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Esc key
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Esc key
On computer keyboards, the Esc key Esc (named Escape key in the international standard series ISO/IEC 9995) is a key used to generate the escape character (which can be represented as ASCII code 27 in decimal, Unicode U+001B, or Ctrl+[). The escape character, when sent from the keyboard to a computer, often is interpreted by software as "stop", "cancel" or "exit", and when sent from the computer to an external device (including many printers since the 1980s, computer terminals and Linux consoles, for example) marks the beginning of an escape sequence to specify operating modes or characteristics generally.
It is now generally placed at the top left corner of the keyboard, a convention dating at least to the original IBM PC keyboard, though the key itself originated decades earlier with teletypewriters.
The keyboard symbol for the ESC key (which may be used when the usual Latin lettering is not preferred for labelling the key) is standardized in ISO/IEC 9995-7 as symbol 29, and in ISO 7000 "Graphical symbols for use on equipment" as symbol ISO-7000-2029. This symbol is encoded in Unicode as U+238B broken circle with northwest arrow (⎋).
The name of the equivalent key on some early Teletype Model 33 keyboards was labeled Alt Mode..., the alternative mode of operation causing the escapement to treat the following one character in a special way. Much later printers and computer terminals that would use escape sequences often would take more than one following byte as part of a special sequence.
As most modern computer users are no longer concerned with controlling terminal or peripheral behaviour via manually typed or computer-issued escape sequences, the task to which Esc was originally dedicated, the escape key has long since been appropriated by application programmers, most often to mean Stop. This use continues today in Microsoft Windows's method of escape as a shortcut in dialog boxes for No, Quit, Exit, Cancel, or Abort, as well as a common shortcut key for the Stop button in many web browsers, and to cancel drag and drop operations.
On machines running Microsoft Windows, prior to the implementation of the Windows key on keyboards, the typical practice for invoking the "start" button was to hold down the Control key and press escape. This key combination still works as of Windows 11.
Microsoft Windows makes use of "Esc" for many key shortcuts. Many of these shortcuts have been present since Windows 3.0, through Windows XP and later.
In macOS, "Esc" usually closes or cancels a dialog box or sheet. The ⌘ Command+⌥ Option+⎋ Esc combination opens the Force Quit dialog box, allowing users to end non-responsive applications. Another use for the Esc key, in combination with the Command key, is switching to Front Row, if installed.
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Esc key
On computer keyboards, the Esc key Esc (named Escape key in the international standard series ISO/IEC 9995) is a key used to generate the escape character (which can be represented as ASCII code 27 in decimal, Unicode U+001B, or Ctrl+[). The escape character, when sent from the keyboard to a computer, often is interpreted by software as "stop", "cancel" or "exit", and when sent from the computer to an external device (including many printers since the 1980s, computer terminals and Linux consoles, for example) marks the beginning of an escape sequence to specify operating modes or characteristics generally.
It is now generally placed at the top left corner of the keyboard, a convention dating at least to the original IBM PC keyboard, though the key itself originated decades earlier with teletypewriters.
The keyboard symbol for the ESC key (which may be used when the usual Latin lettering is not preferred for labelling the key) is standardized in ISO/IEC 9995-7 as symbol 29, and in ISO 7000 "Graphical symbols for use on equipment" as symbol ISO-7000-2029. This symbol is encoded in Unicode as U+238B broken circle with northwest arrow (⎋).
The name of the equivalent key on some early Teletype Model 33 keyboards was labeled Alt Mode..., the alternative mode of operation causing the escapement to treat the following one character in a special way. Much later printers and computer terminals that would use escape sequences often would take more than one following byte as part of a special sequence.
As most modern computer users are no longer concerned with controlling terminal or peripheral behaviour via manually typed or computer-issued escape sequences, the task to which Esc was originally dedicated, the escape key has long since been appropriated by application programmers, most often to mean Stop. This use continues today in Microsoft Windows's method of escape as a shortcut in dialog boxes for No, Quit, Exit, Cancel, or Abort, as well as a common shortcut key for the Stop button in many web browsers, and to cancel drag and drop operations.
On machines running Microsoft Windows, prior to the implementation of the Windows key on keyboards, the typical practice for invoking the "start" button was to hold down the Control key and press escape. This key combination still works as of Windows 11.
Microsoft Windows makes use of "Esc" for many key shortcuts. Many of these shortcuts have been present since Windows 3.0, through Windows XP and later.
In macOS, "Esc" usually closes or cancels a dialog box or sheet. The ⌘ Command+⌥ Option+⎋ Esc combination opens the Force Quit dialog box, allowing users to end non-responsive applications. Another use for the Esc key, in combination with the Command key, is switching to Front Row, if installed.
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