Is it possible to get a shift character in JavaFX?

Question

Is it possible to get a shift character in Java or JavaFX?

For example, if I have the char '1' and I want the shift character on a qwertz layout. I get the '!'.

Because I have a JavaFX KeyEvent and I want the character which is pressed. But the KeyEvent didn't get me shift character for 1. Only for letters.

Is this possible without JNI or is there a workaround for example with a TextField and events?

Or should I use a own Map?

Answer 1

You should listen for KEY_TYPED events and query KeyEvent#getCharacter(). If the user types Shift+1 then #getCharacter() will return "!", at least on a typical US QWERTY keyboard.

import javafx.application.Application;
import javafx.scene.Scene;
import javafx.scene.input.KeyEvent;
import javafx.scene.layout.StackPane;
import javafx.scene.text.Text;
import javafx.stage.Stage;

public class App extends Application {

  @Override
  public void start(Stage primaryStage) {
    Text text = new Text();
    primaryStage.addEventHandler(KeyEvent.KEY_TYPED, event -> {
      event.consume();
      text.setText(text.getText() + event.getCharacter());
    });
    primaryStage.setScene(new Scene(new StackPane(text), 500, 300));
    primaryStage.show();
  }
}

Note: The above is not an exhaustive implementation. For instance, typing Backspace won't delete a character but will instead add an "unknown character" because the \b character has no representation.