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5 Ways to Close all Windows Apps at Once on Windows 11

Make all your app windows disappear by running batch scripts

4 min. read

Updated onOctober 4, 2023

updated onOctober 4, 2023

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Key notes

Multitasking often requires you to open multiple windows of the same app simultaneously. And while opening these windows doesn’t seem so hard, managing them can be a pain.

If you’re looking for an easy way to close all window apps at once aside from using the dedicated keyboard shortcuts, this article will be of much help to you.

How do I close all programs at once in Windows 11?

1. Use the Taskbar

This is probably the easiest and fastest method, but if you havetoo many background processeswith multiple windows open, you’ll have to repeat this process several times until you clear your Taskbar.

Alternatively, you can use the good-old emergency keyboard shortcutAlt+Tab. A preview panel will display all open programs’ window menus, and you can hover your mouse to close select apps.

2. Use the Resource Monitor

One advantage of the Resource Monitor over the Taskbar and Task Manager is its auto-recovery feature. You may have accidentally selected and closed critical system processes, but by following the above process, selecting theResume Processoption will reopen them.

3. Use the Command Prompt

The Command Prompt is a powerful tool that not only troubleshoots your PC for issues but can also be used to run a variety of useful commands on your computer.

By entering a simple command into the Command Prompt window, you can close all active windows for apps on your computer.

Once you open the command line as an administrator, you can enter thetaskkill /f /im chrome.execommand, and all Chrome windows will be closed. Remember to replaceChromewith the name of the app you want to close.

Still, its main disadvantage is that you have to execute successive multiple commands since there’s no single command to close all windows from multiple apps at the same time.

4. Batch Scripts for Advanced Users

Batch scripts are essentially command lines that perform multiple actions at once. This is a simple text file consisting of commands that Windows will execute one after another.

They’re a great way toautomate repetitive tasksbut can also be used for simple day-to-day tasks like closing all programs at once.

So if you’ve been looking for a way onhow to stop all processes, batch scripts are the way to go.

5. Use Third-Party solutions

Finally, if you feel that the manual methods are a bit too much, you can opt for third-party tools. Our top pick has to be theClose All Windows toolfor its intuitive interface.

It is a simple yet powerful tool that allows you to close all running programs with a single mouse click. All you have to do is select and then click OK when done.

It shares some similarities with the Resource Monitor but with extra features such as the group by parent folder and a search box for easier navigation.

We’ve demonstrated different ways to close all apps on Windows 11 at once. Each one is convenient in its own right, and you are free to choose any of these methods or mix them up to suit your needs.

If yourPC was running slowor you were having problems launching apps quickly, closing high-resource processes will hopefully help you reclaim some system resources.

Alternatively, if you don’t mind shutting down your PC, holding down the power button will also close all active items, but you run the risk of a situation whereWindows apps won’t openbecause they weren’t shut down properly.

We’d like to hear about your preferred method to close all app windows, so leave us a comment down below on your choice and why it’s your go-to.

5 Ways to Close all Windows Apps at Once on Windows 11#

How do I close all programs at once in Windows 11?#

1. Use the Taskbar#

2. Use the Resource Monitor#

3. Use the Command Prompt#

4. Batch Scripts for Advanced Users#

5. Use Third-Party solutions#