You can programmatically map macros or other actions to keys or key combinations. This allows you to modify how a key is mapped without replacing a user's customized keyboard map. 

This walkthrough shows several ways to change keyboard maps.

• Change a Key Mapping.
• Change a Key Mapping for a Session.
• Change a Key Mapping for Specific Screens.

Change a Key Mapping

This example maps the Ctrl+B key to a simple macro that gets text from the screen and displays it in a message box.

To run this sample

1. In a terminal session, open the Visual Basic Editor and under the session project folder, create a new module and name it ChangeKeyBoardMap.
   This module name is case sensitive.
2. Copy this code into the module code window.
   • IBM
   • Open Systems

   Map a key to a macro

   Copy Code

   Public Sub MapKeyToMacro() Dim kbmapping As KeyboardMapping Dim sequence As InputMapActionSequence Dim action As InputMapAction Set kbmapping = New KeyboardMapping Set sequence = New InputMapActionSequence Set action = New InputMapAction 'Set up the action to run a recorded macro named CopyData action.ActionId = InputMapActionID_RunMacroAction action.AddParameter "ChangeKeyBoardMap.CopyData" 'Look for the macro in this Session project action.AddParameterAsInteger MacroEnumerationOption.MacroEnumerationOption_Document 'Don't ask for any input at runtime action.AddParameterAsBoolean False 'Add the action to the action sequence sequence.Add action 'Assign the Ctrl+B key combination to the new action kbmapping.key = Keys_Control + Keys_B 'Map the key assigned to the keyboard mapping to the sequence Set kbmapping.mapping = sequence 'Add the new mapping to the session keyboard map ThisIbmTerminal.KeyboardMapper.AddMapping kbmapping End Sub Sub CopyData() Dim data As String data = "The first line contains " & ThisIbmScreen.GetText(1, 1, 60) MsgBox data End Sub

                                          

   Map a key to a macro

   Copy Code

   Public Sub MapKeyToMacro() Dim kbmapping As KeyboardMapping Dim sequence As InputMapActionSequence Dim action As InputMapAction Set action = New InputMapAction Set sequence = New InputMapActionSequence Set kbmapping = New KeyboardMapping 'Set up the action to run a recorded macro named CopyData action.ActionId = InputMapActionID_RunMacroAction action.AddParameter "ChangeKeyBoardMap.CopyData" 'Look for the macro in this Session project action.AddParameterAsInteger MacroEnumerationOption.MacroEnumerationOption_Document 'Don't ask for any input at runtime action.AddParameterAsBoolean False 'Add the action to the action sequence sequence.Add action 'Assign the key to assign the new action to kbmapping.key = Keys_Control + Keys_B 'Map the key assigned to the keyboard mapping to the sequence Set kbmapping.Mapping = sequence 'Add the new mapping to the session keyboard map ThisTerminal.KeyboardMapper.AddMapping kbmapping End Sub Sub CopyData() Dim Data As String Data = "The upper left region of the screen contains " & ThisScreen.GetText2(1, 1, 30, 30) MsgBox Data End Sub

3. Press F5 to run the macro.
4. In the session window, press Ctrl+B.
   The data gathered by the CopyData macro is displayed in a message box.

Change a Key Mapping for a Session

Instead of manually running a macro to map a key, you can use events to programmatically map a key when a session starts. This sample runs the MapKeyToMacro subroutine (shown in Change a Key Mapping) as the session connects.

To run this sample

1. In an IBM session, open the Settings window and click Manage Keyboard Maps. Then select Modify the currently selected keyboard map file and remove the Ctrl+B key combination if it is not mapped.
2. Set up the MapKeyToMacro subroutine as shown in Change a Key Mapping but do not run the macro.
3. Copy this sample into the ThisIbmTerminal (for IBM) or ThisTerminal (for Open Systems) code window.
   • IBM
   • Open Systems

   Map a Key for a Session	Copy Code
   Private Sub IbmTerminal_BeforeConnect(ByVal sender As Variant) ChangeKeyBoardMap.MapKeyToMacro End Sub

                                  

   Map a Key for a Session	Copy Code
   Private Function Terminal_Connecting(ByVal sender As Variant, ByVal ConnectionID As Long, ByVal connnectionType As Attachmate_Reflection_Objects_Emulation_OpenSystems.ConnectionTypeOption, ByVal connectionSettings As Variant) As Boolean ChangeKeyBoardMap.MapKeyToMacro Terminal_Connecting = True End Function

    

4. In the session window, press Ctrl+B to verify that this key combination is not mapped.
5. Disconnect the session and then reconnect.
6. In the session window, press Ctrl+B.
   The data gathered by the CopyData macro is displayed in a message box.

Change a Key Mapping for Specific Screens or Strings

You can use events to programmatically map a key when specific screens open (IBM) or when certain strings are received (Open Systems). This sample runs the MapKeyToMacro subroutine shown in  Change a Key Mapping to assign an action to a key when a specific screen opens (for IBM sessions) or when a specific string is received (for Open Systems sessions).

Private Sub IbmScreen_NewScreenReady(ByVal sender As Variant)
   Dim screenID As String
   'Get the text to identify the screen
   screenID = Trim(ThisIbmScreen.GetText(1, 25, 13))
 
   'When the appropriate screen is ready, make the control visible
   If screenID = "INTERNATIONAL" Then
      ChangeKeyBoardMap.MapKeyToMacro
   End If
End Sub

Concepts

To map a keyboard combination, you'll need to:

• Set up the action
• Set up a keyboard shortcut and map it to the action

Set up the Action

To set up the action, we need to define the action and then add it to an action sequence so we can map it to a key.

First, you define the action you want to map by creating an InputMapAction object and defining its properties. The InputMapActionID enum defines a number of actions that you can assign to input maps (keyboard or mouse maps). Some of these actions, like the RunMacroAction, require specific parameters. You can get information about which parameters are required and how to set them in the Help description for each enum item. You'll need to set these parameters in the order in which they are listed in the Help.

In our example, the Help for the RunMacroAction enum indicates we need to add three parameters to the InputMap Action object:

In our example, we set these parameters in the order in which they are listed in the enum description, using the three methods for adding parameters on the InputMapAction object: AddParameter, AddParameterAsInteger, and AddParameterAsBoolean.

After we have defined the action, we need to add it to an action sequence so we can map it to the key we want to use. We do this by creating an InputMapActionSequence object and adding the InputMapAction that we created to this object.    

Set up a Keyboard Shortcut and Map it to the Action

To set up a keyboard shortcut, we need to create a new KeyBoardMapping object and add it to the session keyboard map.

The KeyBoardMapping object has properties that we can use to set the key associated with the keyboard mapping and set the action sequence associated with the keyboard mapping.

First, we set the Key property to items defined in the Reflection Keys enumeration. Then we set the Mapping property to the sequence we created for the action. Finally, we add the new mapping to the session keyboard map.

You can use this same approach to map any action to your keyboard.