List of running programs?

A couple of ways:

. Type Command-Option-Escape. This will show regular applications
. Open Activity monitor (from Utilities). Notice the drop down menu for filtering the processes shown, and/or sort by columns.

Hi, and welcome to the forums . . . and Macs.

You'll find a lot of similarities between Macs and Windoze, but also a number of differences. One is that most apps don't automatically quit when their last window is closed. This allows you to open another window without having to re-start the whole app. So, when you want to quit, you can select the app name from the menu bar. It's last item is normally "quit".

Also, any app that's running is indicated below it's icon in the dock. You can also quit from there -- position the cursor on the icon, hold the mouse down for a second or so, and you'll get a menu allowing you to, among other things, quit.

You might also want to look at this quick guide to switching from Windoze to Macs:
http://www.apple.com/support/switch101/

And also these:

Basic Tutorials on using a Mac,
MacFixIt Tutorials,
MacTips, and
Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, Leopard Edition.

Additionally, *Texas Mac Man* recommends:

Quick Assist.
Welcome to the Switch To A Mac Guides,
Take Control E-books, and
A guide for switching to a Mac.

ajz927 wrote:
I'll keep this brief: I'm basically a mac illiterate and recently purchased a macbook pro running leopard. My question is when I am finished using a program and click the red X at the top left the program does not actually quit, how can I get a list of programs that may not be in use but are still running in the background. Thanks.

The red x and Quit do not do the same things on all apps. On some apps, the red x kills the GUI but the actual program is still running. Mail is that way.
Here's how to tell. If you click the red x in Safari, notice that the Safari menu is still visible. That means Safari, or part of it, is still running.

In addition to the above, just look in the Dock.

All running apps will have a dot/bullet/marker below their icon in the Dock. This indicates the application is running, regardless of whether it has any open windows. Just click the icon to re-activate the application then use the Quit menu to close it down completely.

Or, if you're lazy like me, use CMD+Q once you've activated the app. No need to use the menu bar options.

Camelot wrote:
In addition to the above, just look in the Dock.

All running apps will have a dot/bullet/marker below their icon in the Dock. This indicates the application is running, regardless of whether it has any open windows. Just click the icon to re-activate the application then use the Quit menu to close it down completely.

And if you really want to get down and dirty,
ps -A
🙂

Besides all the other methods mentioned, Command-Tab will show you all the running Applications. While holding Command you can Tab, *Tilda/Reverse Quote*, Left-Arrow, Right-Arrow, Click through the applciations. A selected Applications can be Quit using Command-Q.

Thanks for the feedback. Good computing.