KeyConstant

All the keys you can press. Note that some keys may not be available on your keyboard or system.

Constants

Key string	Description	Note(s)
Character keys
a	The A key
b	The B key
c	The C key
d	The D key
e	The E key
f	The F key
g	The G key
h	The H key
i	The I key
j	The J key
k	The K key
l	The L key
m	The M key
n	The N key
o	The O key
p	The P key
q	The Q key
r	The R key
s	The S key
t	The T key
u	The U key
v	The V key
w	The W key
x	The X key
y	The Y key
z	The Z key
0	The zero key
1	The one key
2	The two key
3	The three key
4	The four key
5	The five key
6	The six key
7	The seven key
8	The eight key
9	The nine key
space	Space key	In version 0.9.2 and earlier this is represented by the actual space character ' '.
!	Exclamation mark key
"	Double quote key
#	Hash key
$	Dollar key
&	Ampersand key
'	Single quote key
(	Left parenthesis key
)	Right parenthesis key
*	Asterisk key
+	Plus key
,	Comma key
-	Hyphen-minus key
.	Full stop key
/	Slash key
:	Colon key
;	Semicolon key
<	Less-than key
=	Equal key
>	Greater-than key
?	Question mark key
@	At sign key
[	Left square bracket key
\	Backslash key
]	Right square bracket key
^	Caret key
_	Underscore key
`	Grave accent key	Also known as the "Back tick" key
Numpad keys
kp0	The numpad zero key
kp1	The numpad one key
kp2	The numpad two key
kp3	The numpad three key
kp4	The numpad four key
kp5	The numpad five key
kp6	The numpad six key
kp7	The numpad seven key
kp8	The numpad eight key
kp9	The numpad nine key
kp.	The numpad decimal point key
kp,	The numpad comma key
kp/	The numpad division key
kp*	The numpad multiplication key
kp-	The numpad substraction key
kp+	The numpad addition key
kpenter	The numpad enter key
kp=	The numpad equals key
Navigation keys
up	Up arrow key
down	Down arrow key
right	Right arrow key
left	Left arrow key
home	Home key
end	End key
pageup	Page up key
pagedown	Page down key
Editing keys
insert	Insert key
backspace	Backspace key
tab	Tab key
clear	Clear key
return	Return key	Also known as the Enter key
delete	Delete key
Function keys
f1	The 1st function key
f2	The 2nd function key
f3	The 3rd function key
f4	The 4th function key
f5	The 5th function key
f6	The 6th function key
f7	The 7th function key
f8	The 8th function key
f9	The 9th function key
f10	The 10th function key
f11	The 11th function key
f12	The 12th function key
f13	The 13th function key
f14	The 14th function key
f15	The 15th function key
f16	The 16th function key
f17	The 17th function key
f18	The 18th function key
Modifier keys
numlock	Num-lock key	Clear on Mac keyboards.
capslock	Caps-lock key
scrolllock	Scroll-lock key
rshift	Right shift key
lshift	Left shift key
rctrl	Right control key
lctrl	Left control key
ralt	Right alt key
lalt	Left alt key
rgui	Right gui key	Command key in OS X, Windows key in Windows.
lgui	Left gui key	Command key in OS X, Windows key in Windows.
mode	Mode key
Application keys
www	WWW key
mail	Mail key
calculator	Calculator key
computer	Computer key
appsearch	Application search key
apphome	Application home key
appback	Application back key
appforward	Application forward key
apprefresh	Application refresh key
appbookmarks	Application bookmarks key
Miscellaneous keys
pause	Pause key	Sends a key release immediately on some platforms, even if held down.
escape	Escape key	On Android, this is the on screen back button.
help	Help key
printscreen	Printscreen key	Sends a key release immediately on Windows, even if held down.
sysreq	System request key
menu	Menu key
application	Application key	Windows contextual menu, compose key.
power	Power key
currencyunit	Currency unit key	e.g. the Euro (€) key.
undo	Undo key

Examples

Note how love.keypressed gives direct key presses, whereas love.textinput gives the text that key combinations produce.

Let's take the "#" symbol as an example (assuming a U.S. keyboard):

function love.keypressed(key)
    print(key)
end
--> shift
--> 3

function love.textinput(text)
    print(text)
end
--> #

See Also

• love.keyboard
• love.keypressed
• love.keyreleased
• love.keyboard.isDown
• love.keyboard.getScancodeFromKey
• love.keyboard.getKeyFromScancode

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