How to get Escape key on new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar

Apple recently showcased its latest Mac laptop, the MacBook Pro featuring a brand new Touch Bar, which looks to offer contextual shortcuts depending on the app currently in use. However, while the Touch Bar is a fascinating piece of technology, it replaces the top row of icons on a stereotypical keyboard. While this is fine for the most part as it’s mainly filled with old-school function keys, the Escape key also got the chop. While you can bring it back via a software button, there’s another way to get a proper Escape key on the new MacBook Pro. It’s worth noting that this isn’t specific to the MacBook Pro, and can be performed on any Mac running macOS Sierra.

Read next: How to use Touch Bar on the new MacBook Pro |  How to get the MacBook Pro Touch Bar on any Mac

How to get Escape key on new MacBook Pro

The first step is to open System Preferences by either clicking on the icon in your macOS dock, or via the Apple menu in the top-left hand corner. Once you’ve opened System Preferences, select Keyboard.

Next, select the Keyboard tab if it doesn’t open automatically, and select “Modifier Keys” in the bottom right-hand corner of the window.

A pop-up window should appear, allowing you to modify the function of the keys on your keyboard. Make sure you select the appropriate keyboard from the dropdown menu though, as the changes are keyboard-specific.

Below the keyboard dropdown, you should see a list of four keys: Caps Lock, Control, Option and Command. While these are fairly important keys when using macOS, some users may hold the Escape key in a higher regard. We’d avoid reassigning Control, Option or Command and opt for reassigning Caps Lock as you can achieve the same effect by typing while holding the Shift key.

Either way, select the key of your choice and select Escape from the drop-down window. Once you’re done, simply click OK to save your preferences and trial out your new Escape key!