How to Force Close Apps in OS X

Sometimes when you are working on your Mac, you may run into a situation where the program you are working with crashes. This can be a problem. What is even worse is when the program crashes but is actually still running in the OS X operating system. In order to fix the problem, what you need to do is to force the program to close. You can follow the steps below to force close any app in OS X.
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Step 1: On your keyboard, press Command-Option-Esc all at the same time. The Force Quit Applications window will open. On some keyboards, the Command button has a looped square on it. The Option key is located on the bottom left side of your keyboard, and the Esc key is at the top left.

Step 2: From the Force Quit Applications window, select the program that you want to close. Typically, programs that have crashed will say Not Responding right next to them in the Window.

Step 3: Click Force Quit. This will cause the program to end.

You can achieve the same goal to force close your active window by using a keyboard shortcut. If you hold down the Command, Option, Esc, and Shift keys simultaneously for three seconds, the window you are currently working in will be forced to close. There are also a few other methods of force closing apps including using the Apple menu, the Dock, and the Activity Monitor. Essentially, each method achieves the same result – closing an unresponsive program.