When I was using the App Store app on my iPad, I held down the cmd key on my iPad’s Magic Keyboard and one of the shortcuts displayed in the popup was for Cancel - esc. I’m pretty sure there is no esc key. Does this mean the App Store app is some version of the Mac app which of course would have an esc key?
I believe that Command+Period (⌘+.) will simulate esc when using a physical keyboard attached to an iPad.
⌘+. has been a long-time Mac keyboard shortcut, which is, I assume, why Apple chose it for iPadOS as well.
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You are correct sir, I had no idea Cmd+Period was an alternative to esc. I’m going to start trying that out in more places.
You can also set caps lock to escape in Settings → Keyboard → Hardware Keyboard → Modifiers. I use this setup on macOS, iPadOS and Windows.
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I’ve heard people make this recommendation before. Why would you want to lose caps lock? It isn’t often, but there are times when you need it, right?
For me, the need is rare. I have a Siri shortcut that changes case (Change Case action, ask every time for input) but I don’t remember to use it. There are also a lot of websites that will change text to all caps. In web development, I just use text-transform:uppercase; on elements. Holding shift works the rest of the times.
Having an easy-to-hit escape key on the home row is just really nice!
I never use caps lock, so never missed it when I switched it to a hyper key.
I just hold down the shift key with my little finger and type, always have done.
If I need to shout at people, well this works as a good reminder not to.
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OK, you’ve both convinced me, caps lock is now esc on my iPad.
Also, this is dependent on what keyboard you have attached. I use both the Apple Magic keyboard that came with my iMac and a Logitech MX Keys with my iPad, and both have Esc keys.