How To Force Quit On A Mac

1. Choose 'Force Quit' from the Apple menu. Click the "Apple" icon at the top left of your screen. That brings up a drop-down list with the common system options. Selecting 'Force Quit' brings up the list of open applications. Choose the unresponsive application and click the 'Force Quit' command button at the bottom of the window.
2. Right-click the icon in the Dock and choose 'Force Quit. If an application is unresponsive, you can right-click the program in the Dock and select 'Force Quit' to shut it down. This option will also present itself if you left-click the icon and hold it down for a second or two. If your Mac does not recognize the program as unresponsive, only the 'Quit' option will appear.
3. Close the front-most application by holding 'Command-Option-Shift-Esc' for three seconds. Occasionally the Mac cursor can be unresponsive and will not allow you to select the 'Force Quit' options. Using this option works well as a last resort, but care must be taken to avoid closing the wrong program.

Tips

Save your work frequently to minimize the risk of lost data.

Warnings

Using 'Force Quit' on a Mac will cause you to lose all unsaved changes on the application.