can a external cd drive be used with a ipad

Is there anything in particular you're trying to do? There might be alternatives if it’s about playing audio CDs or dealing with data drives.

iOS/iPadOS fundamentally does not support connection of any optical media drives - including the Apple SuperDrive. As such, direct access to optical media (CD, DVD, BD) is not possible.

You’ll need to access this optical media using another computer, such as PC or Mac.

Lorifromlake lure wrote:

view pictures on cd using my iPad

As previously outlined, iOS/iPadOS fundamentally does not support connection of any optical media drives - including the Apple SuperDrive. As such, direct access to optical media (CD, DVD, BD) using an iPad is not possible.

You’ll need to access this optical media using another computer, such as PC or Mac.

No.

view pictures on cd using my iPad