When you’re finished using a program,
you should close it. Every open program and document consumes some
resources, mostly in the form of using memory (RAM). When RAM is full,
the computer has to start using virtual memory more often, which is basically space on the hard disk configured to look like RAM to the computer.
RAM has no moving parts and, thus, can feed stuff
to the processor (where all the work takes place) at amazing speeds. A
standard hard disk has moving parts and is much, much slower. Newer
solid state drives do not rely on moving parts, but you still have
speed differences between RAM and solid state drives. As soon as
Windows has to start using virtual memory, everything slows down. So,
you really don’t want to have a bunch of stuff you’re not using any
more open and consuming resources.
There are many ways to close a program. Use
whichever of the following techniques is most convenient for you,
because they all produce the same result—the program is removed from
memory, and both its program window and taskbar button are removed from
the screen:
- Click the Close (X) button in the program window’s upper-right corner.
- Right-click the title bar across the top of the program window and choose Close.
- Choose File
Exit from the program’s menu bar, if the program provides a File menu. - Right-click the program’s taskbar button and choose Close Window.
- If the program is in the active window, press Alt+F4.
Tip
You can close a Windows 8 app by
grabbing the top of the app window until the mouse pointer changes to a
double-sided hand. Then drag the window down to the bottom of the
screen.
If you were working on a document in the
program and have made changes to that document since you last saved it,
the program will (one hopes) ask in a message box like the example in Figure 1 whether you want to save those changes.
Never take that dialog box lightly because
whichever option you choose is final, and there’s no going back and
changing your mind. Your options are as follows:
- Save/Yes: The document is saved in its current state; both the document and the program close.
- Don’t Save/No: Any and all changes
you made to the document since you last saved it will be lost forever.
Both the document and the program close.
- Cancel: The program and document
both remain open and on the screen. You can then continue work on the
document and save it from the program’s menu bar (choose File Save).
