I need to differentiate between a keypress of (at least) two usb-keyboards connected to a single PC. Is there a method/precedure available to decide if key 's' (for example) is pressed either by keyboard A or Keyboard B? (preferable language is C#)
Pseudo-Code:
if (keyPressed == 's')
{
if(keyboardID == 'A')
{
print("Key 's' was pressed by Keyboard A");
}
else if (keyboardID == 'B')
{
print("Key 's' was pressed by Keyboard B");
}
}
keystrokes are processed by the OS as events
in linux for every input device there is separate event queue in /dev/input/event* (* means the specific device number)
in linux you can list all input devices with the command sudo lsinput (input-utils)
you can capture the specific events for each of your keyboards, see Linux keyboard event capturing /dev/inputX
in windows this is similar. you can use rawInput and get a handle for each device. deeper information and example codes is in
https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20160627-00/?p=93755 ("The device handle tells us which keyboard generated the input... ")
https://www.codeproject.com/Articles/17123/Using-Raw-Input-from-C-to-handle-multiple-keyboard
raw input handling (distinguishing secondary mouse)
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ms645543%28v=vs.85%29.aspx
Short of getting to the driver level and intercepting the keystroke there, you really can't (I think). I utilize a bluetooth keyboard and a bluetooth keypad and could not find a way to do what you are asking so the number 3 on the keypad would register different than the number 3 on the keyboard keypad.
