CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c#vb.netconsole-application
Tyler Lafont
Tyler Lafont

Reputation: 13

How do I force user to input after certain time?

I would like to force whatever the user has typed to be entered after a certain time. I've been using something like this, but it has problems.

string input = Console.ReadLine();

while (repeat == true)
{
if (Time has passed)
{
    SendKeys.Send("{ENTER}");
    repeat = false;
}

else
    repeat = true;
}

The problem is that it just stays at ReadLine until the user presses enter. I also don't want to use ReadKey, because I would like it to be able to contain more than one character.

Upvotes: 1

Views: 353

Answers (2)

Daniel C
Daniel C

Reputation: 1362

This will wait 5 seconds, appending any keypresses to the string input. It shows each letter as it is typed. Finally it exits loop and prints input for confirmation.

  var timer = new Timer(5000);
  bool timeUp = false;
  string input = "";
  timer.Elapsed += (o,e) =>  { timeUp = true; };
  timer.Enabled = true;

  while(!timeUp) {
    if (Console.KeyAvailable) 
    {
        char pressed = Console.ReadKey(true).KeyChar; 
        Console.Write(pressed);
        input+=pressed;
    }
    System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(100);
  }

  Console.WriteLine(input);

Upvotes: 0

Luis Filipe
Luis Filipe

Reputation: 8708

I'd use a task and wait for it 5 seconds.

    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        List<ConsoleKeyInfo> userInput = new List<ConsoleKeyInfo>();
        var userInputTask = Task.Run(() =>
            {
                while (true)
                    userInput.Add(Console.ReadKey(true));
            });

        userInputTask.Wait(5000);
        string userInputStr = new string(userInput.Select(p => p.KeyChar).ToArray());
        Console.WriteLine("Time's up: you pressed '{0}'", userInputStr);
        Console.ReadLine();
    }

Upvotes: 1

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