If you switch to a Mac after becoming familiar with Windows, you’ll quickly find that the standard Ctrl+Alt+Delete shortcut doesn’t do anything. Mac OS X does have its own version of the, but it’s a bit different than Windows’, and you access it by pressing Command+Option+Esc. While Windows’ Task Manager contains a wealth of information and features, OS X splits some of those features up into separate apps. The Force Quit dialog, which you access with Command+Option+Esc, allows you to close misbehaving applications much like the Ctrl+Alt+Delete Task Manager in Windows. However, if you want more in-depth information info about your running applications and overall system resource usage, you’ll want to use the separate Activity Monitor application. How to Force Quit Misbehaving Apps with Command+Option+Esc If an application is frozen on your Mac, you can use the Force Quit dialog to close it. This is particularly useful when using a full-screen application, such as a game, and your Mac doesn’t seem to be responding.
When you use a Windows (PC) keyboard on a Macintosh computer, the keyboard shortcuts that you use map to different keys. In particular, the primary key that is used in keyboard shortcuts in combination with other keys is frequently different.
To open the Force Quit dialog, press Command+Option+Esc. This should work even if a misbehaving application has taken over your screen and your Mac isn’t responding to other keyboard or mouse actions. If that shortcut doesn’t work, you’ll likely need to forcibly shut down and restart your Mac. To force your Mac to shut down, press the Power button and hold it for several seconds. You should only do this if your Mac can’t shut down normally. (Fun fact: Command+Option+Esc is different from the well-known Ctrl+Alt+Delete shortcut on Windows, but it’s actually similar to Windows’ Ctrl+Shift+Escape shortcut, which opens the Task Manager directly without the extra click it takes from Windows’ Ctrl+Alt+Delete screen.) You can also open the Force Quit dialog by clicking the Apple menu on your menu bar and selecting “Force Quit.” Scroll down in the list and select the misbehaving application you want to close. Click the “Force Quit” button and your Mac will forcibly close that application.
There are also other ways to force quit a misbehaving application. For example, you can press and hold the Option and Ctrl keys and click an application’s icon on your dock. (You can also press and hold the and then right-click an application’s icon on your dock.) Select the “Force Quit” option that appears to forcibly quit an application. If an application isn’t responding and you click the red “Close” button on its title bar several times, you may also see a prompt window asking if you want to force-quit the application. How to View More Information With Activity Monitor RELATED: The Force Quit dialog takes care of closing misbehaving or frozen applications. However, it doesn’t allow you to see how much CPU or memory different applications are using, get an overview of your system’s overall resource usage, or other statistics like Windows’ Task Manager does. To access those other features, you’ll need to use the Activity Monitor.
To access it, press Command+Space to open Spotlight search, type “Activity monitor,” and press Enter. Or, open the Applications folder in the Finder, double-click the “Utilities” folder, and double-click “Activity Monitor.” This window displays a list of your running applications and other processes. You can view information about their CPU, memory, energy, disk, or network usage–click a tab at the top of the window to choose which.
From the “View” menu, you can select which processes you want to see–just your user account’s processes, or every running process on the system. Overall system resource statistics also appear here. The CPU, Memory, Energy, Disk, and Network tabs all show how much resources all the processes on your computer are using in total. You can close applications from here, too–just select an application in the list, click the “X” button at the top-left corner of the toolbar, and select “Quit” to close the application normally or “Force Quit” if it isn’t responding.
For more info on how to read all the information in Activity Monitor,. How to Manage Startup Programs RELATED: If you’ve used the Task Manager on Windows 8 or 10, you’ll know that it also allows you to control which startup programs launch when you log into your computer. OS X also has a similar tool, but it’s not included in the Force Quit or Activity Monitor tools. To, click the Apple menu and select “System Preferences.” Click the “Users & Groups” icon in the System Preferences window. Select the user account you want to manage–your own user account, probably–and click the “Login Items” tab. Applications that are checked in this list will launch when you sign in, so you can uncheck them if you don’t want them to launch automatically. You can drag-and-drop applications from your dock or Applications folder to this window, too–if you do, they’ll be added to this list and will automatically open when you sign in. You may have Ctrl+Alt+Delete burned into your brain for a catch-all when something goes wrong.
If you ever get into trouble on your Mac, Command+Option+Escape will open the Force Quit dialog and serve a similar purpose. For everything else, you have Activity Monitor and System Preferences to help you out.
Image Credit.
Advertisement The Ctrl + Alt + Delete menu on Windows collects many handy utilities in one place. But pressing those keys on a Mac does nothing, so how do you Ctrl + Alt + Delete on a Mac? While there’s no exact match, you’ll find that all the items on the Windows Ctrl + Alt + Del screen are available in macOS too.
Let’s take a look. What’s in the Control + Alt + Delete Menu?
A lot of people equate Ctrl + Alt + Del with only the Task Manager. But that actually has its own shortcut on Windows: Ctrl + Shift + Esc. As it turns out, pressing the Ctrl + Alt + Del shortcut on Windows brings up a menu with the following options:. Lock: Displays the lock screen and requires your password to get back in. Switch user: Swap to another user account without logging out of yours. Sign out: Log out of your account, but do not shut down the computer.
Task Manager: Opens the utility that lets you manage processes and more. The menu also contains shortcuts in the bottom-right to manage network settings, Ease of Access utilities, and power options. Let’s look at the ways to perform all these actions on a Mac. How to Close Frozen Apps on Mac You can use Cmd + Q to quit apps on a Mac. But if an app is frozen, it won’t respond to this. Instead, press Cmd + Option + Esc to bring up the Force Quit Applications window.
This lets you forcefully close an app if doing it normally won’t work. This is the quickest way to force-close processes, so it’s a shortcut all Mac users should know. How to Open Activity Monitor on Mac Activity Monitor is the Wondering how to open the task manager on your Mac?
We show you ways to open macOS's task manager and what it can do. It lets you manage running processes and get information about them. The easiest way to open the Activity Monitor is by launching Spotlight, your Mac’s search tool, with Cmd + Space. Then type Activity Monitor and press Return to launch it.
Power and Account Options on Mac You’ll find equivalents for many Ctrl + Alt + Del menu options in the Apple Menu at the top-left corner of the screen. You can choose to Sleep, Restart, and Shut Down here.
It also holds Lock Screen and Log Out options. If you prefer keyboard shortcuts, use Ctrl + Cmd + Q to lock your screen, or Shift + Cmd + Q to log out.
For an equivalent of the Switch User option, you’ll need to visit System Preferences Users & Groups. Click the lock at the bottom of the window to make changes, then select Login Options on the left sidebar.
Check the box for Show fast user switching menu as and choose an option. You’ll see a new option at the top-right of your menu bar. Click this, then pick another user’s name from the list to swap to it without logging out.
Network and Accessibility Options on Mac The Ctrl + Alt + Delete menu also lets you access network and accessibility options, as mentioned. Most people probably don’t use those shortcuts often, but we include their Mac equivalents here for the sake of completion. To access accessibility options, open System Preferences Accessibility. Here you’ll find tools to change the zoom level, adjust mouse options, enable mono audio, and more. For network options, visit System Preferences Network. This lets you add a new network, change existing settings, and more.
Ctrl + Alt + Delete on Mac Made Easy Now you know how to Ctrl + Alt + Delete on a Mac. While these utilities aren’t an exact replacement, they give you most of the same functionality of the equivalent Windows menu. Most importantly, keep the Cmd + Option + Esc shortcut in mind for closing rogue apps. For more tips like this, check out Every Windows user should know the basics of working on a Mac. Here's a quick guide to help Mac newcomers find their way around. Explore more about:,.