Thread: Arrow Key menus in console mode

hi.

What i am trying to do is make a menu for a game (in console) that looks like this:

GAME TITLE BLAHBLAH

+ Play Game
Options
Exit

now i want the program to sit at that menu, and accept the up and down arrow keys to move the plus sign down , or up respectively, to highlight different options. i also want it so when the user presses enter, it goes to the menu/whatever that is currently selected.

I tried doing this myself, using some sample code that kind of relates to it, and i came close... but i just couldn't do it. I can't post any code because i didn't save it out of anger

if anyone could give me some pointers on how to achieve something like this, i would appreciate it lots.

Originally posted by ninja
Try this code and see what it does, it may help you:

Code:

#include<stdio.h>
#include<conio.h>

int main()
{
	char pressedkey;
	while(pressedkey!='\r')
	{
		if(kbhit())
		{
			pressedkey=getch();
			printf("%c",pressedkey);
		}
	}
	return 0;
}

Also, in case you're wondering, the ASCII-numbers for up, down, left and right
(as ints) are (not sure of which is which) 72, 75, 77 and 80.

This code has a couple of bits wrong with it.

- getch() returns an int, you have defined pressedkey as a char. This will cause problems if and when you need to test for EOF

- pressedkey isn't initialised before it is tested for a specific value. At this point, you have no idea what pressedkey is equal to.

- I don't believe this will help you get the value of the arrow keys.
When an arrow key is pressed, you need to call getch() twice. This is because the first read will get you a special value that denotes you must do another read. Here's some code to help explain. Run it, and press an arrow key. You should find that it displays 2 lines

Code:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <conio.h>

int main(void){	
	
	int pressedkey;
	int i = 0;
	
	printf ("Press any key.\n");
	while (1) 
	if ((pressedkey = getch()) != EOF)
	{
		printf("%d %04x\n", i++, pressedkey);
	}
	return 0;
}

/* Program output:
Press any key.
0 0000    <-- left arrow
1 004b
2 0000    <-- right arrow
3 004d
*/

Yes, I know it's in C, my C++ is a bit too rusty!

I've tried and compiled it even. Used it quite extensively in various forms even.
getch() gets a char from the buffer (in this case, the key you pressed). And sure, pressed key is uninitialized, but you can set to pretty much anything you want to as long as it's not the "ending key".
And it does help to get the numbers of the keys. Like this:

Code:

...
if(pressedkey==72)
{
      //Whatever code
}
...

The above code will execute "whatecer code" when one of the arrow keys (not sure which) is pressed. That's a fact I know for sure.

(might not work with all compilers, though)

Code:

...
if(pressedkey==72)
{
      //Whatever code
}
...

The above code will execute "whatecer code" when one of the arrow keys (not sure which) is pressed. That's a fact I know for sure.

(might not work with all compilers, though)

After you press the arrow key, your code is only getting the value 72 from getch() when it calls it a second time. It is doing a second call because you have encased it in a loop. If you only do one call to getch(), it won't work. That is what I'm highlighting.

This is your code, without the loop. It only does one getch() call, then exits. Try it, and you find you never get the text Yippee printed on the screen, no matter what arrow key you press.

Code:

#include<stdio.h>
#include<conio.h>
int main()
{	int pressedkey;
	
	pressedkey=getch();
	printf("%c",pressedkey);
	if (pressedkey == 72)
		printf ("Yippee\n");
	return 0;
}

[EDIT]Sorry, didn't read your post to thoroughly. You're right.
That's what I get from being up to late... Please ignore the incorrect and weird facts of my posts. I removed the rest of the contents of this post, since it was erroneous.[/EDIT]

Check out this thread: http://www.cprogramming.com/cboard/s...threadid=18824

If you scroll down red_baron has an attachment, keys.h. It has all the keys you will ever need defined. (i don't like his naming conventions though)

thanks for all the replies