How do I fully close an app on Mac?

Answered by Phillip Nicastro

To fully close an app on your Mac, you can follow these steps:

1. Option 1: Use keyboard shortcut
– Press the Option (or Alt), Command, and Esc keys together.
– This will bring up the Force Quit Applications window.

2. Option 2: Use the Apple Menu
– Click on the Apple menu () in the top-left corner of your screen.
– Scroll down and select “Force Quit” from the drop-down menu.
– This will also bring up the Force Quit Applications window.

3. Force Quit Applications window
– In the Force Quit Applications window, you’ll see a list of all the currently running apps on your Mac.
– Select the app that you want to quit from the list. You can click on the app’s name to highlight it.
– You can also use the arrow keys to navigate through the list if there are multiple apps running.
– Once you have the desired app selected, click on the “Force Quit” button.

4. Confirm the action
– A confirmation dialog will pop up asking if you are sure you want to force quit the app.
– Make sure you have saved any unsaved work in the app before proceeding.
– Click on the “Force Quit” button in the confirmation dialog.

5. App is fully closed
– After clicking “Force Quit,” the selected app will be forcefully closed and no longer running on your Mac.
– You can now open the app again if needed or continue using your Mac.

It’s worth mentioning that force quitting an app should generally be used as a last resort if the app is unresponsive or causing issues. In normal circumstances, you can simply click the red “X” button in the top-left corner of the app’s window to close it normally.

Additionally, force quitting an app may cause you to lose any unsaved work, so it’s always a good idea to save your progress regularly while working on any application.

I hope this detailed explanation helps you in fully closing apps on your Mac. Let me know if you have any further questions or need any additional assistance!