You may want to close an application or program on Windows after you finish using it or if the application or program does not respond properly. In any case, closing an application or program on Windows is easy.
Both Windows 10 and Windows 11 offer several ways to close apps and programs. Let's find out details through the following article!
1. Close the application or program with the X button
Use button X is the most common way to close applications and programs on Windows. If you have been using Windows for a while, this is probably the first method that comes to mind.
Just hover over the top right corner of the app you want to close and click the button X.
2. Close the application or program using the title bar menu
A lesser-known method for closing applications and programs on Windows is through the title bar menu.
Right-click on the application window's title bar and select Close from the context menu that appears. You can also press Alt + Spacebar to access the menu on the title bar, then press the key C on the keyboard to close the application window.
3. Close the application or program from the Taskbar
You might be using the Taskbar to keep track of your active applications and programs on Windows. But did you know that it is also possible to close apps and programs from there? The article will show you how to do it.
1. Move the mouse pointer over the application icon on the taskbar.
2. When you see the preview of the active window, click the red X button in the upper right corner of the preview to close the application.
Alternatively, you can right-click the application icon on the taskbar and select options Close windows from the results menu. If there are multiple versions of an app, select them Close all windows.
4. Close the application or program from Task Switcher
Task Switcher is a useful feature on Windows that allows you to switch between open windows. Here's how you can use it to close apps and programs on Windows.
1. Press Ctrl + Alt + Tab together on the keyboard to access Task Switcher on Windows.
2. Locate the application you want to close and click the icon X in the top right corner of the preview to close that app.
5. Close the application or program using the keyboard shortcut Alt + F4
You can also use the Alt + F4 keyboard shortcut to close an application or program on Windows. To do so, switch to the app or program you want to close and press it simultaneously Alt + F4 on the keyboard to close that application or program.
Does this sound like using keyboard shortcuts on Windows? Check out how you can assign keyboard shortcuts to programs on Windows to quickly open apps.
6. Close the application or program through Task Manager
If you're having trouble closing an app because it's unresponsive, you can use Task Manager to force close it. Below are the steps to take.
1. Right click on the icon Start or press Win + X to open the Power User menu and select Task Manager from the list. Alternatively, you can press them simultaneously Ctrl + Shift + Esc on the keyboard to quickly open Task Manager.
2. In tabs Processesfind the app or program you want to close. Right click on it and select End task from the context menu that appears.
Using Task Manager is not the only way to force close applications on Windows. You can also use the taskkill command or a dedicated third-party application for that. To learn more about this topic, see our guide on how to force close programs on Windows without Task Manager.
7. Close the application or program via Command Prompt or PowerShell
Not a fan of GUIs? No problem. You can also use Command Prompt or Windows PowerShell to close applications or programs on Windows. Don't worry, the process is not as complicated as you might think and only requires you to run a few commands. Here's how you can do it.
1. Press Win + S to open the search menu.
2. Enter Command Prompt or PowerShell in the search menu and press Enter.
3. Enter tasklist in console and press Enter to see a list of running applications and processes.
To close an application or program, enter the following command and press Enter. Make sure you replace ProgramName with the actual name of the application you want to close.
taskkill /im ProgramName.exe /t /f
After running the above command, you will see a message stating that your application has been terminated. If you already know the name of your application or program, you can close it by running a single command mentioned in the last step.
8. Close the application from Windows Settings
The final method to close an application is to use the Windows Settings application. It may not be as fast as the other methods on this list, but it certainly comes in handy when an application is unresponsive on Windows.
To close an app using Settings, follow these steps.
1. Open the Start menu and click the gear icon to launch the Settings app. Alternatively, you can press Win + I to launch the Settings app faster.
2. Use the left pane to navigate to Apps.
3. Select Installed apps from the right pane.
4. Scroll down or use the search tool to find the app you want to close.
5. Click the three-dot menu icon next to the application and select Advanced options.
6. Scroll down to click the button Terminate.
Once you complete the above steps, Windows will immediately terminate all application-related processes. It's worth noting that this method will only work for Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps.
As we just saw, there are many methods to close applications or programs on Windows. Whether you use keyboard shortcuts or command line methods, closing applications on Windows is always quick and simple.
Don't worry if you accidentally close a few apps. You can easily reopen recently closed apps using a third-party program like ReOpen or UndoClose.
