In some cases, your application freezes or become unresponsive. Instead of turning off your computer, you can close the application in three easy ways.
How to close an app using your keyboard (Alt + F4)
- Select the application that you want to close. You must select the application for your computer to recognize it as the one you want to close.
- Next, simultaneously press the Alt + F4 keys. The F4 key is located at the top of your keyboard, while the Alt key is located to the left.
Note: This shortcut may cause your computer to shut down if you don't select a window or application. You can use Task Manager instead if this keyboard shortcut doesn't work on your Windows 10 PC or your laptop doesn't have F (function) keys.
How to close an app using Task Manager
- Simultaneously press the Ctrl + Alt + Delete keys to open the Security Settings screen of Windows.
- Select Task Manager from the menu. You can also open Task Manager by pressing the Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys.
- Search for the application that you want to close. If your application does not appear in the list, click on More details in the bottom-left corner of the window.
- To exit the program, click End task.
How to close an app using Command Prompt (Advanced)
- At the same time, press the Windows key and the R key on your keyboard. The Windows key is the one to the left of your space bar that has the Windows logo on it.
- In the search box, type cmd and press enter on your keyboard.
- In the Command Prompt, type tasklist. This displays all of the tasks and programs currently running on your computer, including the one you want to close.
- Type taskkill/im example.exe. Replace "example" with the name of the program you want to force close.
- Press Enter to close the application.
Example
If you want to force Microsoft Word to close, for example, type "taskkill/im word.exe" and press enter. If the task is successful, Command Prompt will show you a confirmation message.
