Hi David,
Please don't bump threads from previous versions. Often they are discussing issues which are not relevant to the released OS and can cause a confusion because of that. We are working to move them to an archive forum, but I don't know when that will
actually happen.
In most cases where you are looking for actual text the KeyDown event won't work. KeyDown will only fire if the user is using a keyboard or equivalent, not if the user enters text via stylus & handwriting recognition, speech, or IMEs.
KeyDown works well for game-like situations where you are using the key as a controller rather than as text.
--Rob