The ability to perform a job multiple ways is one of the highlights of the Windows operating system, including the latest Windows 11 version.
Windows 11, like its predecessors, offers multiple ways to perform common tasks. For instance, there are nearly a dozen ways to close running apps in Windows 11.
The following are the eleven easy ways to close an app in Windows 11.
Method 1 of 11
Close an app by clicking the close button in the app title bar
Every app shows a close button at the top right of its window. All you need to do is click the X in the extreme right of the app title bar to close the app immediately.
Method 2 of 11
Close an app from the taskbar in Windows 11
Step 1: Right-click the app’s icon in the taskbar and then click the Close window option to close it immediately.
Note that Windows 11 will show Close windows instead of Close window option if multiple windows of the same app are open. If you click the Close windows option, all windows of the right-clicked app will be closed immediately.
Method 3 of 11
Close an app using keyboard shortcuts in Windows 11
Like most of the common jobs out there, Windows 11 offers an easy keyboard shortcut to close apps.
Step 1: When the app that you need to close is open, use the Alt + F4 keys to close it.
Method 4 of 11
Close an app from its title bar in Windows 11
This is one of the lesser-known methods offered by Windows to close apps. However, note that not all modern apps support this feature.
Step 1: Right-click the app’s title bar and then click the Close option.
Method 5 of 11
Close an app from the Task Manager in Windows 11
Step 1: Right-click on an empty spot on the taskbar and then click Task Manager to open it.
Step 2: Here, under the Processes tab, right-click the app’s entry that you would like to close and then click the End task option.
Method 6 of 11
Close an app from the Alt + Tab screen in Windows 11
Step 1: Press and hold the Alt key and then press the Tab key once to open the Alt + Tab screen
Step 2: Here, hover the mouse cursor over the app’s window to see the close button, and then click the “X” button. After selecting an app, you may also press the Delete key to close it.
Method 7 of 11
Close an app with a touch gesture in Windows 11
On a touch device, swipe down the app’s window from the top to the bottom of the screen to close it.
Method 8 of 11
Force close an app from the taskbar in Windows 11
Windows 11 lets you add an End task option to the context menu that you see when you right-click an app’s icon on the taskbar, using which you can close apps. To add the option, navigate to Settings > System > Developers page and then turn on the End task option.
Once done, right-click the app’s icon on the taskbar and then click the End task option.
Method 9 of 11
Yet another way to close an app from the taskbar in Windows 11
Step 1: Hover the mouse cursor over the app’s icon on the taskbar to see the thumbnail.
Step 2: Now, hover the mouse cursor over the thumbnail to see the close/X button. Click it to close the app.
Method 10 of 11
Close an app from the Command Prompt in Windows 11
Step 1: Launch the Command Prompt using search or any other method.
Step 2: Type tasklist and then hit the Enter key to get a list of all open apps.
Step 3: Type taskkill /IM appname.exe /F command and then press the Enter key. Needless to say, you need to replace the appname.exe with the name of the app you wish to close.
Method 11 of 11
Close an app from PowerShell in Windows 11
Step 1: Use the Start menu or taskbar search to open the PowerShell window.
Step 2: Type the following command and then press the Enter key to close the app immediately.
Stop-Process -Name AppName -Force
Please note that you need to replace “appname” with the name of the app. For instance, to close the Notepad app, the command would be:
Stop-Process -Name notepad –Force
Leave a Reply