A control character whose function varies with the software or type of terminal; it generally serves to transfer control to another part of the program or to exit the program.
A key that will usually back you out of a program, a menu, a dialog box, or a Command. (7/96)
Escape key. Located near the upper left corner of the keyboard. Its use depends on the software being run, but frequently used for backing out of what you were just doing.
The Esc key on a computer keyboard allows you to exit a dialog box that you are currently in.
Key on a keyboard that is used to "move around" with a program.
The key that usually allows you to exit a screen or process.
A key on a PC keyboard, in the top left-hand corner, that is sometimes used to cancel an action. In Windows pressing the Esc key is the same as selecting the cancel button. If you press Alt-Esc within Windows you will cycle between any program windows that are currently running
In vi, the key you press to signal the end of the text insertion. If your terminal does not have an ESC key, use CTRL-[ instead.
The Esc key is a key labeled Esc or Escape that is used to generate the ASCII Escape character, the character code traditionally used to initiate an escape sequence. As the typical computer user is no longer concerned with the details of controlling their computer's peripherals, the task escape sequences were designed for, the escape key was appropriated by application programmers, most often to mean Stop. This use continues today in Microsoft Windows's use of escape as a shortcut in dialog boxes for No, Quit, Exit, Cancel, or Abort.