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How to close Apps in mission control

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phl92

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 28, 2020
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I have dozens of Windows open from different apps. I go in Mission control and want to delete a lot of Apps which I dont need at the moment.
How can I do so? Is there a shortcut? Cmd + Q does not work. I can only select them by my mouse, then they open and then I can close them. But I need ages if I have to close each one like this.
Please help the still Mac newb!
 

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phl92 said:
How can I do so? Is there a shortcut? Cmd + Q does not work.
Click to expand...
Besides a million other things, you can use BetterTouchTool to achieve exactly what you seek:
(it's not free though, but worth it imho)
  • From input methods select "Keyboard"
  • On the left side select "Global"
  • Click "+" to add a new trigger and set a specific a key-combination (like "alt+cmd+Q")
  • As action select "Quit application below mouse"
(sorry for German screenshot, but you should get the idea)
 

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Another approach: ⌘Tab to switch to the next active app, then ⌘Q to quit it. At that point, another app will come to the front. If it's one you want to Quit, just press ⌘Q. If it's not one you want to Quit, press ⌘Tab.

If you happen to have several apps "lined up" as a most-recently-used sequence, then a simple series of ⌘Q keystrokes will Quit each one of them in turn.

You can use ⌘Tab to preview what the most-recently-used sequence actually is. They'll appear from left-to-right as most-recent to least-recent.
 
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phl92 said:
Not sure what to do with this. Did you even read my post? I am asking about closing Apps with a shortcut in mission control without clicking and going in each App and press 'Quit'.
Click to expand...
That is how you close apps on a Mac.
For now at least, Mission control is not iOS’s AppSwitcher.

If you want to close all open apps with a shortcut:
- Open Automator, New – Quick Action, in the left search field write quit, drag Quit All Applications to the right side, choose “Workflow receives: no input” and in Finder, save the QuickAction as QuitAll or whatever name you want.
- Open System Preferences – Keyboard – Shortcuts – Services, scroll to the end of the list (General) and define a shortcut (⌥⌘Q) for the QuitAll service.
- Now, click on your Desktop or any Finder window and press the defined shortcut ⌥⌘Q. All other apps except Finder will be closed.

Automator action
QuitAll.jpg

Shortcut
shortcut.jpg


Use Quick Action workflows on Mac https://support.apple.com/guide/automator/use-quick-action-workflows-aut73234890a/mac
Use Mission Control on your Mac https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204100
Quit and reopen an app on iPhone https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/quit-and-reopen-an-app-iph83bfec492/ios
 
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thank you guys, I almost was sure Apple does not allow full customization in that way, but with Cmd + Tab + Q I found a way around. Not really the best, because actually Mission Control would be the best layout for this function, but as often... Apple is different :D
 
phl92 said:
Please help the still Mac newb!
Click to expand...
One important difference Ex-Windows users must get used to, is that on a Mac applications can have one, none or multiple windows open at any time. Closing a window or even the last open window of an app, does not close the app itself. Some applications don't even have any windows or icons, they are called daemons and do background tasks.

⌘Q close the entire app (and all of its windows)
⌘W close the active window
⌥⌘W close all windows of an app
⌘M minimize the active window
⌥⌘M minimize all windows of an app
⌘H hide the active window
⌥⌘H hide all other windows (except the active window)
 
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