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Get Keyboard input for Word process in VSTO AddIn

I am trying to listen to keyboard input in my Word AddIn with the MouseKeyboardActivityMonitor Nugget. When I register the KeyboardHookListener I am able to receive every keyboard input on every programm except Word.
Is this maybe couse of some Word internal protection or am I missing something?
I have Windows 7 64bit and Word 2016 32bit.
k_keyListener = new KeyboardHookListener(new GlobalHooker());
k_keyListener.Enabled = true;
k_keyListener.KeyDown += new System.Windows.Forms.KeyEventHandler(hook_OnKeyDown);
public void hook_OnKeyDown(object sender, System.Windows.Forms.KeyEventArgs e)
{
log.Info("Pressed key: " + e.KeyCode.ToString());
}

I don't use the Global Hooker and my code works. I explicitly tested it in Word (and know it works in Excel, PowerPoint, Access, etc).
For what its worth, Microsoft is forever worried about Office app hacks and its possible your security software could actually be the reason. It is a KeyLogger after all and susceptible to being labelled a virus injection attack.
public partial class ThisAddIn
{
private void ThisAddIn_Startup(object sender, System.EventArgs e)
{
//enable keyboard intercepts
KeyboardHooking.SetHook();
}
private void ThisAddIn_Shutdown(object sender, System.EventArgs e)
{
//disable keyboard intercepts
KeyboardHooking.ReleaseHook();
}
}
Add this Keyboard class:
using System;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
using System.Windows.Forms;
namespace WordAddInKeyHandler
{
class KeyboardHooking
{
[DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = true)]
private static extern IntPtr SetWindowsHookEx(int idHook, LowLevelKeyboardProc lpfn, IntPtr hMod,
uint dwThreadId);
[DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = true)]
[return: MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)]
private static extern bool UnhookWindowsHookEx(IntPtr hhk);
[DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = true)]
private static extern IntPtr CallNextHookEx(IntPtr hhk, int nCode, IntPtr wParam, IntPtr lParam);
[DllImport("kernel32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = true)]
private static extern IntPtr GetModuleHandle(string lpModuleName);
public delegate int LowLevelKeyboardProc(int nCode, IntPtr wParam, IntPtr lParam);
private static LowLevelKeyboardProc _proc = HookCallback;
private static IntPtr _hookID = IntPtr.Zero;
//declare the mouse hook constant.
//For other hook types, you can obtain these values from Winuser.h in the Microsoft SDK.
private const int WH_KEYBOARD = 2; // mouse
private const int HC_ACTION = 0;
private const int WH_KEYBOARD_LL = 13; // keyboard
private const int WM_KEYDOWN = 0x0100;
public static void SetHook()
{
// Ignore this compiler warning, as SetWindowsHookEx doesn't work with ManagedThreadId
#pragma warning disable 618
_hookID = SetWindowsHookEx(WH_KEYBOARD, _proc, IntPtr.Zero, (uint)AppDomain.GetCurrentThreadId());
#pragma warning restore 618
}
public static void ReleaseHook()
{
UnhookWindowsHookEx(_hookID);
}
//Note that the custom code goes in this method the rest of the class stays the same.
//It will trap if BOTH keys are pressed down.
private static int HookCallback(int nCode, IntPtr wParam, IntPtr lParam)
{
if (nCode < 0)
{
return (int)CallNextHookEx(_hookID, nCode, wParam, lParam);
}
else
{
if (nCode == HC_ACTION)
{
Keys keyData = (Keys)wParam;
// CTRL + SHIFT + 7
if ((BindingFunctions.IsKeyDown(Keys.ControlKey) == true)
&& (BindingFunctions.IsKeyDown(Keys.ShiftKey) == true)
&& (BindingFunctions.IsKeyDown(keyData) == true) && (keyData == Keys.D7))
{
// DO SOMETHING HERE
}
// CTRL + 7
if ((BindingFunctions.IsKeyDown(Keys.ControlKey) == true)
&& (BindingFunctions.IsKeyDown(keyData) == true) && (keyData == Keys.D7))
{
// DO SOMETHING HERE
}
}
return (int)CallNextHookEx(_hookID, nCode, wParam, lParam);
}
}
}
public class BindingFunctions
{
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
static extern short GetKeyState(int nVirtKey);
public static bool IsKeyDown(Keys keys)
{
return (GetKeyState((int)keys) & 0x8000) == 0x8000;
}
}
}
If you have time you can check why the Global Hooker isn't working (specifically with Word) by comparing the Global Hooker source code to mine.
Reference to my answer here: https://stackoverflow.com/a/10257266/495455 also see the answer by Govert the author of XNA.

Considering multiple events

I have a C# application which uses multiple event handlers which are triggered by various events. As an example:
Global mouse hook event
Global Key hook event which is filtered (the handler only triggers with certain keypresses)
Active window change global hook
Structure Changed application hook (this is an UIAAutomation event where different structure changed event/handlers are created for each application window when it becomes the active window (so, for example, if the application is Internet Explorer then paging down the browser, clicking on another website link are examples of the structure changing on the Internet Explorer application instance)
All these events (running on background threads, e.g. MTA) have the effect of updating the UI window of my application. All of them are working as they should.
My issue is that with certain circumstances multiple events are triggered at the same time. So for example it is feasible that the following events are all triggered within 1 second (such a scenario would occur if I clicked on a different active window):
Global Change of active window
Global Mouse Hook
Application structure changed.
In different circumstances (e.g. different active applications) one event is preferred above the other as the defining event which is ruled by a set of conditions (Booleans) . I do not want to act on more than 1 event at a particular period of time.
What is the best programming mechanism for considering the events triggered and deciding, by a set of conditions, which one to act on? Of course this all has to be done within a very quick period of time (e.g. one second or less). The events if triggered will all occur within this period of time.
I hope this makes sense and if not please ask for clarification. Incidentally the reason I would like to update my UI of my application by a certain defining event is that the information that my UI presents will be slightly different depending on which event is fired (mainly due to the slight difference in timing when the differing events are triggered). Incidentally the time taken to trigger a particular event will vary depending on the action taken (e.g. clicking on a different active window). Sometimes one event type is quicker than another but then in different circumstances a different event type can be the quickest event (or the slowest event triggered)
Thank you for both the answers below very much appreciated. I will check out the System.Reactive library in the first place as it sounds purpose-built for the task.

Microsoft's Reactive Framework (NuGet "System.Reactive") can do this kind of ting superbly and very powerfully. You can do some things very simply, but some queries - especially those dealing with time - can be quite complicated.
Here's a sample of what you might do:
var event1 = new Subject<int>();
var event2 = new Subject<int>();
var query =
event1.Merge(event2).Buffer(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(1.0));
query.Subscribe(xs => Console.WriteLine($"\"{String.Join(", ", xs)}\""));
event1.OnNext(42);
Thread.Sleep(3000);
event2.OnNext(43);
Thread.Sleep(500);
event1.OnNext(44);
That outputs:
"42"
""
""
"43, 44"
""
""
Note that it produces the "43, 44" at the same time even though the events fire 500ms apart.

I've been using code like below to prevent conflicts in event handling :
class Program
{
enum EVENTS
{
EVENT1,
EVENT2,
EVENT3,
EVENT4,
}
static void Main(string[] args)
{
}
static void EventHandler(EVENTS myEvent)
{
Object thisLock = new Object();
lock (thisLock)
{
switch (myEvent)
{
case EVENTS.EVENT1 :
break;
case EVENTS.EVENT2:
break;
case EVENTS.EVENT3:
break;
case EVENTS.EVENT4:
break;
}
}
}
}

Here is a simplified version of my code with several global hooks which are triggered by change of active window and a left mouse click. If you left click on a different active window both the mouse click event and change of active window event will be triggered. If you could show me example code of using the Reactive namespace to deal with the 2 events when they are triggered within milliseconds of each other I would greatly appreciate it.
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Data;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using System.Windows.Forms;
namespace Testing_multiple_events
{
public partial class Form1 : Form
{
int activeWindowCount = 1;
int activeMouseClickCount = 1;
public Form1()
{
InitializeComponent();
// set up the global hook event for change of active window
GlobalEventHook.Start();
GlobalEventHook.WinEventActive += new EventHandler(GlobalEventHook_WinEventActive);
// Setup global mouse hook to react to mouse clicks under certain conditions, see event handler
MouseHook.Start();
MouseHook.MouseAction += new EventHandler(MouseHook_MouseAction);
}
private void GlobalEventHook_WinEventActive(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
richTextBox1.AppendText("Active Window Change Global Hook Triggered: " + activeWindowCount + "\r\n");
activeWindowCount++;
}
private void MouseHook_MouseAction(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
richTextBox1.AppendText("Global MouseHook Triggered: " + activeMouseClickCount + "\r\n");
activeMouseClickCount++;
}
}
}
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
namespace Testing_multiple_events
{
public static class GlobalEventHook
{
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
internal static extern IntPtr SetWinEventHook(uint eventMin, uint eventMax, IntPtr hmodWinEventProc,
WinEventDelegate lpfnWinEventProc, uint idProcess, uint idThread, uint dwFlags);
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
internal static extern bool UnhookWinEvent(IntPtr hWinEventHook);
public static event EventHandler WinEventActive = delegate { };
public static event EventHandler WinEventContentScrolled = delegate { };
public delegate void WinEventDelegate(IntPtr hWinEventHook, uint eventType, IntPtr hwnd, int idObject,
int idChild, uint dwEventThread, uint dwmsEventTime);
private static WinEventDelegate dele = null;
private static IntPtr _hookID = IntPtr.Zero;
public static void Start()
{
dele = new WinEventDelegate(WinEventProc);
_hookID = SetWinEventHook(Win32API.EVENT_SYSTEM_FOREGROUND, Win32API.EVENT_OBJECT_CONTENTSCROLLED, IntPtr.Zero, dele, 0, 0, Win32API.WINEVENT_OUTOFCONTEXT);
}
public static void stop()
{
UnhookWinEvent(_hookID);
}
public static void restart()
{
_hookID = SetWinEventHook(Win32API.EVENT_SYSTEM_FOREGROUND, Win32API.EVENT_OBJECT_CONTENTSCROLLED, IntPtr.Zero, dele, 0, 0, Win32API.WINEVENT_OUTOFCONTEXT);
}
public static void WinEventProc(IntPtr hWinEventHook, uint eventType, IntPtr hwnd, int idObject, int idChild, uint dwEventThread, uint dwmsEventTime)
{
if (eventType == Win32API.EVENT_SYSTEM_FOREGROUND)
{
WinEventActive(null, new EventArgs());
}
}
}
}
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
using System.Diagnostics;
namespace Testing_multiple_events
{
public static class MouseHook
{
[DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = true)]
private static extern IntPtr SetWindowsHookEx(int idHook,
LowLevelMouseProc lpfn, IntPtr hMod, uint dwThreadId);
[DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = true)]
[return: MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)]
private static extern bool UnhookWindowsHookEx(IntPtr hhk);
[DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = true)]
private static extern IntPtr CallNextHookEx(IntPtr hhk, int nCode,
IntPtr wParam, IntPtr lParam);
[DllImport("kernel32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = true)]
private static extern IntPtr GetModuleHandle(string lpModuleName);
public static event EventHandler MouseAction = delegate { };
private const int WH_MOUSE_LL = 14;
private enum MouseMessages
{
WM_LBUTTONDOWN = 0x0201,
WM_LBUTTONUP = 0x0202,
WM_MOUSEMOVE = 0x0200,
WM_MOUSEWHEEL = 0x020A,
WM_RBUTTONDOWN = 0x0204,
WM_RBUTTONUP = 0x0205
}
[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
private struct POINT
{
public int x;
public int y;
}
[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
private struct MSLLHOOKSTRUCT
{
public POINT pt;
public uint mouseData;
public uint flags;
public uint time;
public IntPtr dwExtraInfo;
}
public static void Start()
{
_hookID = SetHook(_proc);
}
public static void stop()
{
UnhookWindowsHookEx(_hookID);
}
private static LowLevelMouseProc _proc = HookCallback;
private static IntPtr _hookID = IntPtr.Zero;
private static IntPtr SetHook(LowLevelMouseProc proc)
{
using (Process curProcess = Process.GetCurrentProcess())
using (ProcessModule curModule = curProcess.MainModule)
{
IntPtr hook = SetWindowsHookEx(WH_MOUSE_LL, proc, GetModuleHandle("user32"), 0);
if (hook == IntPtr.Zero) throw new System.ComponentModel.Win32Exception();
return hook;
}
}
private delegate IntPtr LowLevelMouseProc(int nCode, IntPtr wParam, IntPtr lParam);
private static IntPtr HookCallback(
int nCode, IntPtr wParam, IntPtr lParam)
{
if (nCode >= 0 && (MouseMessages.WM_LBUTTONDOWN == (MouseMessages)wParam || MouseMessages.WM_RBUTTONDOWN == (MouseMessages)wParam ||
MouseMessages.WM_MOUSEWHEEL == (MouseMessages)wParam))
{
MSLLHOOKSTRUCT hookStruct = (MSLLHOOKSTRUCT)Marshal.PtrToStructure(lParam, typeof(MSLLHOOKSTRUCT));
MouseAction(null, new EventArgs());
}
return CallNextHookEx(_hookID, nCode, wParam, lParam);
}
}
}

Controls cannot be accessed inside my function

just a quick question, can you tell me why I can't access my controls like popup or textbox or the 'this' inside the function that has a comment, please check it out. I really need to know why asap. Thank you so much!
/// <summary>
/// Interaction logic for MainWindow.xaml
/// </summary>
public partial class MainWindow : Window
{
DispatcherTimer timer;
[DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = true)]
public static extern IntPtr SetWindowsHookEx(int idHook,
LowLevelKeyboardProc lpfn, IntPtr hMod, uint dwThreadId);
[DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = true)]
[return: MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)]
public static extern bool UnhookWindowsHookEx(IntPtr hhk);
[DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = true)]
public static extern IntPtr CallNextHookEx(IntPtr hhk, int nCode,
IntPtr wParam, IntPtr lParam);
[DllImport("kernel32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = true)]
public static extern IntPtr GetModuleHandle(string lpModuleName);
public const int WH_KEYBOARD_LL = 13;
public const int WM_KEYDOWN = 0x0100;
public static LowLevelKeyboardProc _proc = HookCallback;
public static IntPtr _hookID = IntPtr.Zero;
public const uint VK_NUMLOCK = 0x90;
public const uint VK_CAPITAL = 0x14;
public MainWindow()
{
MouseDown += delegate { DragMove(); };
InitializeComponent();
_hookID = SetHook(_proc);
}
public void mainForm_Loaded(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
timer = new DispatcherTimer();
timer.Interval = TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(2000);
timer.Tick += timer_Tick;
}
public void timer_Tick(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
Popup1.IsOpen = false;
timer.Stop();
}
public static IntPtr SetHook(LowLevelKeyboardProc proc)
{
using (Process curProcess = Process.GetCurrentProcess())
using (ProcessModule curModule = curProcess.MainModule)
{
return SetWindowsHookEx(WH_KEYBOARD_LL, proc,
GetModuleHandle(curModule.ModuleName), 0);
}
}
public delegate IntPtr LowLevelKeyboardProc(int nCode, IntPtr wParam, IntPtr lParam);
public static IntPtr HookCallback(int nCode, IntPtr wParam, IntPtr lParam)
{
if (nCode >= 0 && wParam == (IntPtr)WM_KEYDOWN)
{
int vkCode = Marshal.ReadInt32(lParam);
if (vkCode == VK_CAPITAL)
{
if (Console.CapsLock == true)
{
// I WANT TO ACCESS MY CONTROLS HERE (popup, textbox, etc... this);
}
}
}
return CallNextHookEx(_hookID, nCode, wParam, lParam);
}
protected override void OnClosed(EventArgs e)
{
UnhookWindowsHookEx(_hookID);
base.OnClosed(e);
}
}

It is a static method. "this" and the controls belong to the instance and can't be seen inside of a static method.
With the use of those .dlls, I can't provide a bulletproof method of accessing it. I would not advise resorting to hopes and dreams, but in the case where the MainWindow is the active window, you could do something like the following:
public static void StaticMainWindowMethod(string incomingMessage)
{
var activeWindow = Application.Current.Windows.OfType<Window>().SingleOrDefault(x => x.IsActive);
if (activeWindow != null)
{
var mainWindow = activeWindow as MainWindow;
if (mainWindow != null)
{
mainWindow.InstanceMainWindowMethod(incomingMessage);
}
}
}
protected void InstanceMainWindowMethod(string passedFromStaticMessage)
{
this.MainTextBox.Text = passedFromStaticMessage;
}
The idea is that you need to get the instance of the window in order to get at its properties/controls. Depending on how your application is designed, you may be able to get at it through application level properties. Its reliability is really up to the design of the application.

First, add a static event to your window:
public static event EventHandler CapsLockEnabled;
Next, add a handler for this event:
public MainWindow()
{
MouseDown += delegate { DragMove(); };
InitializeComponent();
_hookID = SetHook(_proc);
CapsLockEnabled += (sender, e) => { Console.WriteLine("caps lock enabled"); };
}
Your event handler, because it's defined on an instance, has full access to all of the window's controls.
Finally, raise the event from your HookCallback method:
public static IntPtr HookCallback(int nCode, IntPtr wParam, IntPtr lParam)
{
if (nCode >= 0 && wParam == (IntPtr)WM_KEYDOWN)
{
int vkCode = Marshal.ReadInt32(lParam);
if (vkCode == VK_CAPITAL)
{
if (Console.CapsLock == true)
{
var handler = CapsLockEnabled;
if (handler != null)
{
handler(typeof(MainWindow), EventArgs.Empty);
}
}
}
}
return CallNextHookEx(_hookID, nCode, wParam, lParam);
}

MS Word's Add-in TextChange Event in C#

I have a Microsoft Word Add-in that find the similar words in a text (But When I click a button !)
My question is : how to call a function when user typed words ?
In other word , i want an event like "TextChange" or "Keypress" when user typing to get the current word and process it and get it's similar words.
Somethings Like this :
private void TextChangeEventOfCurrentActiveDocument(object sender, System.EventArgs e)
{
...
}
Any Other idea that i can get new words that user typed ?
Thanks.

Finally after a long time, i create this add-in by using Windows hooks.
(Special thanks to #Reg Edit)
Here the entire code that i wrote and this work nice for me. (some optional section of code was removed.)
ThisAddIn.cs
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Xml.Linq;
using Word = Microsoft.Office.Interop.Word;
using Office = Microsoft.Office.Core;
using Microsoft.Office.Tools.Word;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
using System.Threading;
namespace PersianWords
{
public partial class ThisAddIn
{
private const int WH_KEYBOARD_LL = 13;
private const int WM_KEYDOWN = 0x0100;
private static IntPtr hookId = IntPtr.Zero;
private delegate IntPtr HookProcedure(int nCode, IntPtr wParam, IntPtr lParam);
private static HookProcedure procedure = HookCallback;
[DllImport("kernel32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = true)]
private static extern IntPtr GetModuleHandle(string lpModuleName);
[DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
private static extern bool UnhookWindowsHookEx(IntPtr hhk);
[DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = true)]
private static extern IntPtr SetWindowsHookEx(int idHook, HookProcedure lpfn, IntPtr hMod, uint dwThreadId);
[DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = true)]
private static extern IntPtr CallNextHookEx(IntPtr hhk, int nCode, IntPtr wParam, IntPtr lParam);
private static IntPtr SetHook(HookProcedure procedure)
{
using (Process process = Process.GetCurrentProcess())
using (ProcessModule module = process.MainModule)
return SetWindowsHookEx(WH_KEYBOARD_LL, procedure, GetModuleHandle(module.ModuleName), 0);
}
private static IntPtr HookCallback(int nCode, IntPtr wParam, IntPtr lParam)
{
if (nCode >= 0 && wParam == (IntPtr)WM_KEYDOWN)
{
int pointerCode = Marshal.ReadInt32(lParam);
if (pointerCode == 162 || pointerCode == 160)
{
return CallNextHookEx(hookId, nCode, wParam, lParam);
}
string pressedKey = ((Keys)pointerCode).ToString();
//Do some sort of processing on key press
var thread = new Thread(() =>
{
MyClass.WrdApp.CustomizationContext = MyClass.WrdApp.ActiveDocument;
//do something with current document
});
thread.Start();
}
return CallNextHookEx(hookId, nCode, wParam, lParam);
}
private void ThisAddIn_Startup(object sender, System.EventArgs e)
{
hookId = SetHook(procedure);
MyClass.WrdApp = Application;
MyClass.WrdApp.CustomizationContext = MyClass.WrdApp.ActiveDocument;
}
private void ThisAddIn_Shutdown(object sender, System.EventArgs e)
{
UnhookWindowsHookEx(hookId);
}
#region VSTO generated code
/// <summary>
/// Required method for Designer support - do not modify
/// the contents of this method with the code editor.
/// </summary>
private void InternalStartup()
{
this.Startup += new System.EventHandler(ThisAddIn_Startup);
this.Shutdown += new System.EventHandler(ThisAddIn_Shutdown);
}
#endregion
}
}

Sorry to say, but there is no such event. Nothing is getting close to it either.
So you are stuck with a button, or check the contents every once in a while using some sort of timer (the Timer class might be an option).

You could use Windows hooks to intercept keystrokes from another window (Word in this case).
Alternatively, the Word Application has a WindowSelectionChange event, which won't fire on typing, but will fire if the user moves the cursor with an arrow key or clicks a word. This would allow you to react to a word being clicked, rather than the user having to move somewhere else on the screen to click a button.

Respond to multiple KeyDown events

I'm making a simple WinForm car race game. I've got two objects - cars, and they move on the form when key is pressed (Form1KeyDown_Event).
The only thing is, that when one player press a key, the other player cannot press his key (nothing happens). But when the first player releases the key, second player can press one his keys and normally control his car.
How can I listen for two player keys simultaneously? Should I use threads and have each car on its own thread?

Here's a simple example of what you can do in order to listen to several keys at the same time, using the keyup and keydown events instead.
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Windows.Forms;
namespace WinFormTest {
public partial class Form1 : Form {
private readonly IDictionary<Keys, bool> downState;
public Form1() {
InitializeComponent();
downState = new Dictionary<Keys, bool>();
downState.Add(Keys.W, false);
downState.Add(Keys.D, false);
KeyDown += remember;
KeyUp += forget;
}
protected override void OnLoad(EventArgs e) {
base.OnLoad(e);
Timer timer = new Timer() { Interval = 100 };
timer.Tick += updateGUI;
timer.Start();
}
private void remember(object sender, KeyEventArgs e) {
downState[e.KeyCode] = true;
}
private void forget(object sender, KeyEventArgs e) {
downState[e.KeyCode] = false;
}
private void updateGUI(object sender, EventArgs e) {
label1.Text = downState[Keys.W] ? "Forward" : "-";
label2.Text = downState[Keys.D] ? "Right" : "-";
}
}
}

You might want to investigate going lower-level and using windows hooks to detect keyboard events. This requires P/Invoking into native methods, but is pretty straight-forward. The hook you'd want is WH_LL_KEYBOARD. Details can be found at pinvoke.net.
You'd need a bit of boilerplate, but it's as close to the keyboard events as you can reasonably expect to get:
[StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
public struct KBDLLHOOKSTRUCT
{
public uint vkCode;
public uint scanCode;
public uint flags;
public uint time;
public IntPtr dwExtraInfo;
}
public delegate IntPtr LowLevelKeyboardProc(int, IntPtr, KBDLLHOOKSTRUCT);
[DllImport("kernel32.dll")]
public static extern uint GetCurrentThreadId();
[DllImport("kernel32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
public static extern IntPtr GetModuleHandle(string lpModuleName);
[DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
public static extern bool UnhookWindowsHookEx(IntPtr hhk);
[DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
public static extern IntPtr SetWindowsHookEx(int idhook, LowLevelKeyboardProc proc, IntPtr hMod, uint threadId);
[DllImport("user32.dll")]
static extern int CallNextHookEx(IntPtr hhk, int nCode, IntPtr wParam, ref KBDLLHOOKSTRUCT lParam);
public static IntPtr SetHook(LowLevelKeyboardProc proc)
{
using (var curProc = Process.GetCurrentProcess())
using (var curMod = curProc.MainModule)
{
return SetWindowsHookEx(WH_KEYBOARD_LL, proc, GetModuleHandle(curMod.ModuleName), 0u);
}
}
public IntPtr MyKeyboardHook(int code, IntPtr wParam, ref KBDLLHOOKSTRUCT keyboardInfo)
{
if (code < 0)
{
return CallNextHookEx(IntPtr.Zero, wParam, ref keyboardInfo);
}
// Do your thing with the keyboard info.
return CallNextHookEx(IntPtr.Zero, code, wParam, ref keyboardInfo);
}
Make sure to unhook your handler when your app stops needing it. The KBDLLHOOKSTRUCT encapsulates all the info Windows will give you about a keyboard event; details of its members can be found at MSDN.
One detail of this kind of hook is that it gets executed on the thread that registered it, so make sure you take note of that, and don't set it on the UI thread if it's going to do anything long-running.