keydown vs keypress vs keyup
Written byPhuoc Nguyen
Created
18 Jun, 2020
Category
DOM
The order of events
When user presses a key or combination of different keys,
`keydown`, `keypress` and `keyup` are triggered in that order:- The
`keydown`event is triggered first when user presses a key - The
`keyup`event is triggered last when user releases a key - In between, the
`keypress`event is triggered
These events serve different purposes.
The
`keydown` and `keyup` events are often used to handle the physical keys, while the `keypress` event is used to handle characters which are being typed.The
`keypress` ignores keys such as `delete`, `arrows`, `page up`, `page down`, `home`, `end`, `ctrl`, `alt`, `shift`, `esc`, etc.
So, if we need to handle those keys, it's better to use either `keydown` or `keyup` event.The sample code below listens on the
`keydown` event, and closes the modal if the Esc key is pressed:js
document.addEventListener('keydown', function (e) {
if (e.key === 'Escape') {
// Close the modal
}
});The
`keydown` and `keypress` events fire multiple times if user press and hold a key.While
`keyup` fires only once when user releases the key.
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Phước Nguyễn