Question

Is it possible to have a custom handler for ESC key on the JQuery Dialog?

Answer 1

Yes, it’s possible.

Set the closeOnEscape option to false and register your own keydown handler on the .ui-dialog element within the dialog’s dialogcreate handler.

$(element).dialog({
    create: function() {
       $(this).closest('.ui-dialog').on('keydown', function(ev) {
           if (ev.keyCode === $.ui.keyCode.ESCAPE) {
               ...
           }
       });
       ...
    },
    closeOnEscape: false,
    ...
});

See http://jsfiddle.net/alnitak/EbnZr