May 17, 2013 In fact, you can view all running processes and apps this way using any version of Mac OS or Mac OS X, whether that is macOS High Sierra, Sierra, OS X EL Capitan, Yosemite, Mavericks, Snow Leopard, Tiger, Mountain Lion, or any other version, they all include “Activity Monitor” and the various tools to monitor and observe processes this way. May 07, 2019 How to Close Apps in Mac, MacBook, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Pro Tech & Design. Closing Apps, Did you know they were still running? - Mac Minute - Episode 4 - Duration: 4:41.
Opening, closing, organizing and installing. Managing apps on a Mac is different to Windows, but it’s very simple. If you’re at all unsure check out this guide for some top tips.
When you’re new to Mac computers one of the first things you’ll notice is how apps are managed differently. Generally speaking, most things are more straight-forward; although it might not seem that way at first glance.
There’s no start menu anymore, but instead there’s a row of icons at the bottom of the screen. The ‘X’ button has moved to the left and into a red circle, but it doesn’t even close the app properly.
In this post I’ll explain all the basics of how to manage apps on a Mac. Including my favorite shortcuts to make even experienced Mac-users more productive than ever.
Contents
- 1 Opening Apps on a Mac
- 3 Organizing Apps on a Mac
- 4 Installing and Uninstalling Apps
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Opening Apps on a Mac
Opening Apps with Spotlight
I believe this is the quickest and easiest way to launch any application on your Mac.
Spotlight is a macOS feature that lets you search your machine for almost anything: documents, photos, contact details, directions, web pages. And applications.
Open Spotlight by pressing cmd+space and start typing the app you want to open. When Spotlight finds it—usually after only a few letters—hit enter to launch the app.
Quick, easy, and accessible whatever you’re doing on the Mac.
Opening Apps with the Dock
Usually found at the bottom of your Mac screen is a colorful row of app icons. This is the Dock and it’s probably the most common way of opening apps on a Mac.
The main section of the Dock shows your favorite apps, which are easy to customize. To the right you’ll see a divider with a few recently used applications, and then stacks of documents and the Trash.
To launch an app from the Dock just click its icon and watch it bounce up and down while the app opens.
Opening Apps with Launchpad
Launchpad is an app to open other apps. Its iOS-style full-screen display makes it easier to find the specific application you’re looking for.
Open Launchpad using either of the two methods above or press the grid-like shortcut button on your keyboard or Touch Bar. If that isn’t good enough, pinch together with your thumb and three fingers on the trackpad.
With Launchpad open, click any app icon to open it. Otherwise click the background, press esc, or pinch your fingers out to close Launchpad.
Opening Apps in Finder
Finder is the blue-and-white face on the left side of the Dock. It’s what you’ll use to navigate or organize files and folders on a Mac.
Click the Finder icon to open a new window, then either click the Applications shortcut or press cmd+A to open the Applications folder and view your Mac apps. Double-click any of these apps to open them.
You could also use this opportunity to drag your favorites apps onto the Dock.
Closing Apps on a Mac
When an app is open you’ll see three colored circles at the top left of the window; if you don’t see them hover your mouse in the top left corner of the screen and they should appear.
The red circle will close this window but it won’t necessarily close the app. This is because you may have multiple windows of that app. Or it could be because it’s beneficial for that app to run in the background, such as Mail or Messages.
To close an app completely, make sure it’s your active application—by looking at the Menu Bar—and press cmd+Q. To make a different app active, follow any of the steps for opening applications on a Mac.
Alternatively, you can click the app’s name in the Menu Bar and select the Quit [Application] option.
Organizing Apps on a Mac
Organizing Apps on the Dock
The largest section of the Dock holds your favorite apps and can be easily customized.
Click and drag app icons to any position or drop them into the Trash to Remove from Dock. When an app is removed from the Dock it hasn’t been deleted from your Mac and can still be opened using any of the other methods.
You can drag icons from the recently used section to your favorites to make them permanently accessible. Or open the Applications folder in Finder and drag any other apps onto the Dock.
You can now add, rearrange, or remove Dock icons to your liking.
Organizing Apps in LaunchPad
Just like the Dock, you can click and drag app icons in Launchpad to wherever you want them. However, in Launchpad you’re also able to create folders or move apps to new pages.
Move an app to a new page by dragging it to the edge of the screen. Create a folder by dropping one app on top of another. You can then rename the folder by clicking its name and typing something new, like ‘Productivity’ or ‘Games’.
There are countless ways to organize your apps in Launchpad: alphabetically, color-coded, or by categories. It’s up to you.
Installing and Uninstalling Apps
Installing Apps on a Mac
The easiest way to install apps is with the Mac App Store. Search for the app you’re looking, click install, and enter your password.
However, if the app you wants isn’t available on the Mac App Store, you can still install it using either a download or an installation disc. To do so, download the app from a website or insert the disc and double-click the disk image that appears.
The disk image will either have an app installer for you to open and follow or a copy of the app to drag into your Applications folder.
Occasionally macOS will refuse to run an application from unidentified developers. If you’re certain the app is safe, you can bypass this by control-clicking the app in Finder and selecting Open.
Uninstalling Apps on a Mac
Uninstalling applications on a Mac can seem tricky at times but it’s really rather simple.
Open the Applications folder in Finder and locate the app you want to uninstall. If there is an Uninstaller, open that and follow the prompts. Otherwise, drag the app icon into the Trash on your Dock.
That’s it.
Alternatively, for Mac App Store apps you can click and hold on the icon in Launchpad and click the ‘X’ button that appears.
When an app is uninstalled, your Mac will keep your preferences just in case you ever wish to use that app again. These preferences files are usually tiny and hidden away, so you don’t need to worry about removing them.
Hopefully that gives you a solid grounding in how to manage apps on a Mac. If you’ve still got questions or want us to do some other beginner guides, let us know in the comments!
Dan is a freelance writer based in South West England.
He spent two years supervising repairs as a Genius Admin for Apple Retail and uses that knowledge to keep our troubleshooting guides up to date.
Long before that, Dan turned to Apple products from a musical background. Having owned iPods for years, he bought a MacBook to learn sound recording and production. It was using those skills that he gained a first-class Bachelor of Science in Sound Technology.
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It is very annoying when your iPhone apps keep crashing without any reason. Generally, the iOS apps are stable and do not give any issues, but there are days when the iPhone apps keep closing at random. The apps will quit without any input as soon as they are launched.
When this problem occurs, one question that comes to your mind is-“Why do my apps keep closing on my iPhone?” To help these users, we have given some troubleshooting tips that will help in solving this problem.
Why do my Apps keep closing on my iPhone?
This problem on your iPhone can arise due to a number of reasons. Before seeing the tips for solving this issue, let us see the reasons first.
- If the app keep closing, it may become obsolete and needs to be updated for optimal performance.
- If you have recently updated your iOS, the chances are that the iOS is incompatible with the app. This problem may also occur when there is a lack of storage space on your device. The users keep downloading music, content, videos and photos and ignore the storage space left. When the storage space in your iPhone is not enough to perform the tasks, the apps will keep crashing.
- The apps that require a Wi-Fi connection or mobile network will not work properly if the connection is poor or there is no signal.
Make sure your iPhone data is safe before fixing
Once you get to know the reasons for this problem, you need to make sure that your data is safe. First, back up your iPhone data and start fixing the issue via the troubleshooting steps given below.
Make a complete backup of your iPhone data via iTunes or iCloud so that even if there is data loss during the fixing process, you can easily restore the backup.
There is a professional third-party tool known as iMyFone D-Back that allows you to selectively back up the iPhone data as you want. You can choose the way you prefer to keep your data safe.
9 Best Ways to Fix Apps Keep Closing on iPhone
Your iPhone apps can close due to any reason, so we have given 9 ways in this guide to help you solve this problem. Follow them and check if the iPhone apps keep closing issue gets solved.
Way 1. Quit & Re-launch Apps
If the iPhone app keeps closing or if it is not responding, you should force quit it and re-launch it.
Step 1: Swipe up from your Home screen or double click the Home button depending on your device.
Step 2: Look for the problematic application. Swipe it up to completely quit the app.
Step 3: Now return to the Home screen and launch the app again.
Way 2. Upgrade the Apps
Keeping the apps up-to-date is very important, because the developers not only push in new features in the app update but also fix the software glitches and bugs after identifying them.
Step 1: Open App Store and tap on Updates.
Step 2: Tap on each app and download and install the available updates of the individual app.
Step 3: Now launch the app and check if it is working.
Way 3. Restart Your iPhone
Most of the iOS issues get fixed automatically when the device is restarted.
Step 1: Press the top button or side button and hold it until you see the slider. If you are using iPhone X or later model then press and hold the side button with any of the volume button.
Step 2: Drag the slider and turn off the device.
Step 3: After a few minutes, restart your iPhone. Now, check whether the apps are working properly.
Way 4. Update iPhone to Latest Version
You may be encountering this problem because of bugs in the current iOS version. Update your iPhone to solve this issue.
Step 1: Open Settings -> General.
Step 2: Tap Software Update. Your device will start checking for updates.
Step 3: If it shows any new update, you should download and install it to solve the iOS issue.
Way 5. Contact the App’s Developer
If a specific app continues to give problems, you need to contact the developer for the solution.
Step 1: Open the Apple App Store and search for the app.
Step 2: Tap on that app. You will find Ratings & Reviews.
Step 3: In that, tap App Support. Now, explain your problems to the developer.
Way 6. Erase All Content and Settings
You can also erase the entire content and settings on your iPhone to check if the issue gets solved.
Step 1: Open Settings -> General and then tap on Reset.
Step 2: Next, tap on Erase All Content and Settings.
Step 3: You will be asked to back up the data to iCloud.
Step 4: Back up the data and confirm in the next step.
Way 7. Restore iPhone via iTunes
If the issue is not solved even after trying the methods given above, you have to restore the iPhone via iTunes. It will wipe off the entire iPhone data and install the latest iOS version on your device. Read the steps given below to know how to restore your iPhone using iTunes.
Step 1: Open iTunes on your computer and connect your iPhone to it. If asked, tap “Trust” this computer on your iPhone.
Step 2: Now, choose your iPhone on the computer screen.
Step 3: Click on Summary on the left and click Restore iPhone.
Step 4: Confirm the restore by clicking on Restore button again.
Way 8. Fix Apps Keep Closing on iPhone Issue without Data Loss
When you are fixing an iOS issue, it is very important to safeguard the iPhone data. While trying the above methods, you might lose the entire data of your iPhone.
So using a smart iOS program like iMyFone Fixppo to fix this issue will be a wise decision. Various issues can be easily fixed with this specialized tool which has been trusted and recommended by many professional websites.
Here you can try to fix this issue using the standard mode of Fixppo which will not affect your data.
Exit Apps On Mac
Step 1.Open iMyFone Fixppo on your personal computer. Connect your device. Click Standard mode on the Home screen and click Next. If the device does not get recognized by the program, put it in DFU or Recovery mode.
Step 2.As soon as the program will detect your device, you can download the relevant firmware version for fixing this issue. Choose the suitable firmware version and click on Download.
Step 3.Once the firmware is downloaded, click on the Start button to start fixing the issue. You should not use the device or unplug it from the computer while the process is going on.
Way 9. Contact Apple Support to Check the Hardware
How To Close Apps On Macbook
If none of the above methods helped you in solving the issue, the last resort is to contact the Apple Support to check whether there is something wrong with the hardware.
How To Quit An App On Mac
Conclusion
Closing Apps On A Macbook Pro
Now you know what to do when the iPhone apps keep closing suddenly. Try the method carefully for successfully solving this issue. Don’t forget to check with us for more solutions to your iOS issues. Just leave your comments below if you have any queries related to iOS.