This post applies to Mac users (sorry Windows computer owners). Although it might not happen too often on a Mac, every once in a while, some program will freeze up and refuse to work. Customers will tell me that they have to shut down their Mac and restart it; otherwise, it is locked up.

There might be an easier way, however. When a program freezes up, instead of shutting your computer down, see if your mouse will enable you to click on the apple in the upper left-hand corner of the screen. If it works, you should see “Force Quit” listed on the menu. Simply click there (or use the keyboard shortcut: Command + Option + Esc) and a list of all the running applications will appear. Click on the offending application (the one frozen) to highlight it and then click the “Force Quit” button.

The app should close and, hopefully, you’ll have full use of your Mac again – without having to reboot!

Even if everything is working, you should give this method a try just to see how it works.