deadkeyOutput (KDO)

Summary

Deadkey output: Associates the deadkey state dk with the element at the current caret position, after overwriting nd characters.

Syntax

keyman.interface.deadkeyOutput(nd, Pelem, dk);

or

KeymanWeb.KDO(nd, Pelem, dk); // Shorthand

Parameters

nd

Type: number

The number of characters to overwrite (delete). May be set to -1 or 0 to prevent overwrites.

Pelem

Type: Element

The element receiving output.

dk

Type: number

The deadkey id.

Return Value

undefined

Description

Deadkeys are useful for tracking hidden state information used to modify future keystrokes. For example, rather than using

"`" + "a" = "à"

to combine two visible characters, certain applications may desire to keep the "`" character hidden with a rule such as

+ '`' > dk(backquote)

...

dk(backquote) + "a" > "à"

The Developer compiler then generates a unique id for the deadkey state - say, 0, and upon detecting input of the '`' character with the keyman.interface.deadkeyMatch() function, compiles the deadkey generation to

keyman.interface.deadkeyOutput(0, Pelem, 0);

See also

keyman.interface.deadkeyMatch()

Wikipedia article on deadkeys