Command+Tab and closed program windows

Mac os high siera 10.13.5


I close some window by command+w(no kill process) after that i use Command+Tab to change windows but i see closed program window! That's why in Command+Tab process so much garbage and sometimes it's very uncomfortable.


I think apple developers should leave only open windows on the command+tab!
p.s. this is my first message here, please treat with understanding.

MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2017), macOS High Sierra (10.13.5)

Posted on Jul 10, 2018 1:26 AM

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Posted on Jul 10, 2018 4:08 AM

You are probably used to Windows, where closing a window amounts to quitting a program. Not so on the mac, at least not for all applications.

If you want to, for example, quit Safari (or another multi-window application), press command-Q. Closing all Safari windows does NOT quit the application.


On the other hand, it does so in the case of most single-window applications - for example, System Preferences.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jul 10, 2018 4:08 AM in response to AndreyChursin

You are probably used to Windows, where closing a window amounts to quitting a program. Not so on the mac, at least not for all applications.

If you want to, for example, quit Safari (or another multi-window application), press command-Q. Closing all Safari windows does NOT quit the application.


On the other hand, it does so in the case of most single-window applications - for example, System Preferences.

Jul 10, 2018 2:04 PM in response to AndreyChursin

AndreyChursin wrote:


Command+tab should switch opened windows but not some program without window! I think so..

That is your opinion, but it has never been the way the mac has worked.

There can be applications that do not appear in the Application Switcher (because for example they are to be accessed by a menubar menulet), but having or not having a window open at the moment never defined whether an application appears or not.


Again, the fundamental distinction is that closing windows is NOT the same as quitting an application. You can also note that an application is running by looking at the Dock: there is a little dot next to its icon. Try closing all Safari windows, then look at its Dock icon. The little dot is still there. Now quit the application by pressing command-Q or selecting Quit from the Safari menu. See the difference?

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Command+Tab and closed program windows

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