How to close apps on Mac

How to close apps on Mac: After years and years of using a Windows PC, you have decided to buy a Mac. However, you still do not have very clear ideas on how to do this or that operation, and therefore you would like some advice on what to do. I was wrong? No, here it is. Well count me in! I am here for this. How do you say? What you don’t understand is how to close open applications? No problem, I’ll explain. Please give me a few minutes of your precious time and I will give you all the instructions you need.

In fact, I am going to show you in the following lines how to close applications on your Mac . I already anticipated that you can do this in several ways, including from the command line and using a keyboard shortcut. And if the application you are trying to close turns out to be blocked, you can use a special function, which can force it to close and continue performing the task.

So? How about putting the talk aside and finally taking action? Yes? Brilliant! Sit back in front of your now trusty Apple computer and read everything below. I am sure that in the end you will be able to say that you are very happy and satisfied with what you have learned and that, in case of need, you will be ready to give useful advice on this to all your friends. What do you say, we bet?

How to close open apps on Mac

Before explaining how to close applications on your Mac in the true sense of the word, that is, it will permanently cease to be used (until the next start of it, of course), I think it is fair to point out how to simply close the window .

To perform the operation in question, all you have to do is click on the red circular button (marked with the “X” symbol when you hover your mouse cursor over it ) located at the top left of the application window. application you are interested in. By doing so, the application will continue to run (and in fact the relative icon will still be visible in the dock bar ), but its window and any tabs will be closed.

If, on the other hand, what you are interested in doing is minimizing an application window, to do this click on the yellow circular button (which when you pass the mouse cursor over it is marked with the symbol «-« ) that you always find in the top left of it and voila.

Whenever you want, you can call up the application window by clicking the corresponding trailer or application icon (depending on what System Preferences is set ) on the dock bar .

Alternatively, you can minimize the window of a specific application by right-clicking on it’s icon on the dock bar and selecting Items Hide from the menu that opens.

How to close apps on Mac

Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty now and find out how to close apps on your Mac by closing them completely. As I told you at the beginning, you have different systems to succeed. You can find them listed below. Simply put into practice what you think is more practical, they are all equally valid.

From the menu bar

To close applications on your Mac, you can first use the appropriate item that you find attached Menu Bar .

Is so easy. Simply bring the application you are interested in, click on it Name that you find at the top left of the screen and choose, in the menu that opens, the item Quit [nome app] .

Do you want to exit the application, but want previously opened windows to reappear the next time you launch it? In this case, always click Name of the application you are interested in in the top menu bar, press the other button on the Mac keyboard and select the item Exit and keep windows. from the menu that appeared.

Using keyboard shortcuts

I prefer to use keyboard shortcuts ? Very well. You can also close apps on your Mac this way. Let’s see how, exactly.

All you have to do is bring up the app you’re acting on and press the command + q key combination on your Mac keyboard.

Also, as I just pointed out, you can close apps in macOS using the command+tab keyboard shortcut which allows you to switch from one open program to another by highlighting the app’s icon of interest (you can do this by holding down the command key and pressing the button ). if necessary tab ) and then pressing the q key .

From the dock bar

Another way to close Mac apps is to intervene dock bar . You ask me how? I will explain right away.

Simply right click on the application icon which to go to act on which is the dock bar and choose the menu item which opens out . That’s it!

From Terminal

As we anticipated at the beginning of the guide, you can close applications on your Mac and from the command line, or rather via Terminal . At first glance it may seem a bit more complicated, but I assure you that even in this case it is very simple.

To continue, call the terminal by clicking on the corresponding icon (the one with window with line of code ) that you find in the Other folder of Launchpad . Once the Terminal window appears, type the command kill them all [nome app] and hit the enter button on your keyboard

Through the activity monitor

Open apps on Mac can also be closed using the Activity Monitoring utility . It is included as “standard” in macOS and is used to monitor and manage all the activities and processes running on the computer, as can be easily understood from the name itself.

To use Activity Monitor for its purpose, first launch the tool by clicking the tool icon (the one with the black window with path ) that you find in the Other folder of Launchpad . In the window that opens, look for Name of the application you want to close in the Process name column (If you cannot find the application you want to close, you can help by doing a direct search by typing its name in the text field that you can find in the top right).

Then select the app you are interested in and tap on the “x” button located at the top left, then hit the outside button in the additional window that opens to confirm your intentions.

How to close all applications on Mac

If you don’t want to waste time closing the various open applications on your individual computer, you can close them all at once using Automator , a “standard” tool included in macOS that allows you to schedule and automate workflows on your computer without being a programmer. By using it, you can create a special app that you can use to close all open apps at the same time .

To do this, first start Automator by clicking the icon (the one with the little robot on it) that you find under Launchpad . In the window that appears, click the New Document button, then select the Request item and click the You choose button .

Then type “Close all applications” In the top left search field, click action from the column below, and while continuing to click, drag it to the right of the Automator window.

Finally, click on the File entry at the top left of the screen, select the save item from the menu that opens and, through the additional window that appears, assign a Name in the request, indicate position on your Mac , where you want to save it and make sure in the File type drop -down menu the option is selected Request (otherwise you can do it yourself), then press the save button .

Then go to the location where you chose to save the app you just created and double-click on it. icon to close all open applications immediately. However, before continuing to close the various applications, you will be asked whether or not you intend to save changes .

How to close the frozen app on your Mac

Have one or more apps you want to close on your Mac that are “locked up” and not responding to commands? If after a few minutes the situation does not change, you should continue doing it. forced closure . However, keep in mind that forcing an app to close may cause you to lose any unsaved changes.

All you have to do is call the Force close apps window using the key combination option + command + esc . Once it appears, locate it.Name from the app you want to close, select it, click the Force Quit button and confirm your intentions by pressing the Force Quit button again .

If the app doesn’t seem to respond to commands like this, you can either force quit Finder and try following the instructions I’ve already given you in this guide, or you can follow the instructions above again.

To force close the Finder, all you have to do is select it in the Force Quit Applications window and press the button. Reopen twice in a row.

Alternatively, you can reopen Finder by right-clicking on the icon (the one with the two-color smiley face ) on the dock bar by simultaneously holding the option key on the keyboard and then selecting the item Reopen item from the menu that appears.

You can also force close a specific app by acting from the top menu bar, from the dock bar, using a dedicated key combination, and from Activity Monitor. Below you will find an explanation of how to proceed in all three cases

• Through the menu bar – open the window of the application you are interested in, click on the bitten apple symbol in the menu bar and choose the menu item that opens forced exit .
• Via the dock bar – locate the app icon in the dock bar to act, right click on it, press and hold the option button on the keyboard and select the force exit item item from the menu that opened.
• By keyboard shortcut – open the window of the application you are interested in and use the key combination command + option + shift + esc .
• Via Activity Monitor – open Activity Monitor, locate the app you want to force close in the Process Name column Click the “x” button on the top left and hit the Force Quit button .