I need a way in C# to monitor system-wide keys such as Ctrl+A, so I can act upon that.
How could I get such an event, even when the keys were pressed with my App no longer in focus?
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1for what purpose you want to do this? to look for *Idle* period or to record keys in key logger ;) – TheVillageIdiot Jun 12 '09 at 10:21
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Oops, thought it was exact duplicate, but the other question was Delphi, so not the same, sorry – Patrick McDonald Jun 12 '09 at 10:24
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Have a look at this link : [Global System Hooks in .NET](http://www.codeproject.com/KB/system/globalsystemhook.aspx) – Thomas Levesque Jun 12 '09 at 10:25
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Terrific! Solved my problem since it uses *global* hooks, ie. it receives Keyboard and Mouse event performed in any application. – Robin Rodricks Jun 12 '09 at 10:49
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Seems easier than Johannes Rossel's solution. Thanks to both of you and plus 1 to both. – IsmailS May 12 '10 at 05:24
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You can use the RegisterHotKey function to react system-wide to hotkeys. However, I wouldn't advise you to use something like Ctrl + A which has a meaning in many applications.
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I don't think there's a managed way to do that. At an API level you can register system-wide hooks or global hotkeys.
Writing a keylogger? :-)
marklam
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