How to View and Close Open Apps in Windows 10

Windows 10 For Dummies

On a desktop PC, it’s fairly easy to move from one app to another. Because they’re all in windows on your desktop, you just click the app you want: It pops to the forefront, ready for work. On a tablet, apps and programs hog the entire screen when running, making it difficult to switch between them.

Whether you’re running Windows 10 on a PC, laptop, or tablet, you can bring any missing app to the forefront by following these two quick steps:

Click or tap the Task View button.

The screen clears, and Windows displays miniature views of your open apps and programs, shown here.

Tap or click any thumbnail to return the app or program to full size.

These three tips can help you keep track of your running apps as well as close down the ones you no longer want open:

Currently running apps and programs also appear as icons on the taskbar, the narrow strip along the bottom of the screen.

To close an unwanted app shown in thumbnail view, click or tap the X in its upper right corner (shown here). With a mouse, you can also right-click the app’s thumbnail, and choose Close from the pop-up menu.

After you close an app, the miniature views of the other running apps remain onscreen, letting you either switch to them or close them. Or, to leave the Task View mode, click or tap the desktop.