Javascript e.keyCode doesn't catch Backspace/Del in IE

Question

I'm trying to catch the pressing event of Backspace and Delete keys using javascript/jQuery with this kind of code.

$("textarea[name=txt]").keypress(function(e){
    var keycode =  e.keyCode ? e.keyCode : e.which;

    if(keycode == 8){ // backspace
        // do somethiing
        alert(keycode);
    }

    if(keycode == 46){ // delete
        // do somethiing
        alert(keycode);
    } 

});

These lines of code works perfectly in Firefox (3.6.12). That means the alert is popped up when Backspace or Delete is pressed. But this is not working in Internet Explorer (8)

Can anyone suggest me a different way to catch these key press events in Internet Explorer?

Answer 1

If you want to support IE and you use special keys (like delete and backspace) I suggest using keydown/keyup instead.

Special keys

Explorer doesn't fire the keypress event for delete, end, enter, escape, function keys, home, insert, pageUp/Down and tab.

If you need to detect these keys, do yourself a favour and search for their keyCode onkeydown/up, and ignore both onkeypress and charCode.

You can read more on cross browser issues of Detecting keystrokes (Quirksmode).