logon dialog not caching keystrokes

[Randy Starkey]

Hi,

In an access app, there is a logon screen with user names and password
fields that pops up as the app opens. Often if I type fast, the password
doesn't record the first several characters. If I wait a few seconds before
starting to type the password, then all keystrokes are recorded. The
programmer says he does not know of anything in access that would affect the
caching of keystrokes.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Thanks,

Randy Starkey

 

[TC]

That can happen with any application.

Try starting a program from the Start menu. As soon as you've clicked
it (to start it), bang some random characters on the keyboard. If the
program starts quickly, eg. Notepad, you'll lose few if any characters.
But if it starts slowly, eg. Word, you might loose /all/ those
characters!

So, AFAIK, you'll just have to wait for a moment, until the screen is
up & running.

 

[Randy Starkey]

TC,

OK. This app must just be a slow enough loader for me to really notice it. I
wonder if there is any way to cache keystrokes that would dump them in
there? Seems to me I've seen that happen before, but I can't remember what
scenarios.

Thanks,

--Randy Starkey

 

[TC]

Hi Randy

When you press a key on a Windows PC, Windows checks to see which
window is "active". It then sends the keystroke to the "message queue"
attached to that window. The message queue is serviced by a "window
procedure" attached to that window. So the sequence of events is:

keyboard keypress ->
message queue ->
appliction program window procedure

When you start a new program, it takes Windows a few moments to set
this all up. In that interval, I imagine that /all/ the keystrokes will
be lost, because the mechanism to process them, has not been created
yet.

A bit like spitting into the wind, when there is no bucket to catch the
result!

I'll do some more research tonight & post back to this thread before
tomorrow.

 

[Randy Starkey]

TC,

Many thanks!

--Randy

 

[TC]

Randy, I'm surprised to say that I can not find any information on this
problem (application startup losing keypresses). I've looked in every
nook & cranny I know. This is really surprising, because the topic is
so basic to how Windows works "behind the scenes". I thought there
would be hundreds of references to it.

If anyone else can find a reference, please hop in & offer it!

 

[Randy Starkey]

TC - yes, I sort of ran into the same problem when first starting to
research this. Weird. Maybe someone will have some more info.

Thanks!

--Randy