Minimized apps re-opening on startup

I just tried:

Minimized Skype into the dock item (not quitting it, staying on-line), then logged out. After logging back in, the Skype login window came up, then followed by the regular Skype window on the desktop as it was during the last session before minimizing, and in the same on-line state as before.

IOW, no, I don't have have that same "problem". No help, I know, but wanted to let you know anyway.

Good question. I have also noticed inconsistent app behavior with this feature. I think app behavior depends on how the particular app reacts to what is happening.

Sometimes a web page accessed with a login (username and password) will reopen in a logged-in state, other times a new login will be required. In Word 2011, windows which were minimized prior to restart are no longer minimized after.

Perhaps one of the more technically experienced folks in these discussions can illuminate, but I take my cue from the wording of the checkbox message, which is something like "reopen current windows." I read that literally, that Finder reopens wincows, and opening a window of a particular app then causes the app to launch.

So it is hard to know whether what you are seeing is a problem. Since different apps seem to reopen on restart differently, I suspect it would be helpful if the question focused on a specific app.

I see the variation as well. I just tried restart with Mail and iBiz windows minimized in Dock. After restart, both apps re-launched, with iBiz window again minimized in Dock while Mail window disappeared from Dock entirely and only reappeared when I clicked Mail's Dock icon.

So it appears the behavior is app-specific, but not necessarily a system malfunction. I guess all I can suggest is that the behavior is a problem for you with a specific app, you might raise the question with the developer, who might modify the process in an update.

Thanks for that clarification.

It appears that "Reopen windows when logging back in" also re-launches any active apps. This seems to make sense.

It is probably worth noting that one major difference between Mac and Windows is that in Windows (at least up through XP), closing all windows quits the program, while on Mac that's not the case; an app continues running until quit, even with no open windows.

Well, that depends on the app.

The marker below a Dock icon (although it's less obvious in Lion/Mountain Lion than in previous OS versions), indicates the app is running, even though it may have no open windows, and this can be confirmed in Activity Monitor.

In Word, if I close all windows Word is still running, however if I click on its Dock icon it then displays its Document Gallery.

If I close all windows in Contacts or Calendar, the app quits.

Aha! Interesting.

(No offense intended with the Windows reference; that was for other readers new to Mac.)

I just tried it, and after restart with no window in iBiz, iBiz was marked as running in the Dock and also appeared in AM, even though I had not clicked on its icon. Although Word had no windows open on restart, after restart it displayed Document Gallery.

The other thing I noticed is that some apps seem to take longer to "recover" after this type of restart. When I did click iBiz icon in Dock, it reopened its default window, but it took 5-10 seconds.

Just out of curiosity, I wonder if the system is just taking longer to "get around" to loading all app components into active processes, if the apps you describe as "not actually started" would eventually start? I noted that Acrobat was initially listed in AM in red as not responding, but eventually it appeared in AM normally.

I note when I click on one or another app's icon after this type of restart, sometimes windows are grayed or take 3-4 seconds to fully load. I suppose it could depend on processor speed, available RAM and number of apps having to re-start. How many apps are indicated in Dock as running for you in this scenario? I have 8 plus Finder, early 2008 Mac Pro with 8GB RAM. I see you have two 120GB SSD (Cool! I'm thinking about adding one).

Sorry, but I can't think of anything else. Perhaps one of the other gurus around here has more insight.

I can see how that would be a problem. Assuming you've repaired permissions and reset PRAM (that has helped some people with ML issues), and the particular apps are up to date, perhaps deleting the app's .plist file would help. Of course custom prefs would need to be re-set.

Actually, I have my Mac Pro set to never sleep (but let the display sleep), so I don't restart as much. But I do quit all apps and restart at least every other day.

I really like the idea of SSD. But since it's pricey, I'm thinking of getting a smaller SSD and using Core Storage and my internal startup HD to create a DIY fusion drive.

Curious. I also found that wake from sleep can be annoyingly time-consuming. I guess we each find our own workarounds, huh?

It may be that updates to individual apps address the problem down the road.

I am not sure of the difference between quitting an app and having it resume at login. I do make it a practice to quit all apps down to Finder only at least every 2-3 days.