! Type text via key events (key.send_text)

The hardware keyboard behavior described on this page is available in versions after 20260805

Declaration

key.send_text(text [, per_key_delay_ms, shift_delay_ms])

text String. Text to type. Only English letters, digits, spaces, half-width symbols, and escape sequences "\b", "\r", and "\t" are supported.
per_key_delay_ms Integer. Delay between key events in milliseconds. Default: no delay, so input is sent as fast as the device allows.
shift_delay_ms Integer. Delay for Shift in milliseconds. Uppercase letters and some symbols require holding Shift; for example, @ is Shift + 2.

This function is useful when sys.input_text is ineffective; it forces text input by simulating key events.

After a global hardware keyboard is connected, text is entered through that object. Without one, the previous behavior is preserved.
The hardware keyboard generates key and Shift combinations from the current Lua US keyboard mapping. The resulting characters are still affected by the target system's keyboard layout.
When entered through the hardware keyboard, keys that were already held before the call are preserved. Failed input is not retried through the previous input method.

key.send_text("AbC12#") -- type as fast as possible
--
key.send_text("AbC12#", 300) -- 300 ms delay between each key