XL98: ESC Doesn't Choose Cancel Button in Shutdown Dialog Box

If Microsoft Excel is running when you attempt to shut down your Macintosh by pressing the startup key, pressing ESC does not always choose Cancel in the shut down confirmation dialog box.

This behavior is inconsistent. Sometimes you only need to push ESC once to cancel shutdown and other times ESC never cancels shutdown.

If you press ESC and shutdown is not canceled, you must click Cancel with your pointer.

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the versions of Microsoft Excel listed at the beginning of this article.

Apple Macintosh System versions 7.5.1 and later allow you to shut down the system by pressing the startup key (usually in the upper-right corner of the keyboard). A dialog box with the following (or similar) message appears: Your options are to click Restart, Cancel, Shut Down, and possibly Sleep. To cancel shutdown, click Cancel or press ESC.