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Handy Hint 54 - Where is Ctrl-Alt-Del on my Mac / Force Quitting mis-behaving apps

(Unpublished)

Those who have come to Mac from Windows find themselves looking for the equivalent of Control-Alt-Del on their Mac - so that they can view what programs/apps are running and, where necessary, force quit an app that is mis-behaving.

This hint shows a couple of ways to bring up the Force Quit window, so that you can choose what program/app to terminate.  

Watch this short video - press ▷to play.

Step-by-Step Instructions.

Option 1 - Using your mouse (if it is working) ...
  1. Click on the Apple symbol at the top left of your screen.
  2. Click on the Force Quit option from the list - the Force Quit Applications window will appear.
  3. Click on the app that you wish to terminate.
  4. Click on the Force Quit button.
  5. Confirm that you wish to Force Quit by pressing the Force Quit option on the confirmation message.
If you just want to cancel the currently active application, press Shift after choosing the Apple Symbol - the Force Quit option will change to Force Quit application name. Click on this option to force quit that application. 

Option 2 - Using your keyboard ...
  1. On the keyboard, press the following combination of keys:  Command-Option-Esc.
  2. Click on the Force Quit option from the list - the Force Quit Applications window will appear.
  3. Arrow down to the app that you wish to terminate.
  4. Press tab to jump to the Force Quit button.
  5. Press enter/return to select the Force Quit button5.  Confirm that you wish to Force Quit by ensuring that the Force Quit option is highlighted on the confirmation message, then press enter/return.  (If the Cancel option is highlighted, use tab to move to the Force Quit option.)