D711 - I am having the same maddening problem and have wasted HOURS trying to fix it.

When I press Esc to close a window in 2023 QBDT (as I have been doing for many years), the program crashes.  After reading your post, I ran some tests and it appears that hitting the Esc key when the Advanced Find window is open is the culprit.   (Great diagnostic work, D711!)

If you work fast and furiously like I do, there are always many windows open and one of those windows is usually the Advanced Find window.  So, when hitting the Esc key to close various windows, the Advanced Find window is bound to be one of those windows, hence the crashing nearly every time I hit the Esc key.   

Then, it takes forever for the program to re-open. Such a waste of time! I have used QBDT for 15+ years.  QuickBooks - PLEASE fix this problem and let customers resume using the ESC key to close windows without crashing the program.