Intercept / Disable System Keys in Java

Question

Is there a way to intercept the system keys in Java so that the events are not propagated to the operating system? Ctrl+Alt+Del or other security related combinations do not matter, the main problem is for example the Windows key.

The program in question is a for a full screen application that performs some remote operations via a proprietary protocol. Currently my only idea would be to solve this via JNI, whereas the solution for Windows seems to be simple, I'm not sure about Linux and MAC OS X.

I'd prefer a somewhat standard solution, maybe there is something for Java games or so.

Answer 1

Java processes the key strokes after the operating system (OS), so Java can't "intercept" them. Although, you could code OS specific stuff in C/C++ that intercepted the keystrokes and call it in Java using JNI.

Answer 2

This appears to be fixed in Java 5, so you could have a shot at it. Apparently, the KeyEvent class in the Java API exposes two Microsoft Windows keyboard specific events - VK_WINDOWS (for the left and right winkeys) and VK_CONTEXT_MENU (for the context menu key).

It is quite possible to trap these events by implementing a KeyListener, but be forewarned that if you attempt to capture the Winkey event alone, you're bound to trip the event handler of the OS first, before Java can process it.