Use any of these alternatives to never get stuck with a frozen app on your Mac. 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. You can also do that using the following keyboard shortcut: Pointing and clicking with your mouse is not the only way to bring up the Force Quit Applications window. Bring Up the Force Quit Application Window To do this, press all of these on your keyboard at the same time:Ĭommand + Option + Shift + Escape 2. 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. Then right-click on the icon while at the same time holding the Option key on your keyboard.
To force quit an app on your Mac from the Dock, first locate the icon of the said application on it. Once you do, click on the red Quit Process button and confirm your command on the small dialog box that shows up. 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. This utility though, is also a great way to Force Quit applications. Using Activity MonitorĪctivity 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. Choose the app you want to force quit from the ones available on the list and then click on Force Quit. This will bring up the Force Quit Applications window.
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 one is perhaps the most commonly known out there. 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. If your work in the crashed app hasn't been saved recently either manually or automatically, then there's not much you can do to retrieve your work other than check Time Machine.Let’s take a look at 5 different ways in which to force quit applications on your Mac. Also, bear in mind that if the process you force quit is used by other apps or processes, those apps or processes may experience issues. Note that if the app or process has files open, force quitting it may cause you to lose data.
If the beachball stays on the screen for more than a few minutes and you can't interact with the app's interface, this usually indicates the app in question has crashed, which means it's time to force quit it and restart the app to see if you can pick up where you left off in the hope it won't crash again. Macs aren't infallible, and at some point during your time using them you'll come across a situation in macOS where an app has become unresponsive, leaving you without access to its contents and functions, and only a continually revolving beachball for your troubles.