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No hardware Escape key on new MacBook Pros? Don’t fret, macOS Sierra lets you remap the Escape action to a modifier key

remap-esc-key-macos-sierra-10-12-1After seeing the leaks for the upcoming MacBook Pro, many people have wondered how their workflows might be hindered by the removal of the hardware Escape key. While it’s very likely that an Escape key will be able to be mapped to the OLED Magic Toolbar, macOS Sierra contains another handy provision for those of you who still prefer to use a dedicated hardware key.

In macOS 10.12.1, Apple has added the option to remap the Escape key to a physical hardware button. This remapping functionality isn’t new, in fact, back in March we walked you through how to remap modifier keys to make a Windows keyboard work better on a Mac.

In previous versions of macOS, you could remap the Caps Lock, Control, Option, or Command keys. Each of these keys could be remapped with a Caps Lock, Control, Option, or Command action. There’s been no Escape action, however, until the latest version of macOS, released yesterday. In macOS 10.12.1, you can now select an Escape action, and remap it to the Caps Lock, Control, Option, or Command keys.

How to remap Escape to a hardware key in macOS Sierra

To remap the Escape key to another hardware key, simply do the following:

Step 1: Open System PreferencesKeyboard.

Step 2: Click the Modifier Keys button in the bottom right-hand corner.

Step 3: Click the drop down box next to the hardware key that you’d like to remap, and select Escape.

Step 4: Click OK and close System Preferences.

remapping-escape-key-to-caps-lock-key

A modifier key remapped with an Escape action

You should now be able to use the assigned hardware modifier key as a replacement for the Escape key, which as you know, will no longer appear on MacBook Pros going forward. Thankfully, it’s super easy to assign the Escape key to another hardware key.

Apple likely understood that not all of its customers will appreciate being relegated to a soft-Escape key, and hence instituted this change to appease power users. I mean, who uses Caps Lock anyway?

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Avatar for Jeff Benjamin Jeff Benjamin

Jeff is the head of video content production for 9to5. He initially joined 9to5Mac in 2016, producing videos, walkthroughs, how-tos, written tutorials, and reviews. He takes pride in explaining things simply, clearly, and concisely. Jeff’s videos have been watched hundreds of millions of times by people seeking to learn more about today’s tech. Subscribe to 9to5Mac on YouTube to catch Jeff’s latest videos.