Vim on Windows: Mapping control sequences to keys in vimrc doesn't work for insert mode

I'm running Vim 7.2 on Windows 7, and I'm having issues mapping control sequences in insert mode.

I can use :inoremap jl <Esc> while inside vim, and, as expected, typing jl while in insert mode will cause vim to go to normal mode. However, if I put inoremap jl <Esc> in my _vimrc, then type jl inside vim in insert mode, it actually types out <Esc>, which is not what I wanted. I've tried variations with backslashes and whatnot, but those just get ty开发者_JAVA技巧ped out too.

How can I set up my _vimrc to exit to normal mode when I type jl in insert or visual mode?

You should either be in nocompatible mode for <Key> to work, or explicitely specify <special>:

inoremap <special> jl <Esc>

or

set nocompatible " At the very top of vimrc, before any other option
<...>
inoremap jl <Esc>