AdminFinally, Windows 11 may soon allow users to force close frozen apps from the taskbar.
If you regularly use a Windows laptop or desktop computer, you probably already know the pain of having to close an app that has stopped working. That’s because, unlike macOS, Windows simply doesn’t have that option when you right-click an app in the taskbar.
That may soon change according to a company report Tom’s gear (opens in a new tab). It looks like Microsoft is currently working on adding an “End Task” option to the menu when you right-click an app in the taskbar.
In Build 23430, the latest Windows 11 Insider build, you can enable it by going to Settings > Privacy & Security > For Developers. It’s not actually working yet. According to the same report, it does not appear when you enable it in this version, and it also reverts to the disabled state when you close the Settings window. Apparently it shows up in the right-click menu when using the ViveTool GUI utility app, but also does nothing when clicked.
It’s also interesting that as it stands, the “End task” option is disabled by default and is in the developer menu, which might put off normal people for fear of doing something on their system they wouldn’t know how to fix.
Still, this discovery indicates that Microsoft is likely to provide a forced termination option for all users, and I think it will be a welcome update.
Forcing an app to close on Windows is a pain
Currently, to end a program in Windows that is essentially frozen – and therefore cannot be closed by pressing the X button, clicking the “Close Window” option, or by pressing Alt + F4 – you need to open Task Manager or Windows Command Prompt and close it from there offensive app. Or, more annoyingly, you have to press CTRL-ALT-DELETE and shut down the entire system.
As such, it’s not exactly a straightforward process, and many non-Windows savvy users often have to google “how to force quit apps in Windows” to do so. I realize there is a method to the Windows madness: forcibly closing applications can lead to file corruption. But not having a convenient way to do so has been the bane of my existence, and I’m certainly not alone here.
This is more noticeable when you’re using both Windows and macOS, which has had a “Force Quit” option since I can remember. Many developers and casual users will benefit from the convenience of having an “End Task” option available directly from the taskbar.
Now the question is when exactly will Microsoft introduce this feature? Hopefully soon, because we all needed this years ago.
If you want to know more about the differences between Windows and macOS, read our comparison of Windows 11 and macOS Ventura.
