Do programs continue operating while computer is locked?

[theprizerevealed]

Do programs continue operating while the computer is locked? I am using iMovie to render a file however it requires hours to process and I don’t want to leave my computer unattended. If I lock the computer will iMovie continue rendering the file?

 

[Taz Mangus]

Do programs continue operating while computer is locked? I am using iMovie to render a file however it requires hours and I don’t want to leave my computer unattended. If I lock the computer will iMovie continue rendering the file?

Applications can still continue to execute while your computer is locked. It is when the computer goes to sleep that applications may pause their execution. iMovie will continue to render while the computer is locked. You might want to go into System Preference→Energy Saver and prevent the computer from going to sleep while you are running iMovie.

 

[MacGizmo]

Disabling Sleep from Energy Saver settings will do the trick, but it's "heavy-handed" in that it's all or nothing. A free app called Amphetamine will allow you to choose individual apps that trigger sleep on/off. So you can have your Mac not sleep only while iMove is active, etc.

Amphetamine has been around a long time, works extremely well, and is quite stable. There are other apps that do this, but Amphetamine is probably the oldest and most-used.