Hi Jim, good idea. I will use it. I was using the onkeyup but the onchange will be more accurate and not trigger execution of the JS for non input keys. A second JS will pop up a message if the TextBox is clicked with the mouse telling the character count and the max allowed or the remaining character count before exceeding the max or something. A label will display the information to sighted folks in real time while a screen reader user will have to click the TextBox to get the numbers but that is not much of a hassle. Finally, I will pop up a message to a screen reader user automatically if they exceed the max. I like your idea though, it will eliminate a problem I was having when the textbox was full. The message would pop up but trying to hit delete would trigger the onkeyUp or down and not allow the user to remove excess characters. Your idea should take care of that one. I'll give that puppy a try! Thanks again: Rick USA ----- Original Message ----- From: Homme, James To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Wednesday, July 22, 2009 12:42 PM Subject: RE: JavaScript, Detecting KeyUp or KeyDown KeyCode Hi Rick, I have an idea that might work. Use the onchange event and attach it to the text field. In the onchange event function, get the length of the value of the input field and store it in some global variable or do whatever you want with it. The code avoids checking keys altogether, which automatically makes it independent of any browser unless JavaScript is turned off or something. Jim ---------- Jim Homme Usability Services 412-544-1810 james.homme@xxxxxxxxxxxx "You can do anything you want to if you put your mind to it" -- Jim Homme Sr. From: programmingblind-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:programmingblind-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of RicksPlace Sent: Wednesday, July 22, 2009 11:13 AM To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: JavaScript, Detecting KeyUp or KeyDown KeyCode Hi: Well, it never ends... In my JS routine I want to detect some special key to use as a hot key to pop up an alert box when pressed. Reading up on the topic it seems that various browsers recognize diferent keys for the same key when pressed. Has anyone used Key detection in a JavaScript routine that uses a key that would not normally be used for normal data entry? The fx keys do not generate a KeyPress but I'm not sure about KeyUp and KeyDown in the various browsers. Or, do you have a diferent idea of how to tell a user how many characters they have entered in a TextBox from the client-side? A label control would require tabbing out of the TextBox and back in, not smooth and resetting focus to the last character typed in the TextBox might be tricky when tabbing back in, I'm not sure. I have everything working but now need some way to trigger the JS Alert box only on a user request or on exceeding the max length allowed for the TextBox. Any ideas? Rick USA ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This e-mail and any attachments to it are confidential and are intended solely for use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender immediately and then delete it. If you are not the intended recipient, you must not keep, use, disclose, copy or distribute this e-mail without the author's prior permission. The views expressed in this e-mail message do not necessarily represent the views of Highmark Inc., its subsidiaries, or affiliates.