Deprecated
This feature has been removed from the Web standards. Though some browsers may still support it, it is in the process of being dropped. Avoid using it and update existing code if possible; see the compatibility table at the bottom of this page to guide your decision. Be aware that this feature may cease to work at any time.
The KeyboardEvent.which
read-only property returns the numeric keyCode
of the key pressed, or the character code (charCode
) for an alphanumeric key pressed.
Syntax
var keyResult = event.which;
keyResult
contains the numeric code for a particular key pressed, depending on whether an alphanumeric or non-alphanumeric key was pressed. Please seeKeyboardEvent.charCode
andKeyboardEvent.keyCode
for more details.
Example
<html> <head> <title>charCode/keyCode/which example</title> <script type="text/javascript"> function showKeyPress(evt) { alert("onkeypress handler: \n" + "keyCode property: " + evt.keyCode + "\n" + "which property: " + evt.which + "\n" + "charCode property: " + evt.charCode + "\n" + "Character Key Pressed: " + String.fromCharCode(evt.charCode) + "\n" ); } function keyDown(evt) { alert("onkeydown handler: \n" + "keyCode property: " + evt.keyCode + "\n" + "which property: " + evt.which + "\n" ); } </script> </head> <body onkeypress="showKeyPress(event);" onkeydown="keyDown(event);" > <p>Please press any key.</p> </body> </html>
Specifications
Specification | Status | Comment |
---|---|---|
Document Object Model (DOM) Level 3 Events Specification The definition of 'KeyboardEvent.which' in that specification. |
Working Draft | Initial definition; specified as deprecated |
Browser compatibility
Feature | Chrome | Edge | Firefox (Gecko) | Internet Explorer | Opera | Safari |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Basic support | 4 | (Yes) | 2 [1] | 9 | 10.10 | 5.1 |
Feature | Android | Chrome for Android | Edge | Firefox Mobile (Gecko) | IE Mobile | Opera Mobile | Safari Mobile |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Basic support | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes) | (Yes)[1] | 10 | ? | 5.1 |
[1] Gecko implements this property on the UIEvent
interface.
See also
KeyboardEvent
, the interface this property belongs too.
Document Tags and Contributors
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Contributors to this page:
julienw,
libbymc,
jwhitlock,
fscholz,
cvrebert,
teoli,
SphinxKnight,
kscarfone,
Kartik_Chadha,
Sheppy,
Huan,
Matej Lednar,
Nickolay,
Jabez
Last updated by:
julienw,