While not a common occurrence if you have a Mac, it happens from time to time that Mac owners have to face the dreaded spinning beach-ball of death, a clear sign that one or more applications on your Mac are frozen and unresponsive.
In addition to the keyboard shortcut, the Force Quit window can be invoked from the Apple menu. In the menu bar, you need to click on the apple icon, then select “Force Quit” from the list. There is another way to force quit – by pressing Option + Ctrl, you need to click on the application icon in the dock, or hold down the Option key. Force Quit on a Mac using the keyboard. Another way to Force Quit an app is to hold down the Command + Alt (or Option) + Escape keys, this will bring up the same Force Quit Applications window as.
How to force quit on MacBook using activity monitor? Activity monitor is an inbuilt app and a task. How do i force quit mac using my pc keyboard. No keys match up to the 'command' key i am told to use. Do you know the corresponding keys? For the force quit sequence? Mac mini, Mac OS X (10.2.x), beach ball from h Posted on Apr 27, 2011 10:40 AM. Reply I have this question too (69).
Because of this, it is always a good thing to know how to force your Mac applications to quit so they don’t affect other open ones and thus, the overall performance of your Mac. Even better, the more ways in which you know how to force quit your Mac applications, the more likely you will be successful doing so in the strange event that the frozen application also freezes the mouse or keyboard of your Mac.
Command Quit On Mac
Let’s take a look at 5 different ways in which to force quit applications on your Mac. Some of them using both your mouse and keyboard, and some of them using your keyboard exclusively in case the mouse stops working along with your frozen app.
Using Both Your Mouse and Keyboard
1. From the Menu
This one is perhaps the most commonly known out there. To force quit an application this way, click on the icon on the menu bar at the top of the screen and then select the Force Quit… option.
This will bring up the Force Quit Applications window. Choose the app you want to force quit from the ones available on the list and then click on Force Quit.
2. Using Activity Monitor
Activity Monitor is a very nice way to manage and monitor all your running apps, allowing you to see which of them takes the most memory, CPU among others. This utility though, is also a great way to Force Quit applications. To do so, open it using Spotlight (the easiest way) and look for the application you want to shut down from the ones available on the list. Once you do, click on the red Quit Process button and confirm your command on the small dialog box that shows up.
3. Right from the Dock
To force quit an app on your Mac from the Dock, first locate the icon of the said application on it. Then right-click on the icon while at the same time holding the Option key on your keyboard.
Using Only Your Keyboard
1. The Direct “Four-Key” Force Quit Command
If the mouse becomes unresponsive along with the app you want to shut down, this keyboard shortcut is your best bet, since it takes down the currently active application instantly.
To do this, press all of these on your keyboard at the same time:
Command + Option + Shift + Escape
2. Bring Up the Force Quit Application Window
Pointing and clicking with your mouse is not the only way to bring up the Force Quit Applications window. You can also do that using the following keyboard shortcut:
Command + Option + Escape
Once the window is up, just scroll down the list of applications using the arrow keys and then press the Return key (or Enter depending on your keyboard) and then press it again to confirm your choice.
There you have it. Use any of these alternatives to never get stuck with a frozen app on your Mac.
The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.Also See#Lists #How-to/Guides
Did You Know
Your browser keeps a track of your system's OS, IP address, browser, and also browser plugins and add-ons.
More in Mac
Mac Keyboard For Force Quit Smoking
Mac Keyboard For Force Quit Working
Top 4 Ways to Fix Mac Desktop Icons Missing or Not Showing
If your Mac is frozen or not responding, you will be stuck on the running app and won’t have an escape route except to force quite the running apps. Most people find the short key to close any running app on Mac as a big-time savior. You’re not alone in this.
Many people find it difficult to force quit a running app that has frozen. The most annoying part is that clicking on the ‘x’ mark at the upper left corner of an app in a Mac does not close the app, instead, it will close that window but the app keeps running in the background.
The process to force quit any running app is quite different from closing an ordinary app on Mac. Below, we will be showing you how to easily close the running app on your Mac.
Contents
- 10 Quit Keyboard Shortcut For Mac to Quit Running Apps
Close an App or Force quite running apps on Mac
It’s not right to always force quit apps on Mac. You should know that the closing app is the right way to switch to other important tasks on your PC as the application will still be running in the background.
So when you close running apps such as Photoshop, Chrome with dozens of opened tabs, a cloud storage app with continuous syncing on your Mac. If your Mac memory is low, then you should consider quitting the app to reduce the system resources. It’s recommendable to always close or quit apps when you are done using it.
On the other hand, force quitting an app on Mac is an extreme measure step to take. You should only force quit an app when it freezes or you are seeing spinning beach ball on the screen. To force quit app means to forcefully close it. Sometimes this quickly kills the app from the RAM, however, in some cases it does so without saving your work.
How to Quit or Close Running Apps on Mac
Using the macOS Menu bar
When you open any app on Mac, the menu bar on the top adjusts itself. You can now tap on the app name beside the little Apple icon and access the options such as app preference, the About app menu, and more. You should then scroll down to the bottom and select the quit app option and it will close the app on your Mac.
Using Keyboard Shortcut
Just like Windows PC, macOS also provides a keyboard shortcut to quit an app. When you want to close any app, you should use the Command + Q’ keyboard shortcut to close the current app on your Mac.
You should now see all the active and running apps from the dock. These apps are represented by the tiny black dot below the app icon in the dock. You can now use a two-finger click on the app icon and then select the quit option from the floating menu.
If you are using a mouse, just hover the cursor on the app icon and right-click on it to open the floating menu. After that, you can now proceed to select the quite option.
How to quit Apps from the Upper Right Corner of Menu Bar
Apps like OneDrive, Dropbox, Adobe Creative Cloud, time-tracking software, and many more always remain active in the menu bar. You can access these apps from the right side of the menu bar and select the app icon to open the floating menu and quit the app. To quit the Dropbox, click on it and then tap on more options and select the Quit Dropbox option.
How to Force Quit Running Apps on Mac
Force Quit App Using Activity Monitor
Just like task manager on Windows, macOS also has Activity Monitor to let you keep track of CPU, memory, Disk, Energy, and Network usage by each app on your Mac. To close any app on your Mac using this monitor, follow the steps below.
Step 1: Use the ‘Command + Space’ keyboard shortcut to open Spotlight Search
Step 2: Now type Activity Monitor in it and open the app. Or you can still open the Activity Monitor from the Launchpad. You will see the Activity Monitor app in a folder named ‘Other’.
Step 3: This will open the Energy section. You can now move your cursor to the app name and it will enable the ‘x’ option at the top.
Step 4: Select the ‘x’ icon at the upper left corner and a dialog box will appear to force quit the app.
Step 5: You can now select the Force quit option from the floating menu and this will close the app.
Quit App Using the Force Quit Window on Mac
This option is available for every Mac user. All you need to do is to use the ‘Command + Option + Esc’ keyboard shortcut to open up the Force Quit Applications menu. Then select the app name using a cursor and use the force quit option from the bottom to finally close the app.
Force Quit App on Mac Using from the Terminal
This option is not recommendable. However, since macOS provides a handy trick to force quit apps using the Terminal, let’s give it a try. Just follow the steps below.
Step 1: Use the ‘Command + Space’ keyboard shortcut to open Spotlight Search
Step 2: Type “Terminal” and this will open the app. You can also open the app using the Launchpad.
Step 3: Again type “killall ‘app name’” and hit return. This will force quit the mentioned app. For example, to force quit Dropbox, I can type “killall Dropbox” and it will force close Dropbox after hitting the return button.
Quit Keyboard Shortcut For Mac to Quit Running Apps
Well, if you are looking for shortcut keys to quit running apps on Mac, here you have them. You can use the combination of keys ‘Command + Option + Shift + Esc’ and hold it for two seconds and it will force quit the running or active app on your Mac.
Using the method above, you can close or force quit any running app on any Mac model. It’s applicable to MacBook Pro Air and many more. This method is effective when your Mac freezes or the app itself.