How to check if the shift key is pressed in Javascript?

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In this blog, we will know how to check if the shift key is pressed in Javascript?

We have many methods to check but we know the easiest methods.

Method 1: Using shiftKey

The KeyboardEvent.shiftKey read-only property is a boolean value that indicates if the shift key was pressed ( true ) or not ( false )

Html

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
    <head>
        <title>Check if the shift key is pressed</title>
    </head>
    <body>
       
        <textarea onkeydown="isKeyPressed(event)"></textarea>
        
    </body>
</html>

Javascript

function isKeyPressed(event) {

  var x = document.getElementById("demo");
  if (event.shiftKey) {
    	alert("The SHIFT key was pressed!");
  }
 
}

Method 2: using keyCode

This feature is no longer recommended. Though some browsers might still support it, it may have already been removed from the relevant web standards, may be in the process of being dropped, or may only be kept for compatibility purposes. Avoid using it, and update existing code if possible; see the compatibility table at the bottom of this page to guide your decision. Be aware that this feature may cease to work at any time.

HTML

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
    <head>
        <title>Check if the shift key is pressed</title>
    </head>
    <body>
       
        <textarea onkeydown="isKeyPressed(event)"></textarea>
        
    </body>
</html>

Javascript

var isKeyPressed = function (ev) {
    
    if(ev.keyCode == 16){
    	alert('shift key pressed');
    }
}

Here is the key code for each keystroke in JavaScript. You can use that and detect if the user has pressed the key.

backspace           8
tab                 9
enter               13
shift               16
ctrl                17
alt                 18
pause/break         19
caps lock           20
escape              27
page up             33
page down           34
end                 35
home                36
left arrow          37
up arrow            38
right arrow         39
down arrow          40
insert              45
delete              46
0                   48
1                   49
2                   50
3                   51
4                   52
5                   53
6                   54
7                   55
8                   56
9                   57
a                   65
b                   66
c                   67
d                   68
e                   69
f                   70
g                   71
h                   72
i                   73
j                   74
k                   75
l                   76
m                   77
n                   78
o                   79
p                   80
q                   81
r                   82
s                   83
t                   84
u                   85
v                   86
w                   87
x                   88
y                   89
z                   90
left window key     91
right window key    92
select key          93
numpad 0            96
numpad 1            97
numpad 2            98
numpad 3            99
numpad 4            100
numpad 5            101
numpad 6            102
numpad 7            103
numpad 8            104
numpad 9            105
multiply            106
add                 107
subtract            109
decimal point       110
divide              111
f1                  112
f2                  113
f3                  114
f4                  115
f5                  116
f6                  117
f7                  118
f8                  119
f9                  120
f10                 121
f11                 122
f12                 123
num lock            144
scroll lock         145
semi-colon          186
equal sign          187
comma               188
dash                189
period              190
forward slash       191
grave accent        192
open bracket        219
back slash          220
close braket        221
single quote        222

Hope this post will help you.