Issues with Input.inputString

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Hey folks!

I have some issues when using Input.inputString – when I am getting an user input (Input.anyKeyDown) and Debug.Log the Input.inputString, it works perfectly fine with the standard keys like a–z or 1–0. But using the ESC and arrow keys will result either in an empty string or jibberish.

I am using Unity 2018.1.1 on a MacBook Pro with MacOS 10.13.6.

Anybody having the same issues or knows how to fix it? I need the Input.inputString to return exactly the key pressed for individualising the keyboard layout for a player.

Thanks in advance for your reply!

Answer 1

Best Answer

Answer by Estecka · Jul 31, 2018 at 03:30 PM

Input.inputString is not designed to return the pressed key, (otherwise it would be returning a keycode), it's designed to return the text that the pressed keys would write into a text field. Escape and the arrow keys don't write anything so the inputstring is empty, the inputstring for Return should be "\n", etc...

In order to achieve you seek, I think you need to look into the Event class instead of Input. The snippet of code on this page seems to do just that :

https://docs.unity3d.com/ScriptReference/Event-keyCode.html

 using UnityEngine;
 using System.Collections;
 
 public class ExampleClass : MonoBehaviour {
     void OnGUI() {
         Event e = Event.current;
         if (e.isKey)
             Debug.Log("Detected key code: " + e.keyCode);
         
     }
 }

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Minoangelo · Jul 31, 2018 at 03:41 PM 0

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Perfect! This is exactly what I was looking for :) Thank you very much!

Answer 2

Answer by brendanperry05 · Jul 31, 2018 at 03:07 PM

@Minoangelo

According to the docs Input.inputString can be used for ASCII characters and the backspace and return keys only.

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Minoangelo · Jul 31, 2018 at 03:17 PM 0

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Oh, I see – I must have somehow skipped this in the documentation. Thanks for the hint!

So, I assume, since there is no other already existing variable by Unity, the best way to detect all other keys would be by putting other if statements within the //Update()// function? It is a pitty that easy things like these are not dealt with automatically :D

brendanperry05 Minoangelo · Jul 31, 2018 at 03:24 PM 0

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I would do some more research on that if I were you but I have never personally made any games that require me to face this issue. If a chain of if statements gets the job done then I would start there and keep your eyes open for improvements. Best of luck!

Issues with Input.inputString

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