGEventPost(kCGHIDEventTap, CGEventCreateKeyboardEvent(None, 0x38, False))
time.sleep(0.0001)
# From http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3202629/where-can-i-find-a-list-of-mac-virtual-key-codes
def toKeyCode(c):
shiftKey = False
# Letter
if c.isalpha():
if not c.islower():
shiftKey = True
c = c.lower()
if c in shiftChars:
shiftKey = True
c = shiftChars[c]
if c in keyCodeMap:
keyCode = keyCodeMap[c]
else:
keyCode = ord(c)
return keyCode, shiftKey
shiftChars = {
'~': '`',
'!': '1',
'@': '2',
'#': '3',
'$': '4',
'%': '5',
'^': '6',
'&': '7',
'*': '8',
'(': '9',
')': '0',
'_': '-',
'+': '=',
'{': '[',
'}': ']',
'|': '\\',
':': ';',
'"': '\'',
'<': ',',
'>': '.',
'?': '/'
}
keyCodeMap = {
'a' : 0x00,
's' : 0x01,
'd' : 0x02,
'f' : 0x03,
'h' : 0x04,
'g' : 0x05,
'z' : 0x06,
'x' : 0x07,
'c' : 0x08,
'v' : 0x09,
'b' : 0x0B,
'q' : 0x0C,
'w' : 0x0D,
'e' : 0x0E,
'r' : 0x0F,
'y' : 0x10,
't' : 0x11,
'1' : 0x12,
'2' : 0x13,
'3' : 0x14,
'4' : 0x15,
'6' : 0x16,
'5' : 0x17,
'=' : 0x18,
'9' : 0x19,
'7' : 0x1A,
'-' : 0x1B,
'8' : 0x1C,
'0' : 0x1D,
']' : 0x1E,
'o' : 0x1F,
'u' : 0x20,
'[' : 0x21,
'i' : 0x22,
'p' : 0x23,
'l' : 0x25,
'j' : 0x26,
'\'' : 0x27,
'k' : 0x28,
';' : 0x29,
'\\' : 0x2A,
',' : 0x2B,
'/' : 0x2C,
'n' : 0x2D,
'm' : 0x2E,
'.' : 0x2F,
'`' : 0x32,
'k.' : 0x41,
'k*' : 0x43,
'k+' : 0x45,
'kclear' : 0x47,
'k/' : 0x4B,
'k\n' : 0x4C,
'k-' : 0x4E,
'k=' : 0x51,
'k0' : 0x52,
'k1' : 0x53,
'k2' : 0x54,
'k3' : 0x55,
'k4' : 0x56,
'k5' : 0x57,
'k6' : 0x58,
'k7' : 0x59,
'k8' : 0x5B,
'k9' : 0x5C,
# keycodes for keys that are independent of keyboard layout
'\n' : 0x24,
'\t' : 0x30,
' ' : 0x31,
'del' : 0x33,
'delete' : 0x33,
'esc' : 0x35,
'escape' : 0x35,
'cmd' : 0x37,
'command' : 0x37,
'shift' : 0x38,
'caps lock' : 0x39,
'option' : 0x3A,
'ctrl' : 0x3B,
'control' : 0x3B,
'right shift' : 0x3C,
'rshift' : 0x3C,
'right option' : 0x3D,
'roption' : 0x3D,
'right control' : 0x3E,
'rcontrol' : 0x3E,
'fun' : 0x3F,
'function' : 0x3F,
'f17' : 0x40,
'volume up' : 0x48,
'volume down' : 0x49,
'mute' : 0x4A,
'f18' : 0x4F,
'f19' : 0x50,
'f20' : 0x5A,
'f5' : 0x60,
'f6' : 0x61,
'f7' : 0x62,
'f3' : 0x63,
'f8' : 0x64,
'f9' : 0x65,
'f11' : 0x67,
'f13' : 0x69,
'f16' : 0x6A,
'f14' : 0x6B,
'f10' : 0x6D,
'f12' : 0x6F,
'f15' : 0x71,
'help' : 0x72,
'home' : 0x73,
'pgup' : 0x74,
'page up' : 0x74,
'forward delete' : 0x75,
'f4' : 0x76,
'end' : 0x77,
'f2' : 0x78,
'page down' : 0x79,
'pgdn' : 0x79,
'f1' : 0x7A,
'left' : 0x7B,
'right' : 0x7C,
'down' : 0x7D,
'up' : 0x7E
}
It can be done using ctypes:
import ctypes
from ctypes import wintypes
import time
user32 = ctypes.WinDLL('user32', use_last_error=True)
INPUT_MOUSE = 0
INPUT_KEYBOARD = 1
INPUT_HARDWARE = 2
KEYEVENTF_EXTENDEDKEY = 0x0001
KEYEVENTF_KEYUP = 0x0002
KEYEVENTF_UNICODE = 0x0004
KEYEVENTF_SCANCODE = 0x0008
MAPVK_VK_TO_VSC = 0
# msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd375731
VK_TAB = 0x09
VK_MENU = 0x12
# C struct definitions
wintypes.ULONG_PTR = wintypes.WPARAM
class MOUSEINPUT(ctypes.Structure):
_fields_ = (("dx", wintypes.LONG),
("dy", wintypes.LONG),
("mouseData", wintypes.DWORD),
("dwFlags", wintypes.DWORD),
("time", wintypes.DWORD),
("dwExtraInfo", wintypes.ULONG_PTR))
class KEYBDINPUT(ctypes.Structure):
_fields_ = (("wVk", wintypes.WORD),
("wScan", wintypes.WORD),
("dwFlags", wintypes.DWORD),
("time", wintypes.DWORD),
("dwExtraInfo", wintypes.ULONG_PTR))
def __init__(self, *args, **kwds):
super(KEYBDINPUT, self).__init__(*args, **kwds)
# some programs use the scan code even if KEYEVENTF_SCANCODE
# isn't set in dwFflags, so attempt to map the correct code.
if not self.dwFlags & KEYEVENTF_UNICODE:
self.wScan = user32.MapVirtualKeyExW(self.wVk,
MAPVK_VK_TO_VSC, 0)
class HARDWAREINPUT(ctypes.Structure):
_fields_ = (("uMsg", wintypes.DWORD),
("wParamL", wintypes.WORD),
("wParamH", wintypes.WORD))
class INPUT(ctypes.Structure):
class _INPUT(ctypes.Union):
_fields_ = (("ki", KEYBDINPUT),
("mi", MOUSEINPUT),
("hi", HARDWAREINPUT))
_anonymous_ = ("_input",)
_fields_ = (("type", wintypes.DWORD),
("_input", _INPUT))
LPINPUT = ctypes.POINTER(INPUT)
def _check_count(result, func, args):
if result == 0:
raise ctypes.WinError(ctypes.get_last_error())
return args
user32.SendInput.errcheck = _check_count
user32.SendInput.argtypes = (wintypes.UINT, # nInputs
LPINPUT, # pInputs
ctypes.c_int) # cbSize
# Functions
def PressKey(hexKeyCode):
x = INPUT(type=INPUT_KEYBOARD,
ki=KEYBDINPUT(wVk=hexKeyCode))
user32.SendInput(1, ctypes.byref(x), ctypes.sizeof(x))
def ReleaseKey(hexKeyCode):
x = INPUT(type=INPUT_KEYBOARD,
ki=KEYBDINPUT(wVk=hexKeyCode,
dwFlags=KEYEVENTF_KEYUP))
user32.SendInput(1, ctypes.byref(x), ctypes.sizeof(x))
def AltTab():
"""Press Alt+Tab and hold Alt key for 2 seconds
in order to see the overlay.
"""
PressKey(VK_MENU) # Alt
PressKey(VK_TAB) # Tab
ReleaseKey(VK_TAB) # Tab~
time.sleep(2)
ReleaseKey(VK_MENU) # Alt~
if __name__ == "__main__":
AltTab()
hexKeyCode is the virtual keyboard mapping as defined by the Windows API. The list of codes is available on MSDN: Virtual-Key Codes (Windows)