Keyboard provides an api for managing a virtual keyboard. The high level api is [keyboard.type(text[, options])](api/class-keyboard.md#keyboardtypetext-options), which takes raw characters and generates proper keydown, keypress/input, and keyup events on your page.
For finer control, you can use [keyboard.down(key)](api/class-keyboard.md#keyboarddownkey), [keyboard.up(key)](api/class-keyboard.md#keyboardupkey), and [keyboard.insertText(text)](api/class-keyboard.md#keyboardinserttexttext) to manually fire events as if they were generated from a real keyboard.
An example of holding down `Shift` in order to select and delete some text:
```js
await page.keyboard.type('Hello World!');
await page.keyboard.press('ArrowLeft');
await page.keyboard.down('Shift');
for (let i = 0; i < ' World'.length; i++)
await page.keyboard.press('ArrowLeft');
await page.keyboard.up('Shift');
await page.keyboard.press('Backspace');
// Result text will end up saying 'Hello!'
```
An example of pressing uppercase `A`
```js
await page.keyboard.press('Shift+KeyA');
// or
await page.keyboard.press('Shift+A');
```
An example to trigger select-all with the keyboard
-`key`<[string]> Name of the key to press or a character to generate, such as `ArrowLeft` or `a`.
- returns: <[Promise]>
Dispatches a `keydown` event.
`key` can specify the intended [keyboardEvent.key](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/KeyboardEvent/key) value or a single character to generate the text for. A superset of the `key` values can be found [here](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/KeyboardEvent/key/Key_Values). Examples of the keys are:
Following modification shortcuts are also supported: `Shift`, `Control`, `Alt`, `Meta`, `ShiftLeft`.
Holding down `Shift` will type the text that corresponds to the `key` in the upper case.
If `key` is a single character, it is case-sensitive, so the values `a` and `A` will generate different respective texts.
If `key` is a modifier key, `Shift`, `Meta`, `Control`, or `Alt`, subsequent key presses will be sent with that modifier active. To release the modifier key, use [keyboard.up(key)](api/class-keyboard.md#keyboardupkey).
After the key is pressed once, subsequent calls to [keyboard.down(key)](api/class-keyboard.md#keyboarddownkey) will have [repeat](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/KeyboardEvent/repeat) set to true. To release the key, use [keyboard.up(key)](api/class-keyboard.md#keyboardupkey).
> **NOTE** Modifier keys DO influence `keyboard.down`. Holding down `Shift` will type the text in upper case.
-`key`<[string]> Name of the key to press or a character to generate, such as `ArrowLeft` or `a`.
-`options`<[Object]>
-`delay`<[number]> Time to wait between `keydown` and `keyup` in milliseconds. Defaults to 0.
- returns: <[Promise]>
`key` can specify the intended [keyboardEvent.key](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/KeyboardEvent/key) value or a single character to generate the text for. A superset of the `key` values can be found [here](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/KeyboardEvent/key/Key_Values). Examples of the keys are:
Following modification shortcuts are also supported: `Shift`, `Control`, `Alt`, `Meta`, `ShiftLeft`.
Holding down `Shift` will type the text that corresponds to the `key` in the upper case.
If `key` is a single character, it is case-sensitive, so the values `a` and `A` will generate different respective texts.
Shortcuts such as `key: "Control+o"` or `key: "Control+Shift+T"` are supported as well. When speficied with the modifier, modifier is pressed and being held while the subsequent key is being pressed.
```js
const page = await browser.newPage();
await page.goto('https://keycode.info');
await page.keyboard.press('A');
await page.screenshot({ path: 'A.png' });
await page.keyboard.press('ArrowLeft');
await page.screenshot({ path: 'ArrowLeft.png' });
await page.keyboard.press('Shift+O');
await page.screenshot({ path: 'O.png' });
await browser.close();
```
Shortcut for [keyboard.down(key)](api/class-keyboard.md#keyboarddownkey) and [keyboard.up(key)](api/class-keyboard.md#keyboardupkey).
