ESC key cannot remove modal javascript

Question

I am trying to use keyboard ESC key to escape the modal box (by using pure javascript to remove it) but looks like something went wrong.

The code is from W3SCHOOL example: W3school example

Here is the code i am trying to add to escape when people press on keyboard ESC key:

  document.addEventListener('keyup', function(event) {
    if (event.keyCode === 27) {
      modal.classList.remove('modal');
    }
  });

Snippet:

// Get the modal
var modal = document.getElementById('myModal');

// Get the image and insert it inside the modal - use its "alt" text as a caption
var img = document.getElementById('myImg');
var modalImg = document.getElementById("img01");
var captionText = document.getElementById("caption");
img.onclick = function(){
    modal.style.display = "block";
    modalImg.src = this.src;
    captionText.innerHTML = this.alt;
}

// Get the <span> element that closes the modal
var span = document.getElementsByClassName("close")[0];

// When the user clicks on <span> (x), close the modal
span.onclick = function() { 
    modal.style.display = "none";
}

body {font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;}

#myImg {
    border-radius: 5px;
    cursor: pointer;
    transition: 0.3s;
}

#myImg:hover {opacity: 0.7;}

/* The Modal (background) */
.modal {
    display: none; /* Hidden by default */
    position: fixed; /* Stay in place */
    z-index: 1; /* Sit on top */
    padding-top: 100px; /* Location of the box */
    left: 0;
    top: 0;
    width: 100%; /* Full width */
    height: 100%; /* Full height */
    overflow: auto; /* Enable scroll if needed */
    background-color: rgb(0,0,0); /* Fallback color */
    background-color: rgba(0,0,0,0.9); /* Black w/ opacity */
}

/* Modal Content (image) */
.modal-content {
    margin: auto;
    display: block;
    width: 80%;
    max-width: 700px;
}

/* Caption of Modal Image */
#caption {
    margin: auto;
    display: block;
    width: 80%;
    max-width: 700px;
    text-align: center;
    color: #ccc;
    padding: 10px 0;
    height: 150px;
}

/* Add Animation */
.modal-content, #caption {    
    -webkit-animation-name: zoom;
    -webkit-animation-duration: 0.6s;
    animation-name: zoom;
    animation-duration: 0.6s;
}

@-webkit-keyframes zoom {
    from {-webkit-transform:scale(0)} 
    to {-webkit-transform:scale(1)}
}

@keyframes zoom {
    from {transform:scale(0)} 
    to {transform:scale(1)}
}

/* The Close Button */
.close {
    position: absolute;
    top: 15px;
    right: 35px;
    color: #f1f1f1;
    font-size: 40px;
    font-weight: bold;
    transition: 0.3s;
}

.close:hover,
.close:focus {
    color: #bbb;
    text-decoration: none;
    cursor: pointer;
}

/* 100% Image Width on Smaller Screens */
@media only screen and (max-width: 700px){
    .modal-content {
        width: 100%;
    }
}

<h2>Image Modal</h2>
<p>In this example, we use CSS to create a modal (dialog box) that is hidden by default.</p>
<p>We use JavaScript to trigger the modal and to display the current image inside the modal when it is clicked on. Also note that we use the value from the image's "alt" attribute as an image caption text inside the modal.</p>

<img id="myImg" src="//placehold.it/200" alt="Trolltunga, Norway" width="300" height="200">

<!-- The Modal -->
<div id="myModal" class="modal">
  <span class="close">&times;</span>
  <img class="modal-content" id="img01">
  <div id="caption"></div>
</div>

Answer 1

Looking at their example, here's the event handler they are using when you click the close button:

// When the user clicks on <span> (x), close the modal
span.onclick = function() { 
    modal.style.display = "none";
}

So, in case of escape keypress, it should be:

document.addEventListener('keyup', function(event) {
  if (event.keyCode === 27) {
    modal.style.display = 'none';
  }
});

Or, if you prefer to use the event.key property:

document.addEventListener('keyup', function(event) {
  if (event.key === 'Escape') {
    modal.style.display = 'none';
  }
});

Here's the working snippet:

// Get the modal
var modal = document.getElementById('myModal');

// Get the image and insert it inside the modal - use its "alt" text as a caption
var img = document.getElementById('myImg');
var modalImg = document.getElementById("img01");
var captionText = document.getElementById("caption");
img.onclick = function(){
    modal.style.display = "block";
    modalImg.src = this.src;
    captionText.innerHTML = this.alt;
}

// Get the <span> element that closes the modal
var span = document.getElementsByClassName("close")[0];

// When the user clicks on <span> (x), close the modal
span.onclick = function() { 
    modal.style.display = "none";
}

document.addEventListener('keyup', function(event) {
  if (event.key === 'Escape') {
    modal.style.display = 'none';
  }
});

body {font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;}

#myImg {
    border-radius: 5px;
    cursor: pointer;
    transition: 0.3s;
}

#myImg:hover {opacity: 0.7;}

/* The Modal (background) */
.modal {
    display: none; /* Hidden by default */
    position: fixed; /* Stay in place */
    z-index: 1; /* Sit on top */
    padding-top: 100px; /* Location of the box */
    left: 0;
    top: 0;
    width: 100%; /* Full width */
    height: 100%; /* Full height */
    overflow: auto; /* Enable scroll if needed */
    background-color: rgb(0,0,0); /* Fallback color */
    background-color: rgba(0,0,0,0.9); /* Black w/ opacity */
}

/* Modal Content (image) */
.modal-content {
    margin: auto;
    display: block;
    width: 80%;
    max-width: 700px;
}

/* Caption of Modal Image */
#caption {
    margin: auto;
    display: block;
    width: 80%;
    max-width: 700px;
    text-align: center;
    color: #ccc;
    padding: 10px 0;
    height: 150px;
}

/* Add Animation */
.modal-content, #caption {    
    -webkit-animation-name: zoom;
    -webkit-animation-duration: 0.6s;
    animation-name: zoom;
    animation-duration: 0.6s;
}

@-webkit-keyframes zoom {
    from {-webkit-transform:scale(0)} 
    to {-webkit-transform:scale(1)}
}

@keyframes zoom {
    from {transform:scale(0)} 
    to {transform:scale(1)}
}

/* The Close Button */
.close {
    position: absolute;
    top: 15px;
    right: 35px;
    color: #f1f1f1;
    font-size: 40px;
    font-weight: bold;
    transition: 0.3s;
}

.close:hover,
.close:focus {
    color: #bbb;
    text-decoration: none;
    cursor: pointer;
}

/* 100% Image Width on Smaller Screens */
@media only screen and (max-width: 700px){
    .modal-content {
        width: 100%;
    }
}

<h2>Image Modal</h2>
<p>In this example, we use CSS to create a modal (dialog box) that is hidden by default.</p>
<p>We use JavaScript to trigger the modal and to display the current image inside the modal when it is clicked on. Also note that we use the value from the image's "alt" attribute as an image caption text inside the modal.</p>

<img id="myImg" src="//placehold.it/200" alt="Trolltunga, Norway" width="300" height="200">

<!-- The Modal -->
<div id="myModal" class="modal">
  <span class="close">&times;</span>
  <img class="modal-content" id="img01">
  <div id="caption"></div>
</div>

---

In real application, you might want to refactor the code a bit to create a separate function that closes the modal, and then use it in the event handlers:

function closeModal() {
    modal.style.display = 'none';
}

// When the user clicks on <span> (x), close the modal
span.onclick = function() { 
    closeModal();
}

document.addEventListener('keyup', function(event) {
  if (event.key === 'Escape') {
    closeModal();
  }
});