Minimizing and closing windows in MacOS

The red "X" on macOS only closes that particular window, but leaves the app open. You either need to click "File --> Quit" or use the hot keys Command + Q. You can also right-click or control-click on the app icon on the dock to access the "Quit" option.

To minimize a window you click the yellow "-" minimize button on the window or click "Window --> Minimize", or use the hotkey Command + M.

If you want to "minimize" the whole app, macOS considers this "hiding" the app. The hot key for this is usually Command + H, or right-click or control-click the dock icon and select "Hide", or select the option by clicking on the app name on the menubar and selecting "Hide <appname>".

FYI, If you click the maximize window option it actually makes the window go full screen with no menubar. To get the Windows maximize option which just enlarges the window to fill the viewing area you can Option-click the green maximize "+" button.

You might want to read this article about using a Mac -- https://www.howtogeek.com/279086/why-do-mac-apps-stay-open-when-i-hit-the-red-x-button/ -- it talks exactly about your puzzlement about the differences in using mac and windows computers. They mention an app called "RedQuits" that you can mimic Windows behavior on your Mac, but I've never used it and not sure if it's still available since the article is from 2016. I just looked and RedQuits is available from the developer at http://www.carsten-mielke.com/redquits.html - it is free to download, but can't offer any opinion about it as I've never used it. Let us know how it works if you try it out.

That article mentions that there are Windows apps that don't quit when you close their window, so there are exceptions to the rule on both mac and windows systems it appears. Can you think of any Windows apps that behave the opposite of the windows norm?

Good luck...

Welcome to the wonderful world of macOS ;-)

There are some apps that if you close their window it does indeed quit the application -- Disk Utility does this as does System Preferences, but those are the only two I can think of that behave this way (will try and do a little more research and post back any others I find later that do this). I suppose it's up to the application on what it does if the last/only user interface window closes whether it also quits, but it definitely is the exception, rather than the rule based on my experience. Which apps were you experiencing this behavior with??

HWTech has some good suggestions for keyboard shortcuts dealing with windows -- you might want to become familiar with those and some of the other common ones when working on a macOS system. See https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201236 for many more and you can look at the System Preferences Keyboard pane then click on the Shortcuts tab for a rather exhaustive list (grouped by categories like Mission Control, Screenshots, etc) and you can even create custom keyboard shortcuts (not sure what happens if you create one that is already defined - maybe someone else can comment on that). I especially like the screenshot oriented shortcuts and the ability to save them in your choice of format (jpeg, pdf, png, tiff among others) as well as have them saved in a specific folder if you choose (the default location is your Desktop).

Anyway, I was in the same boat as you are now a number of years ago, when I decided to start using macOS systems, after using mostly Windows and Unix systems for many years. The learning curve is definitely something you need to climb up, but hope you agree that using Mac systems just seem more fun and there are so many things that seem easier to do or just more intuitive (but of course that is something you will decide for yourself over time) and easier to be more productive (of course there are those who say the same about Windows - but that is of course a very hotly debated topic among some ;-). Be patient and ask lots of questions and try and find a local Mac user group if you can and take advantage of the free classes that Apple stores and other Apple resellers offer, as well as these Apple discussion forums.

Welcome aboard and may you always have smooth sailing and steady breezes while you're sailing in the sea that is macOS ;-)

Good luck...