First, I understand your problem with keyboard detection. In the old basics I used there was INKEY$. That doesn't exist in XB. That frustrated me. However, the reason it doesn't exist is because XB is a GUI environment, and GUI environments are message driven. That is, when you click on a button, or press a key, windows generates a system message. In XB, you have to write code to detect, trap, and then respond to that message. Yes, XB can respond to keyboard key presses, it's just nota 'plug & play' built in command like INKEY$.

Second, I'd need more information on exactly what you mean by "lets you send information to the operating system as if you typed the command in yourself from the keyboard." It's possible to SHELL out commands to the system from within XB. But that is much the same as going to START -> RUN in windows and typing in a program name to run.

Could you elaborate more on what you mean?

Brian