5 ms·

While, over time, a lot of today's annoyances with the new Macabook's will fade away, the lack of ESC key is a deal breaker for me. I tried it at the Apple Sto

by Tom1971 10y ago

While, over time, a lot of today's annoyances with the new Macabook's will fade away, the lack of ESC key is a deal breaker for me. I tried it at the Apple Store and it's pretty much unusable. (It had the seen issue as the writer, apparently relying on the physical click to know whether or not I had pressed it. In addition, I also mistyped it a lot. Maybe hack to replace the whole touch bar as one single ESC key will do it...) I've been told to remap the ESC to CAPS LOCK to vim usage, but I seem to be one of a rare breed who uses the latter the way it was intended to be, so that's a no go for me.

nilkn 10y ago
Following the lead of Spacemacs I remapped Esc in vim to "fd". It works surprisingly well and is extremely easy and fast to type.
- randlet 10y ago
  I use jk to exit from insert mode, but you still need an escape key to cancel actions when entering commands. For example if I type :wq and decide I actually don't want to quit, I still need to hit Esc to cancel. It would be nice if :wqjk (or :wqfd) would allow you to cancel but I don't think that's possible is it?
  - shadytrees 10y ago
    very possible! :cnoremap jk <C-C>
    - randlet 10y ago
      Whoo! Thank you very much!
Caballera 10y ago
The escape key is still there, it's on the Touch Bar, I have no issues with using it, and I haven't had to re-map it. Also you can hit the 'fn' key and the 'Function' bar and escape key will appear while using any other 'app' that changes the Touch Bar.
- 51Cards 10y ago
  The prime issue is lack of tactile feedback. I wrote quite a bit about this in a previous comment, in that we "touch type" because we get feedback from our fingers. Implementing a "keyboard" interface that requires a change of visual focus is not a good UI practice.
  - eridius 10y ago
    In your comment 25 days ago, you stated that the problem is the layout of the Touch Bar changes regularly, therefore you need to look at it. But this doesn't make sense for the Esc key, because the Esc key is always in the same place on the Touch Bar (and is always available while you're typing).
    - 51Cards 10y ago
      To me there are a couple problems. One is the changing layout as I mentioned and the fact you have to shift focus constantly because you can't feel where things are (esp since they change from app to app). Then secondly the lack of feedback. I wouldn't mind the touch-bar so much if it hadn't replaced keys that some people use constantly. As an add on above the keyboard, sure... while I wouldn't be crazy about it it could be handy for some people. But half the comments talk about how you can re-map keys to work around it... and that to me spells UI downgrade. A fair percentage of people are perceiving this as enough of a loss in functionality they are finding work arounds.
      - eridius 10y ago
        I'm willing to bet that most people complaining about it and talking about remapping it haven't actually used the Touch Bar yet.
- hackcrafter 10y ago
  I've been wondering about this. Does the 'fn' key force-change the touchbar to display F1-F12? If so, then I don't understand the folks bemoaning the lack of physical "function keys" from their apps, which I assume they mean that they use the F(n) keys, since the mechanics of this are the same. I'm a fast touch typist, but have never have hit F(n) keys accurately without glancing at the keyboard when I do use them, so I assume I would have no problem with the TouchBar based F keys.
Caballera 10y ago
The escape key is still there, it's on the Touch Bar, I have no issues with using it, and I haven't had to re-map it. Also you can hit the 'fn' key and the 'Function' bar and escape key will appear while using any other 'app' that changes the Touch Bar.
Veen 10y ago
> I've been told to remap the ESC to CAPS LOCK to vim usage, but I seem to be one of a rare breed who uses the latter the way it was intended to be, so that's a no go for me. Not really relevant, but when Vi was originally developed, the escape key was in a more convenient location — right where the tab key is now. It was never intended for users to have to reach that far to hit such an essential key. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File%3aKB_Terminal_ADM3A.svg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File%3aKB_Terminal_ADM3A.svg Edit: also, Control-c and control-[ do the same thing.
- Lio 10y ago
  > Edit: also, Control-c and control-[ do the same thing. They're not actually the same. C-[ is the same as Esc but C-c is not. Using C-c to leave Insert mode won't trigger InsertLeave. If you select a vertical visual block and insert a comma at the end of each line E.g. C-v}$A, Using Esc or C-[ to leave insert mode will insert the comma at the end of every line in the paragraph but using C-c will only insert after the first line. Also if you get used then to using C-c in Vim then you'll potentially run into issues if you try to use it in other Vi places e.g. anything that uses readline or your shell. IMHO C-[ is a much better solution for these reasons.
  - CountSessine 10y ago
    You can get C-c to be pretty much identical with a little remap :imap <C-c> <Esc> Remapping caps lock would be good too, but I already have caps lock remapped to Ctrl and I'm just used to that. In anticipation of what seemed like the inevitable loss of my escape key, I've been trying really really hard to like Ctrl-[ the last three weeks, but I've just given up. I keep opening up Ctrl-P searches or hitting Ctrl-]. My pinky just can't do it. So I've given up and made Ctrl-C work and it's so much better.
    - Lio 10y ago
      > You can get C-c to be pretty much identical with a little remap > :imap <C-c> <Esc> True but you're still out of luck in other Vi like places. As an alternative I used Karabina in the past to map Caps lock into Esc (when pressed and released) and Ctrl (when pressed with another key). I think you could also make it latch as Caps lock by using Caps-Shift but I'm not 100% on that. Does anyone know if Karabina has been updated to work with Siera yet?
kaizensoze 10y ago
I've always found Ctrl-[ to be more intuitive instead of ESC for vim. Strangely enough I have no idea where I saw that Ctrl-[ works as an alternative and I don't see any reference to it in my vimrc so it should work out of the box. Having to move your left hand all the way over to esc is just slow and cumbersome, meanwhile [ is just right there.
- city41 10y ago
  ^[ is what ESC sends to a terminal, so CTRL-[ and ESC are equivalent.
- Tom1971 10y ago
  I tried that at the Apple Store. It's an option. But there are so many programs that require ESC, so it's only a half-way solution.
wcarron 10y ago
I remapped my ESC key to `jj`. Set the timeout to 1 sec and it's been working flawlessly for me.
- r00fus 10y ago
  Where did you remap?
  - wcarron 10y ago
    in a .vimrc file. https://github.com/Wompii/Vim/blob/master/vimrc https://github.com/Wompii/Vim/blob/master/vimrc Just clone it into your root directory and ensure it's named ".vimrc". It won't work otherwise. Then just restart your terminal. I'd google some things in there if you don't fully understand what they do.

by Tom1971 10y ago

nilkn 10y ago

Following the lead of Spacemacs I remapped Esc in vim to "fd". It works surprisingly well and is extremely easy and fast to type.

randlet 10y ago
I use jk to exit from insert mode, but you still need an escape key to cancel actions when entering commands. For example if I type :wq and decide I actually don't want to quit, I still need to hit Esc to cancel. It would be nice if :wqjk (or :wqfd) would allow you to cancel but I don't think that's possible is it?
- shadytrees 10y ago
  very possible! :cnoremap jk <C-C>
  - randlet 10y ago
    Whoo! Thank you very much!

Caballera 10y ago

The escape key is still there, it's on the Touch Bar, I have no issues with using it, and I haven't had to re-map it. Also you can hit the 'fn' key and the 'Function' bar and escape key will appear while using any other 'app' that changes the Touch Bar.

51Cards 10y ago
The prime issue is lack of tactile feedback. I wrote quite a bit about this in a previous comment, in that we "touch type" because we get feedback from our fingers. Implementing a "keyboard" interface that requires a change of visual focus is not a good UI practice.
- eridius 10y ago
  In your comment 25 days ago, you stated that the problem is the layout of the Touch Bar changes regularly, therefore you need to look at it. But this doesn't make sense for the Esc key, because the Esc key is always in the same place on the Touch Bar (and is always available while you're typing).
  - 51Cards 10y ago
    To me there are a couple problems. One is the changing layout as I mentioned and the fact you have to shift focus constantly because you can't feel where things are (esp since they change from app to app). Then secondly the lack of feedback. I wouldn't mind the touch-bar so much if it hadn't replaced keys that some people use constantly. As an add on above the keyboard, sure... while I wouldn't be crazy about it it could be handy for some people. But half the comments talk about how you can re-map keys to work around it... and that to me spells UI downgrade. A fair percentage of people are perceiving this as enough of a loss in functionality they are finding work arounds.
    - eridius 10y ago
      I'm willing to bet that most people complaining about it and talking about remapping it haven't actually used the Touch Bar yet.
hackcrafter 10y ago
I've been wondering about this. Does the 'fn' key force-change the touchbar to display F1-F12? If so, then I don't understand the folks bemoaning the lack of physical "function keys" from their apps, which I assume they mean that they use the F(n) keys, since the mechanics of this are the same. I'm a fast touch typist, but have never have hit F(n) keys accurately without glancing at the keyboard when I do use them, so I assume I would have no problem with the TouchBar based F keys.

Caballera 10y ago

Veen 10y ago

> I've been told to remap the ESC to CAPS LOCK to vim usage, but I seem to be one of a rare breed who uses the latter the way it was intended to be, so that's a no go for me. Not really relevant, but when Vi was originally developed, the escape key was in a more convenient location — right where the tab key is now. It was never intended for users to have to reach that far to hit such an essential key. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File%3aKB_Terminal_ADM3A.svg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File%3aKB_Terminal_ADM3A.svg Edit: also, Control-c and control-[ do the same thing.

Lio 10y ago
> Edit: also, Control-c and control-[ do the same thing. They're not actually the same. C-[ is the same as Esc but C-c is not. Using C-c to leave Insert mode won't trigger InsertLeave. If you select a vertical visual block and insert a comma at the end of each line E.g. C-v}$A, Using Esc or C-[ to leave insert mode will insert the comma at the end of every line in the paragraph but using C-c will only insert after the first line. Also if you get used then to using C-c in Vim then you'll potentially run into issues if you try to use it in other Vi places e.g. anything that uses readline or your shell. IMHO C-[ is a much better solution for these reasons.
- CountSessine 10y ago
  You can get C-c to be pretty much identical with a little remap :imap <C-c> <Esc> Remapping caps lock would be good too, but I already have caps lock remapped to Ctrl and I'm just used to that. In anticipation of what seemed like the inevitable loss of my escape key, I've been trying really really hard to like Ctrl-[ the last three weeks, but I've just given up. I keep opening up Ctrl-P searches or hitting Ctrl-]. My pinky just can't do it. So I've given up and made Ctrl-C work and it's so much better.
  - Lio 10y ago
    > You can get C-c to be pretty much identical with a little remap > :imap <C-c> <Esc> True but you're still out of luck in other Vi like places. As an alternative I used Karabina in the past to map Caps lock into Esc (when pressed and released) and Ctrl (when pressed with another key). I think you could also make it latch as Caps lock by using Caps-Shift but I'm not 100% on that. Does anyone know if Karabina has been updated to work with Siera yet?

kaizensoze 10y ago

I've always found Ctrl-[ to be more intuitive instead of ESC for vim. Strangely enough I have no idea where I saw that Ctrl-[ works as an alternative and I don't see any reference to it in my vimrc so it should work out of the box. Having to move your left hand all the way over to esc is just slow and cumbersome, meanwhile [ is just right there.

city41 10y ago
^[ is what ESC sends to a terminal, so CTRL-[ and ESC are equivalent.
Tom1971 10y ago
I tried that at the Apple Store. It's an option. But there are so many programs that require ESC, so it's only a half-way solution.

wcarron 10y ago

I remapped my ESC key to `jj`. Set the timeout to 1 sec and it's been working flawlessly for me.

r00fus 10y ago
Where did you remap?
- wcarron 10y ago
  in a .vimrc file. https://github.com/Wompii/Vim/blob/master/vimrc https://github.com/Wompii/Vim/blob/master/vimrc Just clone it into your root directory and ensure it's named ".vimrc". It won't work otherwise. Then just restart your terminal. I'd google some things in there if you don't fully understand what they do.