You can use ‘C-g’ to cancel any action you have started. For some actions, you may need to repeat this. (If even this doesn’t clear things up entirely, then try `C-]’ or ‘M-x top-level’; that should do the trick.)
Example 1: You start to enter a command, with ‘M-x some-command’. Before you enter it (with the RET key), you use ‘C-g’ to cancel what you started.
Example 2: You enter command ‘M-x some-command’ and it starts to execute. It seems to take a while, and you’re not sure what it’s doing. You use ‘C-g’ to cancel the command execution.
Many OperatingSystems? and applications map the ESC key to Cancel, so CustomizingEmacs? this way can increase EmacsNewbie comfort.
But ESC is mapped as another MetaKey? by default, so this could cause trouble if you are already having MetaKeyProblems.
Here is some pseudo-code:
(if (Alt-works-as-meta?) ;; don't map if console has broken Alt key
(progn
(global-set-key [escape] 'keyboard-quit) ;; all platforms?
(setq w32-quit-key 27) ;; needed in MicroSCOft cages?
))
Why not call the ‘keyboard-escape-quit’ function? it’s even more do-what-i-want oriented. – SylvainGarden?