5 Ways to Close Multiple Apps Simultaneously on Windows
Running multiple apps simultaneously can usually affect your PC’s performance. This means you might often want to close some programs to speed up your device. But here’s the thing—closing your apps one by one can be quite tedious.
So, how can you simplify things and close your multiple apps simultaneously on Windows? Let’s find out.
1. Use the Taskbar
The Windows taskbar displays all your active and pinned programs. This means you can easily close your active apps by scrolling to the relevant taskbar icon and clicking the “close” button.
The good news is that you can also use the taskbar to close multiple windows of the same program. However, you won’t be able to close different apps simultaneously using the taskbar.
Here’s how to close multiple windows of the same program on the taskbar:
2. Use the Resource Monitor
You probably know that you canforce close your PC programsusing the Task Manager. But the problem is that this tool doesn’t let you close your programs simultaneously.
Wondering if there’s an alternative tool you can use? Try the Resource Monitor!
Here are the steps for closing multiple apps simultaneously using the Resource Monitor:
Want to know the best part about using the Resource Monitor? This tool allows you to re-open multiple apps simultaneously with just a few clicks!
Here’s how to reopen your apps with the Resource Monitor:
3. Use the Command Prompt
The Command Prompt can help you troubleshoot PC issues, configure some system settings, and run your Windows apps.
Interestingly, this tool can also help you simultaneously close multiple windows of the same app. However, the Command Prompt might not be the best option if you want to close different apps simultaneously.
Here’s how you may close multiple windows of the same app using the Command Prompt:
Let’s say you want to close multiple File Explorer windows simultaneously. To do that, type the following command in the Command Prompt and pressEnter:
The “taskkill /f /im” command is the one that closes the program, and the “explorer.exe” command is the name of the app. To close multiple windows of your other apps, replace the “explorer.exe” part with the relevant command.
4. Create a Batch Script for Closing Multiple Apps Simultaneously
We’ve already discovered that the Command Prompt can only help you close multiple windows of the same app.
But if you apply a few tricks, it’s possible to close multiple apps using some commands. However, you’d need tocreate a batch scriptfor that.
Here’s how you can create a batch script for closing multiple apps on Windows:
Now, let’s say you want to close theSnipping Tooland thePaint.netapp simultaneously. Here are the steps you need to follow:
Next, type the following command to close the Paint.net app:
From there, follow these steps:
Now, you could close the Snipping Tool and the Paint.net app simultaneously by following these steps:
You can add as many apps as you want to your batch script.
And when using the batch script, ensure that it doesn’t end up closing some important apps by mistake. This means it might be worth regularly checking what’s on the script first before running it.
5. Use the Close All Windows Tool
You can also quickly close your multiple active apps using a third-party program like theClose All Windows tool. The tool is lightweight, which means it won’t take up much of your disk space.
This app works almost like the Windows built-in Resource Monitor. However, it comes with a basic and easy-to-understand interface. When you open the tool, it immediately displays all your active apps. All you need to do is tick the relevant boxes and then click theOKbutton to close those apps.
The tool displays all your apps and places them under a specific category. For example, it displays all your Google Chrome windows under the Google Chrome category.
To select all the apps on the screen, pressCtrl + Aor navigate to theCommandtab and clickSelect All. And if you want to uncheck all the apps, pressCtrl + Dor click theDeselect Alloption from theCommandtab.
You can customize the Close All Windows tool by clicking theViewtab and ticking the relevant boxes. And if the tool seems a bit too complicated to use, then you can navigate to theHelptab to get some assistance.
Download: Close All Windows forWindows(Free, subscription available)
Close Your Multiple Apps Simultaneously With Just a Few Clicks
It’s always frustrating when your Windows device suddenly becomes slow or buggy. In most cases, such issues are caused by running tons of apps simultaneously.
Want a quick way to speed up your device? Close your multiple active programs simultaneously using the tips we’ve covered. And if you end up closing some apps by mistake, you could apply some quick tricks to restore them again.
Got a nasty case of butterfingers? Bring back apps you just closed with these special programs for Windows 10 and 11.
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