Keys Method (Mobile Objects)

The information below concerns legacy mobile tests that work with mobile devices connected to the local computer. For new mobile tests, we recommend using the newer cloud-compatible approach.

Description

Types text in the active application and object on the connected Android device. You can use special keys like Ctrl and Backspace.

Declaration

Applies To

The method is applied to the following object:

Parameters

The method has the following parameter:

Keys

The text to type. It can include special keys from the following table:

Code Simulated Key ^ Ctrl ! Shift ~ Alt ^^ ^ !! ! ~~ ~ [[ [ [Apps] App switch key [BS] Backspace [Clear] Clear [Del] Delete [Down] Down [End] End [Enter] Enter [Esc] Back [F1] F1 [F2] F2 [F3] F3 [F4] F4 [F5] F5 [F6] F6 [F7] F7 [F8] F8 [F9] F9 [F10] F10 [F11] F11 [F12] F12

Code Simulated Key [Home] Home [Ins] Insert [Left] Left [NumAsterisk] Num * (* on the numeric keyboard) [NumMinus] Num - (- on the numeric keyboard) [NumPlus] Num + (+ on the numeric keyboard) [NumSlash] Num / (/ on the numeric keyboard) [PageDown] Page Down [PageUp] Page Up [Pause] Pause [Right] Right [Tab] Tab [Up] Up [Win] Home key [Pnnn] Pauses typing for nnn milliseconds.

All constants (F1, PageDown, X, P, etc.) are case-sensitive.

Result Value

None.

Remarks

This method is asynchronous. This means that TestComplete continues running the test, no matter whether it has finished or not. For information on how it may affect testing on Android devices, see Possible Issues.

To input local symbols on Android devices, the Keys method uses the TestComplete Android Agent keyboard. If TestComplete cannot use the Agent keyboard (for instance, if it is disabled or the on-screen keyboard must not be shown), it inputs text by using the virtual keyboard device. The set of key declarations, the key character map file contains, is different on different devices. In most cases, it includes alphanumeric and special characters. For more information on inputting local symbols, see Simulating Local Symbol Input (Legacy).

Shift codes (^, ~ and !) in the Keys parameter do not press Ctrl, Alt or Shift. Instead, the next key in the string will be pressed under the indicated shift conditions. That is, the shift codes affect the first non-shift key that follows them in the Keys string. For instance, the following code presses Ctrl+A (this key combination selects the whole text in the control):

To separate shift-key presses from combined key presses like those above, use two consecutive calls of the Keys method. For example, the following code first presses Ctrl and then A (this operation does not select the whole text, since the key presses are separated). Another way to achieve this effect is to use the [Release] constant (more below).

To simulate multi-key shortcuts (two or more keys pressed at the same time), use [Hold] to press and hold a key, [ReleaseLast] to release the last pressed key, and [Release] to release all the pressed keys. For example:

[Hold], [Release] and [ReleaseLast] affect only the state of the Ctrl, Shift and Alt keys.

Example

This example shows how to use the Keys method to enter text on an Android device:

def Test():
  # Specify the current device
  Mobile.SetCurrent("MyDevice")

  # Launch the tested application
  # ...

  # Simulate user actions
  # ...
  Mobile.Device().Keys("iddqd")
  # ...

See Also

AndroidDevice Object
iOSDevice Object
Testing Android Applications (Legacy)
Testing iOS Applications (Legacy)