Question:
I have a string grid that is read only. I am trapping any
keystrokes sent to the string grid. I have a button that has a
caption of E&xit. When ever the user presses the x key (even if
the alt key is not pressed) in the string grid, the button
click is executed. How can I prevent this?
Answer:
The following example demonstrates trapping the CM_DIALOGCHAR
message at the form level. This will give you an opportunity to
respond to a dialog character only if the alt key is held down,
preventing the default handeling of the character shortcuts.
Example:
type
 TForm1 = class(TForm)
 Button1: TButton;
 StringGrid1: TStringGrid;
 procedure FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
 procedure Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
 procedure StringGrid1KeyDown(Sender: TObject; var Key: Word;
 Shift: TShiftState);
 private
 { Private declarations }
 procedure CMDialogChar(var Message: TCMDialogChar);
 message CM_DIALOGCHAR;
 public
 { Public declarations }
 end;
var
 Form1: TForm1;
implementation
{$R *.DFM}
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
 Button1.Caption := 'E&xit';
end;
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
 Application.Terminate;
end;
procedure TForm1.StringGrid1KeyDown(Sender: TObject; 
var Key: Word; Shift: TShiftState);
begin
 ShowMessage('Grid keypress = ' + Char(Key));
 Key := 0;
end;
procedure TForm1.CMDialogChar(var Message: TCMDialogChar);
begin
 if ssAlt in KeyDataToShiftState(Message.KeyData) then
 inherited;
end;