UWP Development, Basic Input

Understanding the UWP Input System

UWP applications support various input devices, including mouse, keyboard, touch, and game controllers. These input technologies allow you to design interactions with users. UWP apps can respond to specific events and methods for each input source.

Basic Input Handling

UWP provides various events for basic input events. To handle input in our app, we need to receive those events, analyze the user’s input, and respond appropriately.

1. Mouse Input

Mouse input is one of the most basic input methods in UWP apps. Mouse clicks can be handled using the PointerPressed and PointerReleased events.

Example: Handling Mouse Click Events

        
        <Grid x:Name="MyGrid" PointerPressed="MyGrid_PointerPressed">
            <TextBlock x:Name="OutputTextBlock" Text="Please click!" />
        </Grid>

        // C# code
        private void MyGrid_PointerPressed(object sender, PointerRoutedEventArgs e)
        {
            OutputTextBlock.Text = "You clicked the grid!";
        }
        
        

2. Keyboard Input

Keyboard input can be handled through the KeyDown and KeyUp events. You can detect the keys pressed by the user and perform appropriate actions.

Example: Handling Keyboard Input

        
        <TextBox x:Name="InputTextBox" KeyDown="InputTextBox_KeyDown" />

        // C# code
        private void InputTextBox_KeyDown(object sender, KeyRoutedEventArgs e)
        {
            if (e.Key == VirtualKey.Enter)
            {
                OutputTextBlock.Text = "Enter key was pressed!";
            }
        }
        
        

3. Touch Input

UWP natively supports touch input, and touch events can be handled similarly to mouse events. The Touch.FrameReported event is used to manage touch input.

Example: Handling Touch Input

        
        <Grid x:Name="MyTouchGrid" Touch.FrameReported="MyTouchGrid_TouchFrameReported">
            <TextBlock x:Name="TouchOutputTextBlock" Text="Please touch!" />
        </Grid>

        // C# code
        private void MyTouchGrid_TouchFrameReported(object sender, TouchFrameEventArgs e)
        {
            TouchPoints = e.GetTouchPoints(MyTouchGrid);
            TouchOutputTextBlock.Text = "Touched!";
        }
        
        

4. Game Controller Input

UWP supports input from game controllers, such as the Xbox controller. You can handle input using the Gamepad class.

Example: Handling Gamepad Input

        
        // C# code
        var gamepad = Gamepad.Gamepads.FirstOrDefault();
        if (gamepad != null)
        {
            var state = gamepad.GetCurrentReading();
            if (state.Buttons.HasFlag(GamepadButtons.A))
            {
                OutputTextBlock.Text = "A button was pressed!";
            }
        }
        
        

Check the Results

Try applying the basic input handling methods described above to your UWP application. Check the reactions between various input methods and ensure that the user interface is designed to be user-centered.