How Can I Capture Arrow Keystrokes in JavaScript and jQuery?

Capturing Arrow Keystrokes with JS and jQuery

Binding functions to arrow keys in Javascript and jQuery is a common requirement for keyboard navigation. While the js-hotkey plugin for jQuery extends the built-in bind function, it lacks support for arrow keys.

To address this, here's a straightforward solution:

<code class="javascript">document.onkeydown = function(e) {
    switch(e.which) {
        case 37: // left
        break;

        case 38: // up
        break;

        case 39: // right
        break;

        case 40: // down
        break;

        default: return; // exit this handler for other keys
    }
    e.preventDefault(); // prevent the default action (scroll / move caret)
};</code>

This code captures keystrokes for the left, up, right, and down arrow keys using the switch statement. You can define the desired actions within each case.

Note that for browsers that don't support the which property (such as IE8), modify the function body as follows:

<code class="javascript">document.onkeydown = function(e) {
    e = e || window.event;
    switch(e.which || e.keyCode) {
        case 37: // left
        break;

        // ...
    }
};</code>

Alternatively, for modern browsers, the KeyboardEvent.key property can be used to detect arrow keys, as shown in this example:

<code class="javascript">document.onkeydown = function(e) {
    switch(e.key) {
        case "ArrowLeft": // left
        break;

        // ...
    }
};</code>

By implementing this code, you can effortlessly bind functions to arrow keys in your JavaScript or jQuery applications.

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